DeLorme PN-40

Published: September 2008

During a recent trip to Grayton Beach, I had the opportunity to test the DeLorme PN-40. The PN-(Personal Navigator)-40 was the only handheld GPS I took on the trip. With it, I documented several outdoor activities. The PN-40 recorded waypoints and tracks while kayaking in Dunes Lake, SCUBA diving off the coast of Destin, mountain biking and geocaching in the State Forest.

I am very please with the PN-40. It performed well during every activity. It never suffered from power intruption during the rough bike ride. It never fogged up or got internally wet during the boat trips. And I am amazed at how quicklty I can use the user interface to enter alphanumeric data, like naming waypoints while hiking.

Towards the end of the trip, Huricane Gustav approached the Gulf Coast. I used the PN-40's internal barometer to measure the decreasing atmospheric pressure. On Labor Day, high winds scrubed our plans to paddle aournd Dunes Lake.

Back at home using my computer, it was easy to import the map data collected and add descriptions. The PN-40 comes bundled with Topo USA (Version 7) software for your PC. "T7" comes complete U.S topographic and street maps included. Below is a screenshot of the area around Garyton Beach State Park.

Bottom Line - Since the PN-40 displays more map types of than any other recreational GPS receiver, I recomend the DeLorme PN-40 Land managers and recreationalists that spend the majority of their time in a defined area. It is easy to load up this unit with aerials, street and shaded relief topo maps. In the field, you can turn on- and off map layers to better visualize any terrain. I do not recommend the PN-40 for address-to-address vehicle navigation.