Pocketmail - good or bad

[My Pace - Slow]

Goodaye Folks

I have recently come across this product in my search for a better way to record my journal

I must have the worst hand writing this side of the black-stump. With that and being from Australia, with our strange sayings, I would like to give my on line journal transcriber an even chance at working out what I am trying to say.

Therefore I am looking for information and feedback on the packet mail

- has anyone use them on the trail
- are they reliable
- do they actually work as suggested on the web page
- do batteries have a reasonable

Anyother feed back would be greatly appreciated

See-Ya

[Cuppa Joe]

I used a the pocketmail last year and I plan on using it this year. Great little item even though it adds a little more weight than pen and paper. You have to get used to typing with 2 fingers but after awhile you don't even think about it. I never had any problems with mine. I kept it in a ziplock of it's own and then in another ziplock with my trailguide etc:

A couple of people I knew did have problems. I think the problems stemmed from moisture but I am not sure.

The batteries lasted quite awhile, especially if you do not use the back light option (of course, you have to use that at night). I always carried extra batteries anyway so it was not a worry for me.

Hope this helps

[hungryhowie]

I used a pocketmail on a couple of hikes and it's been a great find. I, too, have terrible handwriting, but more than that, I own a yahoo group that allows me to post my journals straight from the trail! It posts any email from my pocketmail, and no one else's, so my journal is always updated as soon as I can update it. Make's for a more real-time experience.

The idea is great, I'm sure some people have had trouble with it, but as long as you're careful about not getting too much moisture on/in it, etc, I think it's a good route to go. I found that with a pocket mail I am more apt to write more (pens hurt my hand), record things like the weather and more of my thoughts for the day. It's not as fast as typing on a fullsize keyboard, but it's still faster than writing after a little practice.

Battery life is very reasonable. Buy one set of lithium AAs and you may not have to replace them for your entire thruhike! Updating is easy via phone, but it takes several minutes for a week's worth of journals, so please be considerate of other hikers waiting to use the phone. The newer pocketmails can upload via cell phones, and eventhough I"m not much of a fan of cells, you could haul a small cell phone and update daily from the trail if you wanted...

Good little device.

-howie

[Hammock Hanger]

Goodaye Folks

I have recently come across this product in my search for a better way to record my journal

I must have the worst hand writing this side of the black-stump. With that and being from Australia, with our strange sayings, I would like to give my on line journal transcriber an even chance at working out what I am trying to say.

Therefore I am looking for information and feedback on the packet mail

- has anyone use them on the trail
- are they reliable
- do they actually work as suggested on the web page
- do batteries have a reasonable

Anyother feed back would be greatly appreciated

See-Ya
loved mine. batteries actually have a pretty long life if you don't type with the LED light on, use your head lamp. Sue/HH

[hikerjohnd]

I've been thinking about a pocketmail too. Are there any other machines that have a similar function? Ideally, I'd like something that runs on AAA batteries (so I don't have to carry different size batts) but I am open to options.

Thanks for the input!:banana

[JojoSmiley]

I too have a pocketmail composer and have used it for the past 3 years on all hikes. We also use to keep in touch with family and friends putting out a Travel with Nomad and Jojo email everyday. The only problem we have eno****ered is the lack of pay hones in some areas. Seems with the increase of cell phones pay phones are being phased out. Ours does work on our cell phone but we have to change the signal to analog to send messages out.
It has enabled us to keep in touch tho which is important as we travel at least 6 months out of every year.

[JojoSmiley]

that word blanked out is supposed to be "encountered."

[flyfisher]

I've used the Pocket Mail Composer for about 8 months now, on and off the trail. I have learned how to touch type with it, or to use my two thumbs. Lying down in my hammock, the two thumbs approach works best. Sitting on a log, with the thing in my lap, the touch typing works best.

I think it works well to keep family members up to date on my hike. I can say a lot more over several days in my journal than I could ever remember to say in a short phone call once a week or so.

I did loose some data once. I believe it was when I set the Composer down too roughly when it was inside my trail bucket. I was unable to figure out the solution on the trail, but the pocket mail tech on the phone helped me to get it restarted. I have not had any problems since.

I read several trail journals the last couple years that people started on the Pocket Mail type machines that were not the composer. Most of them moved to the Composer because it was more rugged.

I also know that the Pocket mail system works with a Palm Pilot. I believe they give the backboard away if you buy the subscription. This would be another option.

I recently saw that the Pocketmail composer has been joined by a Composer that was about half price. It had less memory, I believe. Since memory was never an issue for me, I would have taken a look at the cheaper version instead of the full blown Composer had it been offered a year ago.

I plan to re-up my subscription in April when my present year runs out. I will continue to write on the Pocket Mail Composer

I wrote a review of the Composer for the BackPackGearTest group here:

http://tinyurl.com/3ulha