Reviews

I purchased a replacement 12V power cable after accidentally melting the one that came with the DeLorme AG-8097-000 Earthmate PN Series Power Kit (completely my fault... don't ask). It works just as well as the original one, which is OK but not great (mainly problems with the GPS and the battery, not this adapter). It could also be used as a secondary charger to be kept in a second vehicle. Note that this adapter will NOT recharge non-Delorme rechargeable batteries in-unit. You have to get the "CR-V3 LI-ION Approved Battery" from Delorme or in the Power Kit for in-unit recharging. This fact is well-documented and is a popular topic in the Delorme forums. The recharge rate is extremely slow (again, problem with the GPS and battery). During an all-day geocaching trip with long drive times (about 3 hours total charging time) between multiple stops and long walking times during stops (about 6 hours walking/non-charging time), the charger couldn't keep up and I had to switch to alkaline. But even if you don't have the "special" battery, this product is still functional. The unit works entirely off of external power while plugged in, so you aren't burning through expensive and landfill-clogging disposables. If want your receiver on while driving between geocaches or on the way to the trailhead, or want to extend battery life on your ATV equipped with a 12V power-point, this product can help. The main problem I have with this product, though, is that it turns out that I didn't need to buy it. The GPS receiver will charge off the USB Data Transfer cable that came with the unit (strangely, Amazon does not sell this; you have to purchase a replacement or second cable directly from Delorme for $12.95 + $7 shipping). That cable plugged into my Scosche Dual USB Car Charger means I can charge my cell phone and my PN-40 from only one 12V power point. This is a huge bonus in my wife's vehicle where only one power point is reachable from the dash area. Pros: - Recharges the "CR-V3 LI-ION Approved Battery" in the GPS unit. - Extends the life of any battery (even non-rechargeable). Cons: - Expensive for what you get. - Yet another charger to have in your vehicle. A 12V-USB adapter used with a Data cable is better. - Does not recharge non-Delorme rechargeable batteries (problem with GPS, not this product)

Reviews

Works well on my Blackberry curve 8320 and google maps. I bought this gps after reading the good reviews and because some reviews specifically said it worked with google maps on their 8320. But when I got it connected to my blackberry, I was disappointed to find that it didn't work with google maps. Google support even says that an external gps won't work on google maps mobile. So I thought that maybe these reviewers were mistaken. BUT on a google support forum, someone was good enough to supply a link to an older version of google maps (v3.0.2 - I had the latest v4.4, I think) that does work with an external gps. I'm now missing the lastest functions of mobile google maps, but that's okay. And I can't blame Holux for that. [...]

Either bad reviews are not being published or this unit is being purchased to provide a GPS signal for a certain phone or specified setup. PHONE: The problem is that if you have a locked phone and can't run application software this unit will not work with a phone. NETBOOK: Vista and Broadcomm Bluetooth Dongle remain incompatible but the BlueSoblell software resolved this problem even for the Broadcomm dongle. although Google Earth tracking includes only selections for Garmin and Magellan the Holux M1000 data can be received in real time. The problem is that Google Earth will freeze when there is an interruption in communication between the m1000 and the netbook or between the satellite and the m1000 preventing the unit from being used for tracking. The software that comes on the driver CD might fix this but undisclosed by Holux or the seller CECompass that software requires a product key that must be purchased at additional charge. Better to buy a stand alone unit at double the cost than to go through all of the hassle that purchase of this unit can produce. OTHERWISE: If you are one of those that this unit has been specifically recommended for to fit your use and situation it seems like a good unit.

I purchased this GPS receiver for my 1st generation iPhone. My primary motive was to avoid signing a new 2-year contract with AT&T, because I was told it was mandatory if I upgraded to the newest iPhone with built-in GPS. The Holux M-1000 is a lot smaller than I had originally imagined. But it's starts quickly and seems to always have an excellent signal, even indoors. It comes with a USB power cable and car charger, which is useful for long trips. I guess there's not much more you can really say. It's small but it does the job! Note - The 1st generation iPhone does not support this device natively. First you must jailbreak your iPhone. I'm currently using OS 3.1.3 (7E18). Then you must download and install an app called "roqyBT" to your iPhone. This application pairs your iPhone to the Holux M-1000 using Bluetooth. This application will continue running in the background exposing the GPS data to other applications on your iPhone. I have tested the Holux M-1000 with the following apps: Navigon, TomTom and the Maps app that comes with all iPhones. Each of these apps worked perfectly! It's a shame Apple doesn't support GPS Bluetooth devices natively. It would have made my life a lot easier. Score: (Holux 1) and (Apple 0)

This thing is small. Easy to use. Accurate. Long battery life. Couldn't be happier. It gets a fix pretty quick. No blue tooth issues. I used it on my bike with my palm treo and TomTom PDA edition. I had the treo on the bicycle handlebar and the Holux in my back pack . I navigated through a heavily treed neighborhood in pitch dark and never lost a signal. A true pleasure to own.

