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Equipment Reviews: NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TOPO STATE SERIES
This is what THEY say about it:
TOPO! State Series Software for PC & MAC
National Geographic's best selling, top-of-the-line, digital map software is the easiest way to create and print detailed maps. Each
program includes thousands of the highest quality USGS topographic maps, optimized for printing and ease of use.
TOPO! gives you five levels of map detail, from two National Geographic Atlas maps to a USGS 1:24,000 scale (7.5’) seamless topographic
map—the most detailed outdoor recreation maps available. Maps include:
With TOPO!’s dynamic search features, you can quickly find your area of interest. Or simply browse the map to locate your desired destination.
TOPO! maps are full color, high resolution scans of authentic USGS topographic maps, providing the best image quality available. All maps are
seamless, and easily printed from your home printer. Paired with National Geographic AdventurePaper, our waterproof, tear-resistant material,
your maps become trail-tough.
TOPO! is the easiest way to tell your GPS where to go. Simply trace your route and upload to your receiver. Use in reverse to create detailed
trail maps from your adventures
- National Geographic Atlas Maps
- USGS 500,000 Scale Maps — Highlights public lands
- USGS 100,000 Scale Topographic Maps — Mid-Scale topos perfect for long trips
- USGS 24,000 Scale Topographic Maps — The most detailed terrain maps available
Here Is What WE Say About It
There is lots of software out there for Laptops, NetBooks, Tablets and GPS Units themselves. The big three are Garmin, Delorme and National Geographic.
Actually there are the big two now as it pains me to say that National Geographic has gotten out of the digital map arena. But read on because if you
really want some great software, you can still find it online at places like Ebay and Magellen's new Triton series comes standard with Nat Geo Topo! (Did
they buy the rights? I've asked Magellen for some info but they never got back to me).
While all software is similar they are not all created equal. Lets's face it, all of the companies that produce topo software gets their information from
USGS Topo Quads. It is the resolution they offer that sets them apart. One thing to be sure, is that the USGS does not update their maps on a regular basis
so the maps you might be seeing could be 10 or 20 years old. For government work it's no big deal as topographic details rarely change with the exception of
a natural disaster like Mt Saint Helens. I hear people saying all the time that "this software stinks, it's missing half the trails".
Well this could be true but software that isn't 1:24,000 or 24K isn't going to show you every trail or even complete trails that the originl maps might have
shown. Newer trails won't show up on any of them (are there any "legal" new trails on public lands?). Trails on National Geo TOPO! are not routeable, a
shortcoming it shares with both Delorme & Garmin 100K topo which in many cases give you a route that is a straight line that goes from point to point, not a line that
follows the trail. Garmin 24K Topo will do automatically route trails between way points. 24K sells for about the same as the Nat Geo (around $100
for each state). Pricy but if you demand the best and won't settle for adequate, then you should spend the money.
The Windows interface takes a bit to get used to as there are no navigational scroll bars on the side of the bottom of your screen to move to different areas of
the map. You need to move the curser to the edge of the map and then click on the arrow until you get to area you are looking for. It might take some getting
used to but other popular programs are similar not just Nat Geo. One thing I do like is the 5 layers of resolution. The first layer shows a wide area but
less detail. As you "zoom" to the next layer, detail become better and more trails show up. At the top level you are at the 24,000 scale and there is lots
more to see, more trails, better detail, more POIs but in a much smaller area. For those with computers that use Windows 8 you are out of luck. This program
does not work with Windows 8. No big deal to me, my "GPS" laptop is a Panasonic Toughbook CF29n. It don't work well with Windows 8 either so I restored it
to Windows XP. I take it EVERYWHERE in my Jeeps as it is indestructable.
The big advantage to me using this or any other software on my computer is that I can pre-plan an off-road adventure adding stops and way points, save it as a GPX
file and tranfer it to my Garmin, Delorme or any other GPS unit for use on the road and trail. Computer Topo software maps are raster-scanned directly from USGS
7.5' topos. The software in your GPS Unit are vector-graphic maps that are specific to your manufacturers GPS (meaning you can't use someone elses software in
your GPS. Vector graphic images are much less detailed than raster scanned maps so the little GPS in your vehicle or hand cannot give you the detail found on
software like National Geo's.
Other features that you'll like are the 3D views and fly-throughs, elevation profiling that allows you to draw a route then calculate elevation gain or loss,
the ability to add your own pictures and notes, plus the option to choose from either lat/long or UTM grids. You can also save your vehicle or hand held GPS
tracks and waypoints to a GPX file (most new car GPS units do NOT have this feature unfortunately and you'll have to go to an older Garmin Street Pilot or early
Nuvi for that function) and import that file to your Nat Geo software to tweak the route and save it for the future.
There isn't much not to like about this software but there are a few things that annoy me. The biggest is the color contrasts between map features and trails.
Trails can be gray or a reddish color and can get a bit lost in the browns of the elevation markings (Garmins is white which is a bit easier
and Delorme is a gray but it gets lost too in the elevation markings. I am not sure how I would change it other than possibly make trails a neon green.
Getting it to recoginze a GPS unit/antenna for its GPS signal when using with a laptop off road is a bit tricky as the options are for older units and generic
options but once you get it figured out it saves those setting for the future.
Now that I have said my piece, I can tell you that this is the program I use on my laptop in my Jeeps to track and record my progress. Once I turn the GPS on and
tell it to record my tracks, it will put down track markers are intervals you set (distance or time)and will continue to track you for your entire trip. You can
save these tracks to keep a record of your trip for future trips or share them with friends. These tracks can be uploaded to your most hand held GPS units for
future navigation. Unless you have an older Garmin unit or even a newer but discontinued Chartplotter like the GPSMAP478, you are kind of out of luck as I don't
know of any vehicle unit that you can upload saved tracks to for navigation. I find that National Geo maps do a much better job on my laptop recording my
adventures than Delorme (for some reason not as reliable) and Garmin whose discontunued the nRoute software and it won't work with their newer products. Garmin
nRoute given me reliability issues too on a laptop in the vehicle. Garmin BaseCamp as I look at it won't intereface with a GPS antenna to give your real time
data and tracking (which would for some make it unnecessary to have an actual GPS unit in the vehicle).
My recommendation, use this for real time tracking in your vehicle and save the routes for later use. This is a very good program and the fact that even though
it is discontinued is still selling at or near the original retail price in some cases shows that. I bought all the southwest states when they were available
along with a few others and am glad I
did. The Arizona map set includes nearly 2000 separate USGS maps! You just can't carry that many with you in your Jeep. The Alaska version has nearly 3200
maps. This one is a buy if you want a detailed software for use in your Jeep with a Net Book or Laptop. You'll find some screen shots below of the main screen
when you boot up then levels 1 thru 5 of scale.
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