OT: other recorder recommendations ?

[Mountain Man <mtman@cloud9.net>]

I asked for recommendations for a small, portable multi-track recorder a
while back.  Based on a recommendation here, I bought a Zoom PS-04.  I
was quite disappointed with it.  Aside from the cheap construction, the
interface wasn't at all intuitive (at least for me).  There's no undo,
and I couldn't find a simple, easy-to-use way to erase a single track or
a whole recording.  In addition, the looping feature doesn't seem to
work properly.

Oh well, on to the Korg PXR4, I thought.  A hundred dollars more, but
surely a more usable unit.  It arrived today.  Hmmmm.  Shoddy
construction.  Hard-to-read and hard-to-navigate menus.  It does have
undo.  But erasing tracks/songs seems to be just as hard as the Zoom (in
fact, I can't even find an entry in the index for erase or delete).  And
no looping.  Fifteen minutes of trying to figure out why the thing
doesn't do what I expect, and the lack of intuitiveness has me ready to
throw in the towel.  Sigh.

So, can someone suggest a small, take-it-with-you multitrack?  It
doesn't necessarily need to be digital; I'm open to minidisk, or other
technologies. And it doesn't have to be studio quality; this is intended
for use at jam sessions to play along with, and capture ideas.   It
*does* have to be easy to use!  And good build quality would be a plus
as well.  Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance for your suggestions,
Elby