camcorder is a great idea. ANYTHING would be better. If you don't need a lot of zoom and good low-light behavior is not a concern, then the Xacti should be fine.
Camcorders are electronic devices. Flash memory is a bit more tolerant of rough handling, but these are still "precision" instruments. If you want something more rugged, perhaps a helmet cam - like a Contour HD - would be worth a look... No zoom, but easily mounted to lots of places leaving hands free to do important stuff.
Hey guys, thanks for looking at my question, ok so here's the deal, I own a Sony DCR-DVD301, the kind that records to a mini DVD. It's really a piece of ****, bad quality and I just hate the darn thing. So, my question is, what is a good HD digital camcorder I can buy that is EXTREMELY durable ( because I use my camera for all outdoor activities, camping hunting etc.) I saw a Sanyo xacti digital camcorder today and it said that it is waterproof, which I thought would be nice, so thoughts and ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated,
Thanks for your time

Chowhound
Comic Vine
GameFAQs
GameSpot
Giant Bomb
TechRepublic