National Geographic State Topo! Maps Review
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Do you like to plan your hikes, backpacking trips, cycling rides, trail runs, and more? We found the National Geographic Topo! mapping software to be a life saver when it came to planning out our adventures. We’ve used a lot of different maps in the past, anywhere from free maps online to other pay maps. As we are based out of Colorado, we are always trying to explore new routes and trails and this software was a dream after we figured the in’s and out’s. We do have to admit, there is a definite learning curve when understanding how to use all the capabilities of the National Geographic Topo! maps. We usually like to geek out and read all the manuals to see how the products are meant to work, and it was a must for using this software. We ended up going online and using our help button quite a bit the first few weeks, but after this, the software became much easier to use and took much less time to plan out our adventures. These Topo! maps come with 5 zoom level, although we only found the level 4 and 5 zoom useful as the others were a little too vague for the detail we were looking for.
Features that we enjoyed with the National Geographic Topo! software include; 3D flyovers, inserting notes and pictures onto the maps, drawing routes onto the map, printing any section of the maps that you want, elevation profiles, and last but not least, the ability to transfer the maps into a GPS, we used the Magellan Triton 2000. If you are looking to take your maps on your adventure, we suggest using the National Geographic Adventure Paper to print your maps on, this is much more sturdy(tear resistant) than your typical printer paper and it is waterproof!
Our thoughts: The National Geographic Topo! State map series is best suited for those that like to get outside a lot, or geek out with technology. We found those that were tech savvy and patient were the people that best took advantage of the software, but the everyday Joe really liked the basic features when it came to finding elevation profiles and general trip planning. Overall, two thumbs up from our testers, geeks and Joe’s. For more information on this the National Geographic Topo! software, please visit www,amazon.com/natgeo.
