Does anyone use the Bushnell Backtrack?

Well-- mine arrived this past week. I got an orange one from ebay for a tad over $50 shipped. Initial impressions: It's bigger than I expected, with a diameter of 3". It's only 3/4 thick, though, and only weighs 2.9 oz. with batteries. We have just under five acres of lawn, field and woods. After playing with it, it does what it's supposed to do. I was concerned that I'd forget how to use it if I didn't use it regularly. I'm no longer worried. It's pretty simple. I won't know how it does under tree cover for a few more months. So far, though, I'm very happy with it.
 
awesome!

get yourself a small ALOKSOAK and put the Bactrack into it. Then its completely waterproof.
 
JHFC. If you're smart enough to buy one of these online, why aren't you smart enough to learn how to use a compass, or just pay attention to where you're at? I can't say it, but GYHOOYA!
 
Scott Free said:
I bought a GPS years ago and hated it. I don't like fiddling with electronics when out in the woods. I don't want anything complicated or something I have to pay attention to. I don't like bunches of buttons and multiple screens or remembering how to work it. I like to wander around without even worrying about a compass. When I'm good and lost, I pull out the compass and know that if I hike east I'll hit the road and if I hike south I'll come to the creek. I know that if I hike to either, my car is parked near where the road crosses the creek. I just like to wander, explore and not mess with "left brain" stuff any more than I have to.
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Coldwood-- I covered that already. See quote above. My whole reasoning for wanting this is in the second posting of this thread.
 
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Scott Free said:
Coldwood-- I covered that already. See quote above. My whole reasoning for wanting this is in the second posting of this thread.
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Yeah, so what? Then you said the product was simple enough that you would actually use it.

I say it's like a teenager walking across traffic talking on a cell phone.

Learn to use a compass, learn to read a topo map, open your eyes and look around and pay attention to your trail, and where you're going and where you've just been coming from. Situational awareness, pay attention to your surroundings.

If you do that, you won't need these electronic gerbils.
 
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Easy bro - Your arguement can be made about millions of different types of technologies throughout the world. Personally, I think this thing is a cool idea.

A lot of people don't hike on trails and don't have the patience to learn how to read a map and operate a compass properly. This thing may get some people back home that may otherwise be lost in the woods or a big parking lot :)

Also - I have no clue what your internet acronyms mean.....
 
I didn`t notice this post before today, but i`m kinda worried about relying on something electronic when in the wilderness. Batteries can and do run out. Electronics don`t mix well with water.
I remember seeing something similar on a tv-show a while back, though it was specifically for finding your car on a large parking lot. It`s not electronic, and seems smaller than the Backtrack.

The C-Car.

It says in the review that it`s a point-to-point compass. Could be something to look into if you`re not into electronics. Come to think about it, shouldn`t be too hard to figure out how to customize an ordinary compass to do the same job, without the picture of the car on there.

Just my two cents.
 
aarya said:
I didn`t notice this post before today, but i`m kinda worried about relying on something electronic when in the wilderness. Batteries can and do run out. Electronics don`t mix well with water.
I remember seeing something similar on a tv-show a while back, though it was specifically for finding your car on a large parking lot. It`s not electronic, and seems smaller than the Backtrack.

The C-Car.

It says in the review that it`s a point-to-point compass. Could be something to look into if you`re not into electronics. Come to think about it, shouldn`t be too hard to figure out how to customize an ordinary compass to do the same job, without the picture of the car on there.

Just my two cents.
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I totally agree about the battery thing. It's just plain fun to learn how to use a compass and map too :)
 
myright said:
Easy bro - Your arguement can be made about millions of different types of technologies throughout the world. Personally, I think this thing is a cool idea.

A lot of people don't hike on trails and don't have the patience to learn how to read a map and operate a compass properly. This thing may get some people back home that may otherwise be lost in the woods or a big parking lot :)
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That's true, it may be a cool idea to find your way out of a parking lot. But this forum is about Wilderness & Survival Skills. I think this would have been better posted under Gadgets & Gear. Our brain is the original computer, with a pencil and piece of paper for a word processor. I have a GPS navigator in my truck, it's a fun toy, but I still wouldn't travel without a road map and a sense of which direction is north.
 
Don't trust a battery-powered electronic device to be anything more than a convenience. To do so is flirting with trouble. I can tell you it's a bad feeling to be somewhere you've never been, navigating with your GPS, only to watch the screen suddenly getting covered with random black lines until it's all black and totally useless.

I'd cry for days if I lost my trusty Garmin eTrex and all my stored waypoints (which are backed up on my PC), but I wouldn't go into the woods without a compass and a very good idea of the area or a printed map.

As a matter of fact, I'm just now firing up my map program to print out a couple of sheets that cover an area where I'll be snowshoeing tomorrow. My Garmin will be on duty, but a compass will be on a neck lanyard inside my shirt and the map will be in a Zip-Loc in my pocket. There is a spare compass in my daypack.

Stay sharp,
desmobob
 
desmobob said:
Don't trust a battery-powered electronic device to be anything more than a convenience. To do so is flirting with trouble. I can tell you it's a bad feeling to be somewhere you've never been, navigating with your GPS, only to watch the screen suddenly getting covered with random black lines until it's all black and totally useless.