I bought this item used from a seller on amazon and I have to say I am impressed. The unit is light and easy to travel with. I paired it with my E63 without any hassles at all and like magic it started to provide that valuable information required. Tested it out against a couple other units, more expensive one and the accuracy of this little item was well within the tolerance limits. Battery (though used) is providing great life. Kept it on for a good 13 hours and it still had juice in it. Well worth it. Great product.

Reviews

I realized I wanted a GPS when I discovered geocaching, it took me one time going with a friend to find a cache and then I was hooked. I did however, spend at least 2 weeks shopping around, reading about GPSr's from every company I could learn about, and then narrowed it down to a few. Both Delorme's were in my radar, as well as the Garmin Oregon, Dakota, and GPSmap series. My friend owns a GPSmap60csx from Garmin, and I must admit that those have extremely exceptional accuracy, which most reviews and forums will attest to. I also learned that the Garmin Oregon and Dakota have had issues with attaining WAAS satellite locks, which took them out of the picture. These WAAS satellites give a much more accurate reading, and when you're looking for caches in thick woods, pinpointing the area is crucial. What made me decide on Delorme over the GPSmap is mostly the software that Delorme offers. From my experience with both GPS', the Garmin may be slightly more accurate in readings, by about a foot, which is a negligible amount. Having said that, back to the software, Delorme's Topo NA software is incredibly in depth, (although not very intuitive). As well as Delorme's map subscription package, you have many options for how your GPS will portray its data to you. I mean, for adding the $30 subscription to your total price, you have access to satellite images, USGS quad maps (which is amazing!), aerial photos, nautical maps, canada topo maps.... it just can't be beat. And with the Topo software, you can layer and customize all the maps to work together as one super map on your GPS. Not to mention the Earthmate PN-60 has a much nicer, newer interface than the Garmin GPSmap. All in all, I am extremely satisfied with my purchase of this product. It offers everything I wanted for geocaching, plus with a car mount, this works very well as an in car navigating GPS, and for bicycling too. Also with the nautical charts it will work great for boating and fishing as well. Many reviews I read about this GPS complained about the screen being too small for a car, but for someone with avg-good eyesight, it is perfectly readable. Lastly, I would seriously recommend buying this from Amazon, as I got impatient and bought it from a different store, which had the best price with my coupon added on. But to my dismay, only 2 days after I purchased it elsewhere, Amazon dropped their price almost $100 cheaper than they had had it listed for. So I say for this new listed price on this product, it is a steal!

I upgraded from an Explorist 100, so this was quite a change. I've been Geocaching for a couple of years now and one thing I really like is cycle caching. For me it is going on a bike ride with the goal of getting at least one cache. It gives me some extra motivation to get out there and ride. The PN-60 is ideal for this application because it can do a street as well as hiking route to the cache. If I'm far away, I'll set the route to be driving and it will give me turn by turn instructions on how to get to the cache. Once I'm within striking distance I switch to route by hiking and I can zero in on the cache. I usually use a pocket query from [...] to load all the caches in the area I'm riding. That way, if I'm riding along and decide to go for another cache, I can discover one close by.

The PN-60 is a much better unit than the PN-40. Battery life is infinitely longer compared to the PN-40 (I had one) this unit will go all day on the Li-ion rechargeable pack. Additionally, the new menu system is far quicker to navigate and the profile view showing elevation is great for hikes. This unit teamed with the new Topo 9 also provides for quicker and simpler map and routing downloads. As far a GPS units this one may not have the biggest screen or smallest size etc... the reason you buy this unit is for the data layering and the Delorme maps - nothing comes close for $29.95 / year. Check out the Delorme web site for plenty of examples.

