Dalton Smith, a buyer with Thomas Timber in Arkansas, USA, is using the Nautiz X8 rugged handheld data collector from Handheld Group along with Trimble’s SOLO Forest GPS mapping software and Worldwide Heuristic Solutions’ TCruise forest inventory software, a solution supplied by Mississippi, USA-based LandMark Spatial Solutions.
“Customers use the Solo Forest software on the rugged handheld to do GPS work, load shapefiles, calculate acres, create cruise grids, and navigate to inventory plots. Once they arrive at a plot, F4 Tech’s RTI software helps them select the plot location and links to our inventory software so they can enter the plot data and tree tallies,” says Johnny Thompson, LandMark Spatial Solutions owner.
The Nautiz X8 rugged PDA features a brilliant 4.7-inch capacitive touchscreen, plus a numeric keypad with three programmable function keys. It has a powerful dedicated GPS receiver and it’s fully rugged, meeting stringent standards for protection against water, drops, vibrations, dust and dirt.

Working with the Nautiz X8, Smith has improved his efficiency, accuracy and profitability during timber cruises. The only other tool he carries is a measuring tape.
“The rugged handheld GPS data collector allows me to cruise a tract of land in the most efficient way and to collect data correctly, saving me time and making me more profitable,” Smith says.