I'd cry for days if I lost my trusty Garmin eTrex and all my stored waypoints (which are backed up on my PC), but I wouldn't go into the woods without a compass and a very good idea of the area or a printed map.

As a matter of fact, I'm just now firing up my map program to print out a couple of sheets that cover an area where I'll be snowshoeing tomorrow. My Garmin will be on duty, but a compass will be on a neck lanyard inside my shirt and the map will be in a Zip-Loc in my pocket. There is a spare compass in my daypack.

Stay sharp,
desmobob
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Perfectly said.
 
Coldwood said:
Learn to use a compass, learn to read a topo map, open your eyes and look around and pay attention to your trail, and where you're going and where you've just been coming from. Situational awareness, pay attention to your surroundings.

If you do that, you won't need these electronic gerbils.
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IF you had read my original post, you'd know that I DO use a compass. I've been using topo maps and compass for 35 years. I edc a compass whether in town or the woods. If I go to the woods I carry three. IF you had read my original post, you'd know that I will use a compass as a backup to the Backtrack. It's a 2.9 oz. useful tool that will save me time and steps. If it fails, I revert to a compass. What's the big deal? Your original "JHFC...GYHOOYA" comment was way out of line and completely uncalled for. Geesh. :thumbdn:
 
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myright said:
I saw this thing in a magazine and decided to look it up and see what it was all about. It seems like a pretty cool little device that can be useful in and out of the wilderness.

Basically you mark your location before you leave and this thing will direct you back to it.

Any reviews/thoughts?

http://www.bushnell.com/gps/gps_backtrack.cfm?section=General Use
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One other thought....

Sometimes, after wandering around exploring, the theory of using one bearing to get you back is not practical and possibly even unsafe.

Of course, this depends on the terrain you're exploring. I just can't get myself to accept the Backtrack as a valuable tool. I think the newest, simplest GPS units are only a little bit more difficult to learn to use, and much more useful for about $50 more spent. You can get the same function as the Backtrack with a couple of button-pushes on the typical GPS... turn it on and make one selection to record your route, and then use the "backtrack" or "breadcrumb" feature to reverse it home.

My GPS gives me more fun from my hiking and exploring as I download waypoints or routes I saved while hiking onto a map program on my PC when I get home. I think it's fun to look at the map and see exactly where I've been on my hike. I can also look at the maps before the hike and pick spots I want to explore or hike to and download them into my GPS.

Again, this extra capability is available for a little more money and not much difference in size/weight.

Stay sharp,
desmobob
 
I am a fair navigator with map and compass. But down in the swamps of the Altamaha River, the terrain all looks the same. Visibility is limited and it is easy to get disoriented. I think I will get one of these and try it out.
 
Thanks for posting about this (and in this forum -- I rarely read G&G.) Next $50 is going to one. I use a compass and map just fine, but can afford a cheap piece of gear to give me an excuse to get out and about and I think my kids would love exploring the backyard with it.
 
Horn Dog said:
I am a fair navigator with map and compass. But down in the swamps of the Altamaha River, the terrain all looks the same. Visibility is limited and it is easy to get disoriented. I think I will get one of these and try it out.
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Same here - My state is pretty much completely flat and dense forest where I hike.
 
desmobob said:
One other thought....

Sometimes, after wandering around exploring, the theory of using one bearing to get you back is not practical and possibly even unsafe.

Of course, this depends on the terrain you're exploring. I just can't get myself to accept the Backtrack as a valuable tool. I think the newest, simplest GPS units are only a little bit more difficult to learn to use, and much more useful for about $50 more spent. You can get the same function as the Backtrack with a couple of button-pushes on the typical GPS... turn it on and make one selection to record your route, and then use the "backtrack" or "breadcrumb" feature to reverse it home.

My GPS gives me more fun from my hiking and exploring as I download waypoints or routes I saved while hiking onto a map program on my PC when I get home. I think it's fun to look at the map and see exactly where I've been on my hike. I can also look at the maps before the hike and pick spots I want to explore or hike to and download them into my GPS.

Again, this extra capability is available for a little more money and not much difference in size/weight.

Stay sharp,
desmobob
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Hmm. Maybe I should consider a GPS instead. I do need more than three points to mark the creek crossings in the swamp.
 
I just received one of these for my birthday. I plan on using it as a backup. I use maps (I recently discovered MyTopo.com) and a compass in conjunction with my Garmin GPS 60CS. When I hit the trail, I'll just mark the trail head, turn it off and put it in the small Pelican case I carry in my pack.
 
While I carry a compass and have used one extensively for everything from orienteering, to hunting and have used topo maps for 30 years, I have to say, this thing would be a great addition to ANYONES kit. I carry a GPS, but only as a backup to my compass, not the other way around.

How many of you can honestly say you never hike anywhere unless you have a topo map? And a compass without the map is only half a tool. Yes you can stay in one direction, but that is a hard lesson learned when it happens.

Would I bet my life on it alone? No, I would always take a compass and a bearing before I started, but as was mentioned before, setting the Backtrack, turning it off and having it in case you get twisted on the trail could be a lifesaver, LITERALLY.

Great tool. I will be buying one for each of my family.
 
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