Reviews

The customer support at DeLorme is impeccable. They are very fast at responding to any questions or comments and have been extremely friendly any time I contacted them. This device is nice except for a bug I discovered where the devices power input can cause it to overload and cause the device to stop working. There is a fix by holding the power button on for a while to completely drain the power from the system then power it back up and it will work but will take a long time to acquire satellite fix. Also I was in Alaska and for the most part the accuracy was acceptable, but there was one instance where the gps said I was in the middle of a channel between 2 islands when I was on dry land. Minor annoyances I would say but annoyances the same. Over all I am happy with the device and due to the employees and the amount of customer satisfaction I will purchase another DeLorme when it is time to get a new GPS. When ever that is this one is still working just fine.

This is a great product. Since the intro of the newer PN model, the price on the PN-40 has really come down. One big issue for us Mac issues... it is very cumbersome to use if you are a mac user. DeLorme has not released mac compatible support software. There are work arounds, but they negate some of the benefits of the product. Love the product... hate that they don't make mac software.

First I wanted to note that although Amazon is still saying this ships with Topo USA 8.0, my order came with the new Topo North America 9.0. The Delorme rep had told me that if it didn't come with the new version, it would have an upgrade coupon in it. Also, mine came with a 2GB SD card, instead of the advertised 1GB. The GPS itself is great. I previously had a PN-20 and upgraded to the PN-40 since the old one does not support the newer software. The new geocaching features of the PN-40 are great and really make this the single tool you need for paperless caching. As others have commented, the software itself is extremely cumbersome and non-intuitive. Their forums and customer support, though, are top-notch and I usually can find answers to my questions easily.

If this were two seperate products, I would give the GPS 5 stars, and the software none. The GPS is the best I've tried, fast, easy to use. The software looks like it was written back in the 1980's. In fact, it reminds me of GEM Draw, where nothing works the way you expected it to, the "help" system shows buttions that aren't on the screen and doesn't tell you how to get to them (I assume they really are there, somewhere). In 2010 there is no excuse for putting out software like this. On another topic, others have complained abou the speed of downloads. No problem here, 128k+ on a somewhat pokey DSL line.

I have used many gps's over the years as a pilot, sailor and most reciently for geocaching. This is by far the best piece gps I have ever used. The manual however is leaves much to be desired. Most of the features have to be figured out by trial and error.

Reviews

The car "cigarette adapter" cable and AC wall charger are OK quality. The special CR-V3 battery is quite poorly and cheaply manufactured. Not shown in the listing, but present in the sealed package I received, is a set of PN series screen protective films. These are precut clear films to fit over the screen to protect it from scratches, etc. This is truly an awful product. The PN series screen is quite small anyway and not that easy to read in the best of circumstances. The "clear" plastic film provided is NOT fully transparent and makes it much more difficult to read the screen. I removed it within a couple of minutes after applying it and threw the rest of the package away. Love the idea of protecting the screen, but this product is not useful.

This set-up works far better with the PN-60. Cords and chargers are of good quality it has always been questionable battery life. I could not even get 3-4 hours out of the Li-ion with the PN-40. With this battery my new PN-60 last about 8-10 hours under heavy usage (lots of screen views). I would not recommend anything but the Energizer lithium for multi-day hikes and still carry a set as back-up for long day hikes but have not needed to use them yet.

Good for paperless geocaching. I found sites in valleys under heavy foliage. On the road it is pathetic compared to a bottom of the line Garmin E-Trex or better. The on screen routing cues are poor, and the speaker is nearly inaudible, and it does not re-route when you go off course. My Garmin E-Trex was stolen and I wanted a replacement that was good in the forest. I got the PN-40 because it has a comparable rating to a 60CSX in the forest, but was much cheaper than with the included road maps and topo maps. A fairly simple firmware upgrade on the driving side would go a LONG way towards improving this device as an all around device. If you are using this only out of the car, it is a good device. If you want a dual use device, look somewhere else. I came very close to returning this device and spending more for a Garmin.

I would agree with the others about the poor battery life. I will use on in the car since I charge the battery while driving but I am going to use my other rechargeables for all other uses.

I've been using the PN-40 during long walks with my dogs to learn its features. Regular batteries lasted about 4 walks, or about 6 hours. I bought the power kit with the rechargeable batteries to solve this problem. However, I now get only 2 walks, 3 hours total, before needing a charge. This will not be acceptable when I eventually get to longer day hikes. I'm probably doing something wrong, but I haven't found what that is yet.

