Back track gps

Bushnell's BackTrack

You can never have too many gadgets that help you find your way out of the woods.  Aki and I have played Hansel and Gretel a little too often.  The Back Track is a simple GPS-based device that serves as a compass and a means for finding your way back to the car.  To use it, you push the button when standing at your car before you begin your hike.  Then you go your merry way.  The Back Track will tell you the crow's-flight direction back to the car.  When you want to return, you push a button and the arrow points to your car and displays the distance.  Follow the arrow. 

It's only $60.  The device seems like a great addition to your ordinary compass and map.

The reviews that I've read are quite positive, with reviewers understanding that the $60 device is not the same as a $500 GPS system.  I've read some complaints that it won't work at the mall parking lot; that it gets you back to the parking lot but not precisely to your car; and that it might not work well on cloudy days or under a very dense canopy of trees.  This last item is the only one that concerns me.  It may not be perfect, but in combination with the other location tools - - compass & map - - it really seems like a fine little device for your backpack.