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      Equipment Reviews: GARMIN TOPO CANADA

This is what THEY say about it:

We've mapped every hill and valley for your next great adventure. This map covers the finer details of the outdoors, including terrain contours, topo elevations, summits, routable roads and trails, rivers, lakes and geographical points. Image
  • Provides detailed topographic maps, based on digital 1:250,000 and 1:50,000 scale NTS data.
  • Contains hydrographic features, including coastlines, lake/river shorelines, wetlands and perennial and seasonal streams.
  • Includes searchable points of interest, such as parks, campgrounds, scenic lookouts and picnic sites.
  • Offers terrain contour and elevation information, along with summits, peaks and geographic points.
  • Contains routable roads, trails and highways in metropolitan and rural areas so getting to your destination is easy.
  • Displays national, state, local parks, forests and wilderness areas.
  • Available in DVD and microSD™/SD Card formats
  • Includes BaseCamp™ software (DVD Only) for managing data on your GPS and computer, playing back routes and tracks, geotagging photos and more




Here Is What WE Say About It

Going to Canada? You can buy the entire country on a DVD or buy regions on SD cards. Let me make your decision easy, buy the DVD because you are going to need at least two regions for any big trip to Canada and for about the price of two SD cards, you can buy the DVD of the entire country.

In 2011 Jeep Expeditions undertook the nearly 11,000 mile round trip from Arizona to Alaska with lots of time in Western Canada. From the Icefields Parkway to Jasper, Banif, Lake Louise, Whitehorse, Dawson & Dawson City and as far up as Inuvik, at the end of road. I planned our routes with Garmin Topo Canada v2.0 which was to say a bit of a disappointment. With luck before the trip I got my hands on Garmin Topo Canada 4. Instead of several CDs covering regions and disappointing features like v2, the new v4 was a welcomed addition to my library of GPS software!

Topo maps are what we use on the trail and for the most part, Garmin Topo Canada can replace both "streets" and topo software in your compatible devices. Now unfortunately, Garmin like most other manufacturers have their software and devices configured so that you cannot use a competitors software on their devices and vice versa. While it's a good business plan for them, it's not the best for consumers as there seems to be some features on one program that aren't available on another. Like I have said many times, GPS software and devices are not all created equal. In the case of Garmin Topo Canada v4, it has lots going on making it a pretty good choice and the best choice of software from Garmin for Canada especially if you are going to explore areas on and/or off the beaten path .

I used Garmin Topo Canada on two GPS units in my Jeep for this trip, a Garmin Nuvi 1490 and my Garmin GPSMAP 478. From the famous 500 miles of the dirt road called the Dempster Highway taking us beyond the Arctic Circle to "the top of the world" to the Trans Alaska Highway and everywhere in between this software performed excellent!

On your computer, Topo Canada is used with either MapSouce v 6.16.3 or Garmins newest offering, BaseCamp. MapSource is much more user friendly and has some features I prefer over BaseCamp. BaseCamp is loaded with neat new features and while it takes a while to get used to (not very user friendly), is fun to play with and learn. The day will come that I will totally abandon MapSource but that day isn't here yet. Unlike MapSource, BaseCamp prints out maps with UTMs, a nice feature. But, MapSource has a pretty good users manual, and BaseCamp has no manual. Both will create routes and waypoints so you can plan your trip ahead of time on the "big screen" (yep like the US Topo 24K, Topo Canada roads and trails will route just fine unlike the older versions). Then you can send and receive maps, routes, way points and tracks to and from your Garmin handheld GPS. For Nuvi products you can send and receive maps, routes and waypoints. Some Nuvi's have tracks you can download to MapSource or BaseCamp but none of them are able to accept uploaded tracks. Perhaps one day Garmin with make a nice 5" or 7" GPS for your SUV that has all the features of their hand held units. Oh, did I mention that you can buy the Birdseye subscription for aerial images to overlay on your maps just like with Topo 24K for the USA.

The look of the maps is pleasing with great color and detail. The detail doesn't quite measure up to the 1:24,000 of the US version of Topo 24K but it is still twice as good as Topo 100K. This is due to Canadas official maps are only 1:50,000. Not a big deal, they perform and perform well which is what counts in the end. There are some real short comings though. The POIs like hotels, restaurants and shopping in the more rural areas are very much lacking but at the same time Garmin Street software (which I ran on a 3rd GPS on another Garmin Nuvi 1490) had the same short comings in Canada, Alaska and even rural areas in the lower "48". I was pleased to see that every dirt, stone and washboard road we decided to take was shown on the map along with many more. All I can say is so many trails and too little time. I've heard some people say that it was missing a lot of hiking trails, didn't matter much to me, I Jeep, let someone else do the leg work in the mountains if they want. And as I always say, heed this advice, no matter what GPS or software you use out on the trail: ALWAYS carry paper maps as a backup!

My biggest complaint with Topo Canada? Nope, its not the price, I am prepared to and will pay a premium price for gear that has features I want and need. Topo Canada v4 fits that bill. I cannot use it in my vehicle on a laptop with a GPS receiver/antenna to see and record my trip in real time. It was something you could do with the older version 2 with the discontinued nRoute program from Garmin but the new version is not compatible with nRoute.

The bottom line here is overall, Garmin Topo Topo Canada v4 is the BEST offering I've found for use in Canada on your Garmin GPS. Is it perfect? No it isn't. Is it the only program I used in Canada, no it wasn't as I also had Garmin North America street maps running on a 2nd Garmin Nuvi 1490 mainly for comparison. What I can tell you is that you only need one GPS running Topo Canada. I really don't think you can buy better maps of Canada anywhere for your GPS.

Spending time in Canada, buy this program, plan your trip and ENJOY! You will thank me later :-)

Check out some screen shots below. The first shows the coverage. The 2nd and 3rd are in Banif, Canada showing town detail and trails in the country. The last shot was from Inuvik, Canada. The tundra area is pretty much flat and is shown in white probably due to permafrost.



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Products that we feel are useful to off-road travel whether it be Jeep related or camping related will not only be posted on our website but we will submit them to one of several magazines for more possible exposure.

Email info@jeepexpeditions.org with detailed information about your product and your interest in working with our organization.


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*The opinions expressed in this product review are the opinions of the writer and are based on the writers tastes and preferences. The writer may have and in most cases invited other people to participate in this review. Despite the review (favorable/unfavorable) you are encouraged to try out any product that you might be interested in.

**Copyrighted images & trademarks for products/items appearing on this website and/or portrayed and reviewed here are the property of their respective owners and are used within for informative and identification purposes only.



 

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The state recognizes us as a fraternal organization,  we prefer to say we are a club.  Our members and volunteers are dedicated to the exploration of   this great land  for the educational value, historical value,  scenic beauty, the geology, paleontology, the camaraderie of people who share the same interests and to escape the confines of civilization if only for a few days. Our organization and members adhere to the standards of "Tread Lightly" and "Leave No Trace".

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