Reviews

1. The case is well made. It should last the life of the GPS with the possible exception of the velcro. I am concerned that the wooly part may tear apart with time. 2. The case is too tight. Withdrawing the GPS is an effort even after the top flap has been pulled up. The markings on my GPS buttons are wearing off from rubbing on the case. 3. The case should have a clear face. The case for my old Magellan had a clear panel to allow reading and manipulating the GPS without removing it from the case. That case had a very reliable and secure mechanism to release the case from the belt clip when you wanted to view the GPS. This case seems to be the only game in town for the DeLorme PN Series so I will live with it. It is a big step backward from the Magellan case. I do love the PN-40, however. It is much more capable than the Magellan SporTrak Topo.

Very well put together & strong. I like all the extra compartments & pockets. Very good case to carry your Delrome in & protect it.

After investing in a PN-30 I knew that I wanted to protect the unit from scratches and accidents of sorts. I bought the carrying bag and also the handle-bar mounting kit for my road-bike. The carrying bag is made of durable material and features several pockets for extra batteries and other stuff. I did not like the wrist strap hanging from the bag when the unit is in it, so, I wrapped the strap around the top flap on the bag and when the velcro is secure it stays in place perfectly. The strap is no longer hanging lose and it fits as if it were made for that purpose. The belt clip on this bag is hard to clip on your belt, but that is its BEST FEATURE. You will NEVER lose the PN-20, PN-30, or PN-40 in this bag clipped to your belt because it would be impossible to accidently knock it off your belt. You have to make an effort to remove it when you want to remove it. This is the best belt clip I have ever seen when it comes to genuine protection and steadfast reliability. This is the best purchase of a carrying bag I have ever made.

Case is well made, very durable. Belt clip is plastic, fits very securely over belt but is difficult to remove without undoing your belt. Attempting to remove the case from your belt by prying the clip open may cause it to break, or weaken it to where it may break prematurely. Also no room for the neck strap to fit inside the case. With proper use, this case should last indefinetly.

I don't understand the issues that I read concerning the DeLorme fittin to tight in this case, much less putting batteries where they belong. Everything fit just like it should and worked great. The only issue was that the bealt clip was a little difficult to get on and off the bealt but not bad enough that you would get upset. Hope this helps.

Reviews

I work in the Land Mobile Radio industry, and one thing we have to do on radio systems to test the coverage over the area that a county-wide radio system covers. I used the Delorme Earthmate and Delorme software to set up drive routes effectively to cover multiple different counties that need tested. The Earthmates when in use have been proven to me and the company I work very reliable and also the easiest to use. I've also used the Earthmate on other software such as Microsoft Streets and Trails and the Earthmate GPS seems to be right on the money. Recommended.

I did not receive the order, Fedex says I do not live where I live. USPS and UPS never have a problem. This is the LAST issue of many with FEDEX. I will not patronize a company that won't ship with UPS or USPS. Amazon, take the hint!

Having used Delorme since 2005, I've used almost every iteration of this software. the SA2010 software is nice, and works surprisingly well with the LT-40. While it seems to struggle at times, even in clear skies, it does gain a 3D lock fairly reliably. I use these products as a Cable Installer, and am soon relocating to a new area, and I am confident this package will take me where I need to go. A lot of people think that the Tom Tom's and Garmins are great devices. And in their own right, they are. I have always felt i've given up features for size in any one of them. The ability to zoom out clearly and see my overall routing to multiple locations allows me to use my time much more efficiently. A+

The DeLorme Earthmate GPS LT-40 2010 is amazing. Although the Street Atlas USA 2010 is the latest edition, it apparently depends on census data to add new streets and street numbers. Missing streets and house numbers are frustrating. The software is fairly self-explanatory, but a novice might find difficulty understanding the instructions.

The physical product is a yellow lump of microelectronics with a USB interface, with a NMEA interface that works best with the DeLorme supplied virtual Serial port. The software is a well written but rather complex street mapping program with data for North America. The software stores the maps on the local hard disk, using a large chunk of disk, so an internet connection is not needed to use it. I strongly recommend against using this product in a car, the software interface is too complex to use while driving, you will navigate into a wreck. I purchased this to do a mapping project, not navigation. I am a hacker, and really just want lat and long data, mostly to use with google earth. The lump provides usable NMEA data, and usually locks in between 40 sec and 3 minutes. The antenna and rf parts are good enough to receive signal inside my house and offices. However, I live in a radio quiet area, it may perform differently in an area with more radio noise. I bought this item from Amazon Marketplace from a vendor named Infinite Surplus. The price was very good, but the package did not include a license key to install the software. Infinite Surplus did not respond to requests, but DeLorme tech support immediately and cheerfully responded with a key. Don't buy anything from Infinite Surplus, but DeLorme is a good vendor. If you can't stand windows, the NMEA data will stream to a virtual tty on linux, but I have been unable use it with any easily found linux navigation programs. This is the fault of the linux programs, not the lump.

