Equipment Test - Memory-map 2800

I'm a male, I like gadgets and things that make cool noises, so ever since I started hillwalking I fancied getting myself a wee bit of technology to take along for some fun. What better gadget to have than an electronic map, compass, altimeter and other fancy things.

After a wee bit of research on the different types and prices I settled on this one, mainly because I'm Scottish and at £180 it was half price in the sale. From what I'd read other handsets don't have pre-installed maps, these had to be purchased seperately, memory-map handsets have some maps pre-installed so they save you a small fortune (electronic maps vary from around £30-£150) which is an essential if you are a Scot. In terms of size and weight it's comparable to iphones and mobile phones so can easily be shoved in a pocket.

See, it's quite wee really.

The whole package, as you can imagine, is a bit more than just a GPS handset and it's not as simple as plug-in and go if you want to get the best out of it. The handset comes with a disc with the pre-installed maps on it and it's here the potential of the handset comes to light. It's too complicated for me to even begin explaining and unfortunately doesn't come with particularly user friendly instructions, but i'll try and cover some of the features I particularly like and dislike.

The Positives

• You can plan your route in advance and download to the handset. 

•  You can check the profile (elevation) of your route from start to finish. 

Height shown in Metres

• You can view a 3d 'fly-through' of your walk

Glen Lyon in 3d

• Once you are out using the handset it's fairly straight forward to get it to do what you want, and most importantly it is very accurate. I first used it when I climbed Ben Chonzie, when I reached the summit I checked the height I was supposed to be at and it matched exactly my traditional OS map. the handset gives you lots of additional info, such as speed you are walking, average speed, e.t.a. directional marker and the traditional extra's you would associate with this type of equipment.

• Most hillwalking websites allow people to share their own routes, so you can download other peoples routes before you go on the walk. Which is nice.

• Battery life seems very good, the first time used it I didn't switch on any energy saving options and it lasted a full 5 hours. 

• It makes a "doi-oi-oi-oing" noise if you zoom in to close on the map.

The Negatives

• Like any other male I tend to be able to work things without reading the instructions, not with this ! The Instructions are very sparse, borderline daft. I spent a good couple of hours trying to create a route then download to the handset following the 'instructions' but failed each time. Luckily someone invented youtube. so I checked here for tutorials and found some very useful information and managed to download my walk, hurrah !

• It came with a stylus which isn't attached to the handset, said stylus fell out my pocket and is currently littering Ben Chonzie. £18 for a new one.

Summary

I like this very much, it's reasonably priced and comes with it's own maps. If it was more user friendly I'd say it was excellent but due to the poor instructions I'd have to say it was very good with a lot of potential. If you're in the market for something along these lines then this could be worth a look.