Garmin US TOPO MicroSD Data Card for Garmin GPS Units Review

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(More customer reviews)I ordered this map, assuming it was based on 24k USGS maps. When it arrived, I noticed that in the lower corner of the package it said 100k. This means than one inch of the map is equal to 100,000 inches (1.57 miles). This compares to one inch of the 24k map being 0.37 miles. When you consider that the map is in 2 dimensions, this means that the 100k map has about 1/16th as much detail as the 24k map. When you are using a map for hiking, small scale is very important.
The 24k map is available on Amazon.com at the time of this review (12/2009) and is only about $10 more.
Garmin Topo U.S. 24k Mountain North - Idaho-Montana-Wyoming

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Garmin TOPO Topographical Maps of United States Mid Atlantic 2008 (microSD/SD Card) Review

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(More customer reviews)This product is good, but they are coming out with a better product so I would wait for that. This is the cheap way but it is not too shabby. You can't go wrong with Garmin anyway.

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Garmin US TOPO MicroSD Data Card for Garmin GPS Units Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I ordered this map, assuming it was based on 24k USGS maps. When it arrived, I noticed that in the lower corner of the package it said 100k. This means than one inch of the map is equal to 100,000 inches (1.57 miles). This compares to one inch of the 24k map being 0.37 miles. When you consider that the map is in 2 dimensions, this means that the 100k map has about 1/16th as much detail as the 24k map. When you are using a map for hiking, small scale is very important.
The 24k map is available on Amazon.com at the time of this review (12/2009) and is only about $10 more.
Garmin Topo U.S. 24k Mountain North - Idaho-Montana-Wyoming

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Garmin MapSource TOPO US 24k Southwest Topographic Coverage of Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico (DVD) Review

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(More customer reviews)Pros:
Route-able Roads and Trails
24K Topo Detail
Cons:
Dark Colors and Poor Contrast
Missing Trails
Trails aren't named
No BLM or State Lands
My comments are limited to Colorado and I'm comparing the Garmin maps to another 24K topo set by Above the Timber. On a recent 3-day backpack I used the Above the Timber maps 95% of the time, Garmin 5%, readability was the key. The good news, both map sets reside inside my Garmin GPS and switching is a breeze.
In my opinion a 24K Topo is a back country map used for foot, horse or other slow travel. This map set combines the excellent route-able Navteq highways and also route-able trails, that's slick. However due to an overly dark set of color choices, it's very difficult to see the trails to make an intelligent trip and/or route selection. Having the routing engine choose your route based on time or distance misses the human dynamic of most scenic. Not seen a routing engine that knows my scenic values . . . it'll happen someday.
The Garmin maps do not show BLM or state lands, a very big deal in Colorado. Also the trails lack either names and/or numbers, kind of like having a highway map w/o names or numbers, huh? Names and/or numbers give you valuable clues as to where you're going, which you verify with occasional sign posts.
To understand my colors and contrast comment, you'll have to view the attached Nuvi screenshots. They're fuzzy, the Amazon import did that and I'm not sure why.

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Garmin MapSource TOPO US 24k West Topographic Coverage for California and Nevada (microSD/SD Card) Review