Reviews

This product is almost impossible to work with. It very arbitrarily assigns routes and when waypoints are entered goes into ridiculous loops. It may have more POIs than MS Streets and Trips, but that is useless if you cannot get the trip routed to your satisfaction.

Please note that this product does not include street level maps of Puerto Rico (PR). PR is a US territory with a population approaching 4 million people. I'm kind of surprised the Delmore folks don't include this in their product.

Great for trip planing and used as a GPS with a laptop. I am not crazy about the way "roads to avoid" is implemented, need to draw a square/rectangle that covers the roads to be avoided,DeLorme may want to look at Mapquest and checkout how they let us reroute the default routes. Recomended

I have used an old DeLorme computer map for years and have grown very used to it. I bought the new one in order to update the map. Therefore, I am a little disenchanted with the new whistles and bells of the new one, but I will get used to them too. Generally I like them very much. They are easy to use and very useful.

After reasonable usage 2010 seams to be quite up to date in areas that I am familiar with - Earl

Reviews

Not only the map library subscription, their Topo 8 software is also not user friendly. Issues with map library subscription, 1. If you re-install your OS, you need to call customer support to use the subscription again (for which they have their own timings). 2. Map download from delorme servers is buggy - it breaks most of the times and you need to start over again and again. 3. Map library is very crude - recently I am having problems selecting map grids. It just shows 'Unavailable Coverage Area' and any of the 'Aerial/Satellite Imagery' download would not work anymore. (Already tried removing the existing coverage files, but of no use) I would never recommend this product to anyone.

Lots of great map info here...too bad the Topo 7.0 software bundled with my Delorme PN-40 was/is so kludgy and funky to load. I'm having a hard time differentiating between what I'm reviewing. The maps on the library are really pretty cool once you figure it out. The process to get them from the service to your computer, then from your computer to your GPS is a *nightmare*. Once you do it a few times (you have to load just a bit, or sections, of a bigger map at a time), it becomes more "rote"...but after doing this a few times and getting local maps on my GPS, I never logged in again and just use the base maps when I travel. I like the Satellite and Aerial imagery, for sure, and the Boating waterways stuff seems to be there too...had a harder time loading that for some reason (I teach sailing, would like to be able to use these maps...but my patience with students is WAY better than with downloading and moving maps around).

Before getting my PN-40, I wanted to be sure that the GPS I chose would have access to high-resolution imagery...Delorme claimed that their map subscription would more-than-satisfy my thirst for quality (all for a reasonable price too). The screenshots on their website also portray their maps as being high-resolution...so I figured this would be a good purchase. After using it for only a week now, my high hopes and expectations have been utterly shattered. I cannot say in kind words how much I hate this map subscription. There are so many problems, so many fine-print issues, that I find it hard to believe anybody would be happy with these maps. Where to begin... 1) Map Selection One of the biggest issues with this subscription is the map selection process. Before you can even begin downloading "high-res" maps, you first need to select small "sections" on your TOPO USA software, which can take an obscure amount of time. This is mainly due to the fact that Delorme will only allow you to download a total of about 80 sections at a time (which is not very large) before you can select more. Now normally I wouldn't find this a very big problem, but since the download speed (which I will discuss later) is SO INCREDIBLY SLOW, it makes the map selection and download process absolutely painful...almost to the point where I really don't ever want to look at this software again. 2) Download Speed Once you have selected the map sections that you would like to download, you will now have to wait a good 10 minutes for Delorme to email you a link, where you can download your selection directly. Now you may find that the first section you download is relatively fast, but don't let that fool you...once you try to download a second, or even a third map selection, you will find that the download speeds have decreased DRAMATICALLY. Once this starts to happen, you will then find that 99% of your downloads will fail mid-way, and you will therefore have to start the download process all over again...quite annoying (actually, it's very annoying). 3) Map Quality Now that it is 2 hours later and you have finally managed to download a small section of map, you should now use your TOPO USA software to take a quick look at the quality...trust me, you'll be disappointed. How shall I describe this...imagine trying to look through your window at a building across the street while having 10 layers of saran wrap around your eyes...this is what your maps look like. In other words, the quality of these maps is absolute garbage. I can use a $50 telescope, point it at Alpha Centauri, and the level of detail would still be greater than these maps...and I'm not kidding (maybe slightly exaggerated, but you get the point). 4) Customer Service Not quite sure if they even have any...I've tried calling multiple times, however they always seem to be "conveniently" closed (even during their posted hours of operation). I would go on; however the thought of wasting anymore of my time and brainpower on the details of this subscription would only cause more pain. So now you have a very important decision to make...please don't make the same mistake that I did.

