Digital Maps - any good?

[snoboy]

Who's used any of them? Did you like them? I want to use eTopo in combo with a Garmin eTrex Summit, and GPSUtility.

 

Any comments on these particular products or ones like them?

 

I'm so bored at work today, and there's no one here to entertain me

[mr.radon]

Yeah, waste of money. I took my Garmin II+ which I had used flying. A GPS weighs too much, dosen't work well in the trees and needs battieres. A compass, not much weight, doesn't used batteries. Map, need that anyway.

Also have TOPO program. used to down load GPS waypoints to see where I really was, when I was really wishing I'd like to be back where I was.

Save the money and spend more time out in the backwoods not worriing how to operate your latest battery operated gizzmo. Enjoy the views while sighting your compass. (which works real well in whiteouts, )

[mtnnut]

I assume Radon is trying to be tongue-in-cheek here.

 

I find digital maps extremely useful for planning. My favorite so far is the TOPO! series because the map output is basically a familiar feeling USGS map. I've never been comfortable with the ones that have computer drawn contour lines, since I don't know how those computer interpretations came to be. The USGS maps were created using long established standards which after using paper maps for a while you get the feel for.

 

Best part of the digital maps is that you will have map coverage for areas that you never would have thought you would want the quadrangle for, but lo, there it is anyway. Printing the maps out seems to take longer than you would think it would, but it is very nice to be able to print out regions that are right in the corners of several quads. If you have a GPS, you definitely want to not only get a digital map, but get it with the GPS interactivity option (it isn't always included with the basic map set).

 

If you cover much ground in Washington, there is an entire state CD collection from the TOPO! / National Geographic Maps folks.

 

GPS does read in trees much of the time, and will do so in areas when you can't see other features to triangulate your position. I don't have an eTrex (instead a Garmin III+), but I would think you still would want a regular compass for using with a map, if only for the standard tasks like drawing straight lines. Most GPS units don't have sighting aids also, so they don't make up for a sighting mirror on a compass. I've heard electronic compasses consume significant battery power too, so continuous use is better accomplished with a conventional compass.

 

If you use your GPS very much, you might want to get rechargable batteries to save on money and landfill fodder.

[snoboy]

Thanks guys, this is exactly the kind of stuff I want to hear.

 

I guess I should have mentioned that I already have the GPS. I want to be able to track some of the routes and trails around here to make annotated maps. I do use the GPS on trips, and find it quite handy at times. I can turn the compass off so it doesn't eat as much power as it might. I do use rechargeables too.

 

And I still love my compass

 

[ 10-26-2002, 08:30 PM: Message edited by: snoboy ]

[allison]

While it is nice to have a mapping program (I have TOPO!), I must say that I still prefer to store-bought maps for use in the field. One of the problems with printing out the custom ones from the mapping program is that the numeric elevation markers for the contour lines sometimes don't show up on the chunk of map that you have printed out, and then it can be a pain to figure out what elevation you're at. The clarity of the maps is also not as good as the GT or USGS, though that may be my printer. Plus they are not at all waterproof, the inks run when wet, so you've got to take the extra step to clear-coat the maps before you go.

 

I can say that while I don't buy any less maps than I used to, that there are times that I've printed out a map where I wouldn't have maybe had any map at all, or maybe wouldn't have gone on a spur-of-the-moment trip for lack of map. In other words, in a pinch, the mapping program comes in pretty handy. For trip planning I only find it handy if I don't have any map at all to look at, and even then, all that scrolling around gets kind of annoying. If you pull back to a bigger view, the map gets harder to read. There is still no good substitute for a USGS quad, IMO.

[mtnnut]

From the same folks that make the TOPO! maps, they make something that they call "adventure paper" which is supposed to be waterproof (I haven't actually tried it yet, but they have a retail display with a sheet immersed in water, so it sure looks like it should work). If your printer supports it, they also have larger paper sizes than 8.5" x 11". For printing quality, what paper you choose makes a huge difference. Treat it as though it was a photo that you were trying to print, and use something like the "photo quality inkjet paper" (no need for the glossy). I am able to get printed results that look very good compared to a regular USGS quad.

 

Yes, without the special papers, inkjet printed stuff runs immediately when in contact with water. At a minimum, carry the sheets around in a plastic bag, or like suggested, there are sprays that can be applied to help protect it. Plastic bags turn out to be adequate for most conditions, though I could imagine you could find a circumstance where it would get wet in precisely the poor weather conditions that you brought the map for to begin with.

 

It is nice to have a larger piece of paper to see a longer route, but if you are the type that folds up your map to have only a smaller portion visible at a time anyway, having the individual smaller sheets will work out to be more convenient anyway. In addition, the Lat/Long or UTM tick marks can be printed on the edges of each 8.5" x 11" sheet, plus you can get it to print a grid resembling an overlay over the selected area for easier UTM reading.

 

Also if you are starting from scratch for a paper map set, it took me in excess of 70 USGS topos to cover the areas that I thought I might visit in the Cascades and Olympics (this is pretty much only the peaks with climbing or peak-bagging objectives). If you get the full state CD set, you will have the remaining info to plot out obscure mountain bike rides that aren't in the heart of the mountain peaks.

 

If you are a techno-geek enough to own and use a GPS, you deserve to complete the system and get a digital map set to save your waypoints. Plus, uploading points for a route that you hope to be able to travel into your GPS is soooo much more accurate and easy with a digital map CD.

[Toast]

quote:

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Originally posted by mtnnut:

My favorite so far is the TOPO! series because the map output is basically a familiar feeling USGS map. I've never been comfortable with the ones that have computer drawn contour lines, since I don't know how those computer interpretations came to be. The USGS maps were created using long established standards which after using paper maps for a while you get the feel for.

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I think mtnnut is referring to DeLorme Topo USA. I have this product and it sucks for the very reasons he points out. I do love the convenience of a topo program for trip planning and for printing out a better-than-nothing map. But if I had to do it over again, I'd get the National Geographics Topo software.

 

Hope this helps

[mr.radon]

Yeah I was being tounge in cheek. The GPS saved my ass once in a total whiteout. We navigated by it for an hour at a good pace down an unremarkable snowfield to the Cotopaxi Refugio. Several other parties ended up in the wrong gully and had to hike back up that god forsaken road.

Over the years I take it out with me less and less because I'm turning into a minimalist and I hate the extra weight.

I like the National Geo. TOPO software and used it to plan my Wonderland Trail trip. I bought the CD almost 6 years ago, the data set is still good and I've gotten free upgrades to the program. I have many hikes saved, and it is a good way to share hike info with others.

I don't realy use the GPS all that much anymore. On Denali I brought it to mark caches and as a moral booster. nice to know how far you've hauled that sled!