Bushnell Backtrack

So what exactly does it do?  Well, first, it has a dedicated compass mode so I can tell what direction I am headed.  But the more important (too me anyways) function is to point the way back to where I need to go.

To use it, simple power it on with the right button and use this button to choose to the mode I want to use.  This can be the compass mode or the location mode.  Oh, and there are three locations marker icons to choose form (house, car and  star).  For example, the house icon could represent your house or campsite.  To mark this location, wait until the satellite icon stops flashing and then use the right button to mark this location.  From then on, this location is stored in memory unless I hold the mark button down 2 seconds while on the house icon which would of course mark a new location as home.  The Backtrack can then be turned off as I go about my hike or whatever it is I plan to do.  When it is time to return to the location I marked, turn the unit back on and follow the arrow.  The one limiting factor is it does not backtrack the way I came in but instead points straight back to the location I am headed too.  In other words, it guides you as a crow files.  It will also tell me how far from that location I am but again, not necessarily how far by trial but in a straight line.

As I mentioned before, I can set 3 seperate markers (waypoints) but the Backtrack automatically goes to the last one used.  A good example of using 2 waypoints would be when driving to a trail head.  I could use the car icon to mark where I park and the house icon to mark my campsite once it is reached.  Then, at any time and from any location I could find my campsite or car. I might even discover a cave or some scenic spot and want to later return to that spot and could use the third icon to mark that spot.   But after 3 markers are used the limits of the Backtrack begin to show.

Seeing the distance back home is neat.  For example, I drive 13,4 miles to work but according to the Backtrack it is 10.8 miles as a crow flies.  The swimming hole down at the creek in the Hollow is 3.4 of a mile by trail but it is only .4 miles.  Of course it is not always (in fact it seldom is around here) practical to go straight back as it might involve going straight up a bluff…

I have now used the Backtrack for a couple of short hikes and I soon discovered that the unit shuts down after about 10 minutes if no buttons are pressed.  This is probably a good idea as it will prevent me from forgetting to turn it off and later discovering I have run the batteries down.  If I need to keep it on constantly, it is a simple matter to switch modes for a few seconds, then go back to the one I am using.  I just need to be careful and not mash the wrong button and make a new waypoint.

One last point.  In using the Backtrack I have noticed it does not always point in the right direction but is usually not off by much and in a few minutes it does correct itself.   I’m not sure if this is normal but I noticed it more the closer I got to the location I am headed towards.  In other words, when I was 10 miles from home it did very well until I got about 1 mile form home.  But as I drove the last mile it was pointing to the right when I knew home was straight ahead. The reason I knew it was straight ahead is I can look at my house in relationship to this stretch of road on a map and see exactly where home is.  I do it all the time when I am making a new route using Map My Ride for my recumbent rides.

Likes

idiot proof

compact size

light weight

Dislikes

sometimes it is off direction a few degrees.

only 3 way points

not a true backtracking device

adding a watch (clock) would be nice

Summary

To be fair, the Backtrack is a lot cheaper then more complicated units that have a lot of extra features.  So if you are wanting a simple to use GPS device that will get you from point A to point B and back then this is a good choice.  If you want something that tells you how far you have hike (including curves in the trail) and the ability to follow the same path back then look into more complicated units.

Here is the follow up to my Bushnell Backtrack.

September 30, 2009

By Coy

Now that I have used the Backtrack several months I am learning to appreciate its strengths but miss a couple of features I wish it had. I haven’t missed the ability to follow my exact course back so much as most all of my hiking and biking have been on familiar trails and roads but I would really like to know how far I hiked. I can get the distance of my bike rides off my bike computer but I would like to have been able to keep up with the distance form say the bottom of the mountain to the top and then use the altitude difference to figure out how steep the grade was. We bikers (well me anyways) like to brag about how fast we climbed such and such mountain at such and such grade.