This review is for the Delorme Map Library Subscription Card. I have started downloading additional charts, maps, and images to use on the computer and on the handheld pn-40. Using the software is easy. The downloads can be slow and fail ten percent of the time, but after applying all Topo version 8 fixes, download failures have almost gone away. When downloading charts you can do 5 at a time and this may be good because of the download time. A better index of charts would be helpful, but this is making my handheld GPS into a chart plotter. Over all this is a good value to go along with the Delorme software and handheld GPS.

The interface for cutting your maps makes it hard to download large areas. This is very inefficient for example with the Canadian map packages. Sure its a great deal but you have to be willing to do hours worth of work to download the maps you want. It would be nice if they just had a topo map package of Canada. That said the aerial downloads for U.S. and hi resolution city imagery are amazing.

Reviews

The GPS works good and is easy enough to operate but the battery is a piece of crap.It doesn't last nearly as long as it should.I cannot get a full days use from mine.This would not be a problem if it took standard batteries,you could carry spares,but, it takes a specialized battery built specifically for this unit.

The mechanism for the suction mount is great. Much better grip and easier to use than any other GPS I have used. Only drawback is how difficult it is to get GPS in and out of cradle; it is tough. Definitely no worries about it falling out.

Great product. Still learning all it can do. Ordering was easy, delivery was fast. Installation was a snap.

I bought this for my husband as a gift and we weren't 100% pleased. First, no instructions for assembly were present, just the product picture on the package and it took hubby a couple of tries to get it together properly. Secondly and most importantly, the fit on the GPS was so tight it was almost impossible to insert or remove his DeLorme Earthmate PN-40 Handheld GPS (1:100k Topographic, Detailed Street Maps & POIs Included) from the holder without fear of breaking the plastic! It shouldn't fall out of the holder, but it doesn't need to be THAT tight either! We were actually afraid that once inserted in the holder, we would not be able to remove the GPS again, or at least not without a struggle. Perhaps a holder with a locking mechanism, so that the GPS can be easily inserted, then locked down, then released when you need to take it out of the holder would be an easier design to use? We managed to rig a way to hold the GPS without inserting it fully into the holder using a hairband, but it's neither as safe or as satisfactory as a holder that fit the device properly would have been. On the plus side, the suction appears to hold firmly to his windshield and he likes having the GPS mounted in his car. Basically not a bad product, just needs improvement on the GPS holder. If we could get the GPS in and out of the holder easily, this would have been a 5-star review.

Absolutely beautiful! Perfect. I love it. I have owned RAM products in the past and have always been impressed.

Reviews

The product came on time, well packaged, and exactly as described. A great shopping experience.

These Delorme Atlas & Gazetters are wondeful. They show you many features not available through GPS, maps or other atlases. It is a great feature to have the BLM lands marked as well as the back roads. Good resources are also included in each states atlas. A good addition to anyone's travel tools.

Delorme Atlas and Gazetteers are esential in planning my road trips and as take-along maps. I don't worry about getting lost or whether I should deviate from my planned route with these in the car for reference!

While visiting family in Encino, a portion of Los Angeles, I was curious to know what exactly the San Fernando Valley looked like in relation to the rest of L.A. A trip to the Encino Library left me only partially satisfied. But, by purchasing the Southern & Central California Atlas and Gazetteer, I finally understood the boundaries of the valley, the configuration of the mountains separating the two major portions of L.A., and the logic of travelling "West" to Encino from the rest of L.A. on the 101 without falling into the Pacific Ocean. This is a great resource for anyone wanting to know more about the geologic and geocultural configuration of the southern half of California. Should I find an equal curiosity about the northern half of the state, I'll be sure to buy the companion volume. And some day, I'll even donate my copy to the Encino Public Library (which is a great place, by the way; they just didn't have this terrific atlas).

This is not the book you want to take with you if you are navigating the CA freeways or surface streets. I use it solely for backwoods trips into the Sequoias and the Kern Valley, and even then, it can be a little frustrating to a novice. I use AAA maps as a first resort, and this as my second (last) resort. Also, all of the elevations are in meters, which isn't what I'm used to, but it might be a standard for hiking that I'm not aware of...?