What maps are you using in your mapping app?

Scoutn79

Adventurer
OK I am using Backcountry Navigator (clunky and difficult to move around in but the best so far) and trying out ViewRanger (very limited in function). I was going to try Gaia but it seems with Android it is so buggy it is virtually useless.

I am looking only at TOPO style maps (not arial like GE) at the moment. I have tried all of the USA and Worldwide maps listed in BCN and find them so so at best. Most are nothing more than a copy of 1970's USGS TOPO maps with a little more data added but still severely lacking in info and clarity. Even the best ones are very difficult to locate a specific spot on.
After several hours looking around I was able to find a site that showed the Accuterra maps, without having to pay to try, and thought I had found the perfect map. Lots of great detail, very easy to narrow in on a specific point, lots of important data and visuals with out being cluttered...I was almost ready to happily pay the $20 yearly fee for such a stellar map when I started looking at specific trails and dirt roads I have recently been on, both in Colorado and Utah. That was when the let down occurred. It is completely missing roads that are well maintained and have been around for decades and shows roads where non have existed for decades. So Accuterra is completely untrustworthy for planning out a route.

So this brings me back to my original question.
What map data are you all running in your mapping apps for back country route planning and navigation?


Darrell
 

Scoutn79

Adventurer
National Geographic Trails Illustrated maps on Gaia Pro (where available).

Are you running GAIA on android or IOS?
I really like their paper (plastic) maps. I still buy them. I had some for the NAT GEO TOPO mapping software but they haven't been usable since Windows XP. I will see if I can find some for BCN.

Darrell
 

Rando

Explorer
Are you running GAIA on android or IOS?
I really like their paper (plastic) maps. I still buy them. I had some for the NAT GEO TOPO mapping software but they haven't been usable since Windows XP. I will see if I can find some for BCN.

Darrell

Both Android (tablet in the car) and iOS (iphone for hiking). They are only available with a premium ($30/year) account on Gaia, but seeing I have literally hundreds of dollars worth of their physical maps, I consider $30 a year to access their entire catalog of 300+ maps to be a bargain. You only need one account and can then you can get access on all your devices, including a a real computer for trip planning.
 
try Us topo maps

it has 22 map to choose from in the pro level $12 the key is to get an android with a big screen and an sd slot
http://www.atlogis.com it took me a while to figure a few things out like setting the downloads to the sd card in both the tablet and the app but once I got that down I was able to load all most all of the west coast on to less than 28 gig the sd card ihave is 128. the details fantastic andIloaded the older maps because they "have more trails" thats what it says in the description. My son just uses the free version and it was epic on his little phone.
 

shane4x4

Supporting Sponsor
I really love the new USGS topo layer. Modern, up to date information in the classic USGS Topo look. The Hema App supports it right out of the box with no additional $$ =)
newUSGS.jpg
 

Rando

Explorer
I actually find the new USGS topos to be worse than the older 7.5' quads with far less detail. The newer maps are purely digital creations from DEM's and road data bases. They have no field cartography and a generally poorly laid out as they are automatically generated from GIS data. It is sad that the USGS has stopped updating their real maps.
 

Scoutn79

Adventurer
I have BCN, GAIA and US TOPO mapping apps. I am really liking GAIA and am using it exclusively for right now. The UI is easy and quick but it is really really buggy and at times I want to delete it but it has sooo much promise if GAIA will just put some effort into fixing it. The routing options are still very limited IMO (snap-to-trail is nice but sometimes it won't do the route the way you want it to), especially if you need to change a route or add to the front of it.
I like the GAIA TOPO map for town, which I would never use since I have a real nav system for that. It falls short off road missing bunches of roads and not showing small waterways and ponds with names of such. USGS topo or USFS 2016 are the two I am finding the best right now. It's really disappointing that available maps haven't gotten much better in the last 20 years since I started using Nat Geo TOPO. There are lots of good maps available but each map has info another doesn't and misses info other maps have but no map that I have found yet really works on it's own merit.
Some maps are easy to zero in on an area when starting from zoomed way out, others are are real PITA.
Some label small roads and streams showing ponds, mines, peaks, passes, small towns, tunnels and the sort of thing people who travel off of the beaten bath need but you can't find it all on one map.

Darrell
 
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Scoutn79

Adventurer
I have finally got US topo nailed and have been doing test runs with it it works excellent!

Are you using the free or pay version of US TOPO? I know the free version (which I have) has limited function but I have no idea exactly HOW limited. Are you planning routes as well as recording trips?

Darrell
 

ohiobenz

Member
Has anyone used SAS.planet? It's free open source.
I just picked up a Surface Pro 2017 plus a GlobalSat external GPS antenna and plan to use it primarily for navigation.
I'm trying to figure out what I want to load for software. I used Gaia on my Droid phone in the past.

edit. also looking at twonav https://www.twonav.com/en/software/land#customers
 
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