I do, of course, find them worthwhile. After reading so much on people who go to extremes to lighten loads - shaving toothbrushes and cutting small squares of maps and the like - it seemed almost sacrilegious to carry a few pounds of not critical gear. I enjoy the convenience, but should the iPod or PDA break, I won't die. Well probably not anyway.

On the other hand, other than the tent/quilt system, I feel this to be the pinnacle of my gear. I am an engineer by trade, so I am quite enamored with gadgetry.

I considered the smart phone route, but felt it to be a jack of all trades but master of none. My biggest issue was with GPS. According to research (not experience), Smartphone GPS systems are nearly useless on anything but on a road in a car. To my knowledge they do not have many of the features available in a handheld unit. Things like topography, altitude profile, barometer, 12 channel receiver, water-proof housing, etc. Not to mention I don't need turn by turn directions, but course, bearing and heading. Extras like the moon cycle, tide tables and prime hunting/fishing times only make it better. The games are fun too (ever play a GPS maze?).

The phone, PDA and camera could certainly be combined into a single unit. I would have bought one, but they were prohibitvely expensive. Since the PDA's main function is for journal entries, I wanted a largish screen. I also intend to write my own journal-keeping software (another exciting innovation), so it must operate on Windows Mobile. To include a camera and WiFi (I refuse to pay for 3G or even EDGE for that matter), I am limited to higher-end phones. When I looked at pricing, it would cost around $300 to $500. What I wound up with was the last pure PDA on the market that I know of, the HP iPaq 111, which cost me around $200.

I am happy to see I am not the first to go this route. If I may ask, how did it work out for you on the PCT?