PACK PRACTICAL
REVIEW - Brunton GPS

Brunton Atlas GPS + WAAS Receiver


Up until a few weeks prior to the SHOT show 2007, I had very limited experience with GPS units of any kind. That experience was learning to use the new GPS unit my father put in his fishing boat. It was able to let us navigate the Florida keys, and find the right routes to take, and get us back safely. Sure I knew what they were and what they did, but I never really thought I would use a GPS in my everyday life. I mean, I know where I am going right?

So a few weeks later I am in a nation wide retail store, and I see a factory refurbished vehicle GPS unit for sale for a good price. I had some extra money in my pocket so I decided to give it a try, and I am very glad I did. The SHOT show 2007 was in Orlando, Florida, the tourist capital of the world. Lots of traffic, lots of roads, and lots of road construction. Needless to say, I used the GPS pretty much everywhere we went, and I hate to think what it would have been like if we would not have had it.

Anyhow, as I was planning a recent hunting trip to Montana, I realized that even though I had a GPS in my truck, my phone, and computer, I didn't have a hand held GPS unit to use in the woods. Knowing that I was going to be in very rural portions of Montana, the thought of not having a GPS was not too exciting. So I made a call to my contact at Brunton GPS, and a few days later I had a nice Brunton ATLAS GPS unit to try out and use for the hunt.

My first reaction to using it was that it has a pretty intuitive menu system. Without reading the manual, I was able to perform basic functions immediately. I have an older Garmin GPS so I was familiar with most GPS functions already. The rocker pad and the buttons are all located on the front of the unit and are clearly labeled, so there's no need to remember what each key does. (I had played with a friend's eTrex and didn't like its interface as much.) The buttons are large enough and spaced far enough apart that I can operate the unit while wearing gloves on my hunting trip. This is a big plus for me.

The Atlas comes with base maps of the world, so land masses and major bodies of water are shown. Basic highway information is also provided for the USA. This includes Interstate and State Routes as well as some exit information (restaurants, gas stations, rest stops, etc.) The software includes street level detail, points of interest, topographic information, etc. It is a very comprehensive piece of software, providing everything you will need for driving, hiking or boating. Transfer of data between the software and the GPS unit is by MMC card. This requires a lot of plugging and unplugging of the MMC card into the unit and into the card reader. The card slot on the unit is located underneath the batteries, so you have to remove the batteries every time you want to insert or remove the memory card. One would think Brunton would put in some USB connector or an external MMC slot so you can upgrade the maps easier.

Overall this GPS did everything I wanted it to do. It kept track of the campsite, and took us back there everyday. While hiking, the display is easy to see and the information provided on the screen is useful. There are four pages that can be viewed: satellite status, global position and trip info, compass and navigation pointer, and map. Each page can be customized to include the information that you want.

In general, I would recommend this product. The screen is the biggest I've seen on any handheld and the controls are easy to use. The software took some getting used to and is not really user friendly, but now that I'm up and running, I really like it.

TECH SPECS