What I ended up doing was using the mileage on my bike computer but this was aggravating because I had to erase my total distance to do a quick check of certain points along the way. For example, I found it was 1.4 miles form the bottom of Word Mt to the top. However, the Backtrack showed the distance as 1.1 mile, but of course, due to the curves in the road, it is really 1.4 miles. I did find a few straight stretches of road and took altimeter readings at these points, then using the backtrack for the distance, came up with the grade of this particular section of road. This was neat because I could isolate short sections that were really steep. It was not so neat because I found out what I thought was a really steep mountain turned out to be only an 8% grade overall, but with a few short 12% grade stretches. I did find that one short section on another mountain I ride occasionally has a very steep 19% grade. I used my Suunto Advisor watch for the altitude and the Backtrack for the distance and the 468 feet and 90 foot elevation gain equaled 19.23%. All I know is this section is near the top of the climb and I don’t make it every time.

Where the Backtrack really shined was on a recent trip to Severville Tennessee. We were attending a Church leadership conference and the parking lot at the event center where it was held was huge. I marked the car each time we parked and it was always easy to find it when we got ready to leave. I was shocked at how many white Camery’s there were at the event. I also did this on a few more occasions at other parking lots, both on this trip and others. I also marked our hotel and it was handy to know I was getting close to it as the hotels along the way are so numerous it was a headache to remember which one was ours. Not the name, just that there were so many I had to be on the lookout or I would miss ours. Of course by the second day I had the location memorized and didn’t rely on the Backtrack for this as much.

I did use the Backtrack on a few kayaking paddles and while I didn’t need it during the daylight hours, it was handy to know which direction the truck was parked, especially on the one moonlight paddle we did. On this paddle our group went down the lake along the bank for a couple of miles and crossed to explore some islands. Basically we were looking to see wildlife such as raccoons. When we got ready to head back I led us on a short cut across the lake at an angle and with the help of the Backtrack I was able to head straight back to the parking area. Otherwise we would have needed to paddle straight back across and go back along the bank to find the our put in location.

I did go hiking in an unfamiliar location one time, The area had a lot of crisscrossing trails and I used the Backtrack several times to reassure myself I was on the right one as I headed back to my truck. However, this was also the one time I really could have used a true backtracking GPS. I would have seen that yes, I turned this way here and that way at the next trail intersection. Also, in a few places on the way back I noticed I was actuarially getting further away from my truck but I had to trust my memory that I was on the right trail. It turned out that I was but due to the layout of the trail it did get further away for a little bit in a few places. I guess the bottom line was that with the Backtrack, if I had gotten turned around and not sure which trail to take I could use it to evaluate the different trails for a short distance or even have struck out cross country for the truck. In that regard, the Backtrack would be a very valuable tool.

A final look at the Bushnell Backtrack

I’ve used the Bushnell Backtrack for around 4 months now and it is still working great.  I still have not needed to replace the batteries but since the weather has turned cold I haven’t been using it as much lately either.  I did find it interesting that my calculations for the slope on some of the local climbs I do on my recumbent turned out to be very close to what a friends very expensive Garmin 705 gave him. I told him before hand that a climb was 19% and sure enough it was.  But of course I also relied on the altitude readings from my watch as part of the calculation so the Backtrack had a little help.

It still works great for finding my car in crowded parking lots and I probably used it for this more than anything.  The compass is also handy and I seldom even bother to take my magnetic compass with me now.  I have also used it while kayaking several more times and it was good for letting me go straight back to my landing point when the truck might not be visible from out on the water.  The lack of an altitude reading and no ability to track back my route have really been the two biggest drawbacks as far as I am concerned.  Maps would also be nice but I really don’t need them if I can just get verification that I am still on track if I need to follow the same path back.

So in summary, while the Backtrack is an excellent navigational tool, it lacked too many features to satisfy me.  But on the other hand, the units with all the extra features cost more.  The Backtrack was very handy for verifying I was headed in the right direction as long as the trails didn’t have too many turns, and especially turns that went in the wrong direction for a bit.  I am glad I have been able to use it as an introduction into the world of GPS but it has left me thirsting for a unit with more features and information.

About the Author: I am from northeast Alabama where I spend a lot of my time divided among several hobbies that include  backpacking and dayhiking, canoeing and kayaking, and just getting out enjoying nature.