I’ve had my GPS72 for a few years now and use it primarily for hiking. For those new to GPS, this little gizmo will tell you your position usually to within about six meters. That’s plenty accurate for those simply not wanting to get lost in the bush. On a good day with a clear view of the southern horizon, the circle of accuracy gets to within 2.1 meters, which is excellent. Reception: You need a view of the sky, preferably the south, as GPS satellites are near the equator. That said, it still works fine on cloudy or rainy days, or with light forest cover. If the signal does cut out, you simply continue to the next clearing or hilltop to get your position again. Navigation: There’s simply nothing like the peace of mind in knowing that no matter where you go, this thing will bring you back. You save waypoints by going to your destination and pressing Enter, or you can enter them beforehand from a map. Then, wherever you are, simply point the map page cursor at any given waypoint and you’re given the compass heading and distance. No guesswork. Compass: You must keep moving for the internal compass to work properly, which could be a problem if the signal starts cutting out because of tree cover. In any case, you should not rely exclusively on the internal compass because it uses up the batteries (the 16 hour rating is optimistic). Here’s a tip: Use a magnetic compass most of the time and turn off the GPS. Only switch on the GPS to confirm the current position and get a new compass heading. This way, the batteries last up to a couple weeks. You don’t want to walk around staring at your GPS anyway as you have to watch your footing and you want to be able to see and hear what’s happening around you. Durability: Yes, it will float. I dropped mine in a beaver pond once and it kept working fine. I notice the Etrex and Legend models are waterproof but don’t float. It wouldn’t have been any fun swimming in that murky pond trying to retrieve my GPS. I wish the screen weren’t so easily scratched, but I managed to buff out some light scratches. Mapping: Some people may be bothered by the fact that this model does not have an internal map but all you need are the waypoints to find your way. You should carry a paper map in your pocket as a backup anyway, and the models with internal maps (including software) cost hundreds of dollars more. A color display would be nice but is not essential. All in all, I’m very pleased with this item, and would never go into the wilderness without it.

Great product! Used it to mark an Elk that we harvested so that we could find it the next day. Found out from the map down load that there was a road only .25 miles away …. Awesome!!

The tide tables are very useful. The user interface is a bit klutzy and non-intuitive, but it did what I wanted.

Thank you for introducing me to a great product. I received it in a timely manner and it has lived up to my expectations. The information your catalog provided aided me in my search for a quality product that works well as my companion in the Site Watch Steward Program, pinpointing archaeogical sites.

I thought this GPS would be a bit smaller but I’m happy with it.

I’ve had this unit for several years and use it primarily for duck hunting. It’s very simple to use and has withstood some of the most harsh hunting conditions imagineable. Dropped on numerous occassions in flooded timber and never missed a beat. I wouldn’t know what to do w/o this device at 4am in the morning and the woods full of fog.