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HANDHELD GPS RECEIVERS
First Class
Brunton Multi-Navigation System
Brunton's 9.8-ounce handheld GPS receiver offers lickety-split triangulation, a digital compass, and a barometric altimeter - and it doesn't clutter the display with low-res maps that are useless when you're on foot. (Backcountry explorers will be carrying a detailed USGS topo anyway.) The interface takes time to master, but the Multi-Nav stores 10 routes of 100 waypoints each, and the StraightHome function leads you directly back to camp. The barometric history helps predict the weather, but the altimeter and barometer readouts sometimes inexplicably go blank.
Multi-Navigation System: $399. Brunton: (800) 443 4871, www.brunton.com.
Business Class
Garmin eTrex Legend
This 5.3-ounce unit plots 10 routes of 50 waypoints each, or logs 20 shorter ones, and it can track you automatically. Battery-saver mode takes satellite reads less frequently to conserve juice. The 8-Mbyte memory holds maps culled from optional CD-ROMs, but these lack the contour resolution you need for serious trekking. Like other Garmins, the Legend uses Click Stick, a five-position button, which often mistook attempts to move the pointer as actual selections.
eTrex Legend: $249; MapSource CD-ROMs: $81.65 and up. Garmin: (800) 800 1020, www.garmin.com.
Coach
Magellan GPS 315
This basic, intelligently designed 7-ouncer is faultless. Other low-cost GPS receivers save one route, but Magellan's GPS 315 stores 10 with 30 waypoints each, or 20 with fewer legs. Its user interface is so intuitive, you'd have to be in a coma to get lost. If you drop something while moving at high speed, hit the MOB (man overboard) button, and you'll be returned to that spot. With the optional CD-ROM, you can pick a city and download point-of-interest data.
GPS 315: $169.99; DataSend CD-ROM:$41.99. Magellan: (800) 669 4477, www.magellangps.com.
PORTABLE PROJECTORS
First Class
InFocus Proxima UltraLight X350
Yes, you can buy sub-2-pound ultra-portables, but there's still a big payoff that comes with extra heft. Borrowing a trick from the laptop industry, InFocus' slick UltraLight X350 has an Advanced Connectivity Module docking station. So it's not only portable (3.5 pounds, undocked), but also doubles as a conference room projector at home, hooking up to audio, video, keyboard, and mouse connections without demanding any plug-and-wire wrangling. The DLP screener has 1,024 x 768 (XGA) resolution, a zoom lens, and shines 1,100 lumens of light, while the fan emits only 32 dB.
Proxima UltraLight X350 with docking station: $5,098. InFocus: (800) 294 6400, www.proxima.com.
Business Class
Epson PowerLite 715c
The PowerLite 715c relies on a three-panel LCD, instead of micromirrors, to cast images onscreen. Although this adds weight, the 6-pound XGA system needs no laptop, which ultimately lightens your load. Store your presentations and documents on a PC card, pop it in the slot, and use a standard mouse to run the show. The PowerLite puts out 1,200 lumens and hums at about 40 dB. It accepts all the inputs that the InFocus does, plus component video.
PowerLite 715c: $4,879. Epson: (800) 873 7766, www.epson.com.
Coach
Sony VPL-CS3 SuperLite
Sony's price-busting VPL-CS3 uses an LCD to project an 800 x 600 picture at 700 lumens. It takes the same set of inputs as the Epson and is similarly quiet. Its decoder does an even better job with component video, and smoothly down-converts high-res computer inputs to native SVGA. Like many other Sony products, the 5.4-pound projector is a dedicated device that's easy to understand without consulting the manual.
VPL-CS3 SuperLite: $2,800. Sony: (800) 686 7669, www.sel.sony.com.
BULLHORNS
First Class
TOA Electronics ER-69W
TOA Electronics' 45-watt ER-69W megaphone blasts out 118 dB of sound - enough to round up the troops from half a mile away. At 7-plus pounds, this bazooka of a bullhorn comes with a shoulder strap rather than a pistol grip. Instead of speaking into the whole device, you hold up a mike. An indicator flashes when juice runs low, at which point you have a choice: Either plug into a 12-volt DC outlet with the optional adapter, or sound the earsplitting whistle to signal a minion to fetch 10 more D-cell alkalines, which'll last you another 20 hours.
ER-69W: $598. TOA Electronics: (800) 733 7088, www.toaelectronics.com.
Business Class
Anchor Audio LBH-20
If you want power that won't weigh you down, Anchor Audio's 3.6-pound Little Big Horn screams for attention. Like the ER-69W, this voice blaster has a volume control dial, but its 20-watt amp puts out 117 dB, which project your voice about 800 yards (decibels are logarithmic, so 117 is substantially less than 118). The traditionally styled unit runs for up to 12 hours on six C cells.
LBH-20: $190. Anchor Audio: (800) 262 4671, www.anchoraudio.com.
Coach
Fanon MP-3
At just 2 pounds, the MP-3 draws on 3 watts of power to deliver surprisingly good sound - it's hardly high fidelity, but it's clear enough to get your orders across. This two-tone bullhorn is small enough to fit in your backpack, yet its 101-dB catcalls can be heard from up to 200 yards away. The volume-control slider doesn't serve much of a purpose until the batteries - half a dozen AA, which last as long as 12 hours - start to go, at which point you'll probably just push it up to the max.
MP-3: $99.95. Fanon: (800) 345 1354, www.fanon.com.
