Was looking at several alternatives for a hiking GPS when I noted Amazon’s excellent price on the PN-30 ($199 as of 10/23/09). With the faster dual-processor setup, fixed WAAS bug, and higher sat tracking count, the PN30 is a great little GPS for that price.

Using a SDHC 8GB card I was able to quickly load the supplied base topo maps for NV, AZ, CO, NM, UT, CA, and OR. At first cold turn-on it took about 10min to lock in several sats to get a fix. However, all cold starts since then have taken about 30 seconds to get a 3D fix. Very nice. That was the ‘easy’ part about setup.

If you want color map overlays, aerial image overlays, etc. you have to use the Topo8 software and the netlink feature. There is a learning curve here and while it is not cliff-like, it is somewhat steep (particularly compared to a Garmin GPS, for example). I was able to get a few different areas of aerial image overlays and color maps for a couple of hikes I was going on, however, the download link failed on the 2nd set of maps and continued to fail. As a prior reviewer stated, you can still get them via email, which ended upworking fine. Still feel like I’ve only barely wet my feet as it were with the Topo8 software. I’ll keep digging (luckily there is a wiki and a support board), but it is like slogging through a swamp getting around in there.

The unit itself has a small but VERY VERY visible screen for daylight use. I can barely see the screen on my friend’s Garmin Colorado 400T, but the PN30s screen is super easy to read outside in bright light. Yes, compared to some other units out there the PN30s screen is quite small, but you get a damn good screen for quality and daylight visibility. I’ll tell you, it is not fun trying to read my friend’s Garmin 400T in bright daylight…there’s quite a bit of cursing going on at times! (Don’t get me wrong the 400T is very NICE, but that horrid screen just does not work in the daylight)

Interal setup is not particularly user-friendly, but it is doable without the manual if you want to go that way. Pages are straightforward, and layering easy to figure out (though learning what Level of Detail to use in Topo8 BEFORE you download is a good idea since my aerial images are not visible at all until you get down to about 640′ scale).

Phsyically, it is a bit ‘fat’ at the bottom, but tolerable and fits the hand well. I have a few gadget pouches and it does not fit in a normal camera pouch due to the thickness at the bottom (~2.5″). The little metal dots for the USB interface connection are okay, though getting the plug in the first time was struggle. It was tight and I thought I was going to break the unit. I understand the use of the metal dots to keep the unit sealed, however, I wonder about connectivity and conductivity over the life of the unit. I guess we’ll find out. Same with the memory card location. To keep the unit water-tight it is located under the back panel, beneath the batteries. Get a big SDHC card so you don’t have to swap out the card.

I looked at the PN40, but with nearly all of the same features, the PN30 was the best ‘bang for the buck’. I am quite happy with the unit thus far. I’d have rated it a 5 if it was not for the less-than-user-friendly setup and Topo8 software (and really out of date road maps for Vegas!)
Rating: 4 / 5

Just got this Delorme PN-30 about a week ago. I extensively researched handheld GPS units before buying this one. I was leaning towards the Garmin Oregon, but I need to actually see the screen in very bright light…like when I’m kayaking out on the open water…so that unit was out…as well as all their other similar offerings. So despite the reviews about the Delorme PN units being a bit hard to use, I decided to get it.

First off, it is NOT hard to use. Anyone with even the slightest ability on a computer can get this unit up and customized to their liking. The complaints about the non-functional link to their on-line map library must have been heard, because mine worked like a dream. I only had one download not go to completion (using my free $40 worth of maps, satellite and aerial images#…and that could have been my connection to the internet…which is sometimes less than optimal. Everything else went like a dream. You select which sections of the grid you want…for me it was around a lake I like to kayak in and some hiking areas…you ADD those to a list…which you accept and then download. A little menu box pops up with a list of maps you’ve downloaded and a list of what is on the GPS. You simply click on the map you want to install on the left column…which is what is now on your computer…and click on the destination folder you want on your GPS…either the internal memory or SD card. Then just click button to load it in, and it is done. Large files…like entire states take longer when using a USB connection, so it’s best to just pop the SD card into a card reader or slot on your computer to speed things up.

The quality of the maps that come with the unit are superb. And…if that wasn’t good enough, you can overlay things like satellite images right over the regular map. So, for instance, when I’m kayaking at my favorite lake, when the GPS is in that geographical area, automatically, it switches to a very detailed and accurate sat map so what I’m kayaking in looks exactly like where I really am. I have noticed with the rise and fall of the lake level…older topos show peninsulas and other features that are no loner there…and are now islands. This is kind of frustrating. Even google earth’s image is not correct. But the sat images from Delorme which I got for free, (due to their $40 worth of free images that come with the unit)were right on..and very clear. Any of these additional maps can easily be switched off if you do not want them to automatically come up when you’re in the relevant geographical location.

Other nifty features are things like the unit’s ability to switch to night-mode automatically, based on when it knows sunset occurs. I was driving out of a labyrinth of roads in a housing development, and the night mode made it very easy to retrace my route out, without messing up my dark adaptation…very nice feature.

So, all in all, I would say Delorme has a real winner with the PN-30. It blows my eXplorist 500 right out of the water! The maps are superb, the ability to customize is amazing, and it is just a solidly built, great little unit. And, it is obvious that Delorme has made its online map downloading feature function correctly and quickly.
Rating: 5 / 5

had this product for 3 to 4 weeks now it really really rocks. very accurite and easy to manuver
Rating: 5 / 5

This is exactly what it professes to be. Light years better than the PN-20 and it shares nearly all (can’t figure out what’s missing myself) the features and advantages of the PN-40 at a lower cost. It takes all the firmware updates of the PN-40 and is great for geocaching.
Rating: 5 / 5

I currently have several different GPS Units. I seem to buy a few new ones each year. Some for work, others for play.

This Unit is not my Favorite. I prefer the Garmin 60CSX over this unit.

And my second favorite is my location sending radios – Garmin 530 HCx’s. I have not been a fan of Garmin for quite some time, But, now that they have the fastest start up and can use the H-SD Cards. I have modified my thoughts towards Garmin lately. The Garmin 60 just locks up so fast. And Garmin menus are now too EZ to ad what you want or need.

The PN-30 unit is not that bad though. Id say it’s much better than my Magellan Triton. TRITON=HATE IT, I think that is the last Magellan I will ever own. It will be auctioned off soon.

All units mentioned take H-SD cards, and the extra maps are about the same in price. (Delorme might be the highest priced tho)

The graphics are Slighly better on the PN-30. If Slightly better graphics is what your looking for, and you can handle the slow start times and tedious menus. This is the unit for you!
Rating: 3 / 5