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(More customer reviews)I received these topo-maps about two weeks ago and used them for road navigation (car) and trail navigation (MTB) so far on an etrex Vista HCx. My overall impression is mixed I have to admit.
From the start:
Installation is nice and easy, just pop in the micro-SD, power up the Garmin and the gadget will do the rest. In less than 5 minutes the map-set is completely configured and ready to go. I like this much better than the hassle with the DVD and transfer via USB cable which takes aeons. I made a backup of the SD card, yet I don't know if this will work the reverse way if I have to restore the SD. I recently read that this might cause problems but I don't have any experience with this.
Using it on the road it works well, fast calculation, precise directions. But this is definitely not what I bought it for.
So I took it to Lake Chabot (Anthony Chabot Regional Park) and... I was lost. Not a single one of the trails going round the lake was indicated. I rode into the golf course trying to get through somewhere, had to go back. Next through a nearby village, again, no trail indicated. Asked a resident and she told me where to get back on the trail. Fine. At least I was able to use the compass with the map to get back to my starting point. All in all: disappointing.
One week later up to Mission Peak. This time I was smarter and took a map of the Regional Preserve with me. And again, none of the trails indicated on the Garmin. Without the map I would have probably again been lost. Garmin and the map together worked well, but honestly saying the map alone would have been sufficient.
There are however some trails correctly indicated in parks and preserves which I can tell because I rode them earlier. But you'll better make sure that trails are displayed on the Garmin BEFORE you go there. Otherwise take a paper map with you. Well, I know you should always do this when hiking in the mountains where no official trails exist. But for park trails??
A downside of the SD card: you cannot use it on your PC for route planning, track or waypoint readout or whatever unless you have another map set on CD with the MapSource-SW. Think you can download MapSource from the Garmin homepage and activate it with the code of the SD-based maps? No way! Aaaaargh!!!
Summary: If you need a supplement of topo-maps when you already own MapSource it is probably alright because you can easily check on your PC and plan your trip before hitting the trail. Or you can check if there is any trail indicated at all. For the actual price it is still alright, but always make sure you have a paper-made backup with you if you are not 100 % sure that you can rely on the etrex.

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Garmin TOPO 2004 Northeast U.S. Map microSD Card Review

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(More customer reviews)My Garmin Oregon 450 saw the Topo chip and tried to read it but found it to be locked.
That is improbable, as the "map on a chip" series of Garmin maps are not "lockable."
The Garmin customer support was prompt, courteous but totally unhelpful. Their suggestions were worthless and they did not offer any remedy. I finally told them I was at wits end and would replace the Garmin with a Delorme PN-60W as soon as I could.
I have had the PN-60W for two weeks now, all those high rez Topo maps that cost a fortune if bought for a Garmin came with the Delorme PN-60W . and they work!

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Garmin MapSource TOPO US 24k West Topographic Coverage for Washington, Oregon, California, and Nevada (DVD) Review

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(More customer reviews)I'll cut to the bottom line: As far as I can see, this is the best topographic mapping product available.
It's better than computer maps from DeLorme, National Geographic or other vendors, and much better than Garmin's earlier "MapSource" product. Maps displayed on one's PC or Mac (I've tried it on a Mac) are visually compelling, with very high resolution and near-perfect accuracy. There is also an excellent user interface -- you can browse, zoom, rotate or tilt to your heart's content. Even better, these high-resolution maps (unlike anything from other vendors) can be downloaded directly into your Garmin handheld. Most recent Garmin models are supported.
Today while out hiking I was astonished at the detail and resolution on my handheld -- 40 ft topo lines make a enormous difference when deciding whether the hill in front of you is a mountain or a molehill.
The only downside I have noticed is that there aren't very many hiking trails indicated on the maps. But it's always a good idea to obtain a local trail map if one is available. Drivable roads near where I live are all there, and as far as I can see there are no errors of labeling or placement. This is a big relief, because some other products I have seen are loaded with errors.
P.S. (7 Aug 2010). With some recent software fixes (both to my Garmin 60 Csx firmware, and also updates to the "BaseCamp" and "MapInstall" software, I have been able to download almost the entire mapset (California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington), except for a few panes in eastern Nevada, onto a single 4 Gbyte microSD HD card in my Garmin 60 Csx handheld. It works wonderfully. How did I ever live without it?

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Garmin TOPO US 24K Northeast Map (DVD) Review

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(More customer reviews)This software does what it's supposed to do, i.e., it works with the Garmin Handheld GPS I bought. The streets and landmarks are accurate, as far as I can tell. And that's what I expected, from what I read from others' reviews of Garmin GPS units and Garmin software. However, it still doesn't do what I really want it to do, which is to allow me to superimpose hiking trails from either a paper map or a .pdf or .jpg file into the software and then trace the trails into the .gpx file. So, in addition to the money I shelled out for the GPS unit and the topo software, I also had to buy a third-party software to allow me to do exactly what I wanted. You'd think that a GPS unit intended for hiking would allow its buyer to do this task, but it doesn't.

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