robgendreau
Explorer
We have been discussing lots of apps and applications for navigation, and for us a big feature for any of these programs is the ability to cache maps for offline use since we are away from the internet frequently. Some apps give access to some maps and some have fewer choices.
Here's a solution if either you don't wanna shell out more money for more apps, or if the hardware you're using doesn't give you access to the ideal app. For this to work you just need a browser capable of HTML5 offline application caching (Safari for instance, on iOS and OS X; or Chrome).
Go here: http://caltopo.com/about.html
I've posted (and will update) about caltopo before but basically it's a web-based mapping tool that has a ton of maps sources from USGS, Google, Canada, USFS, etc etc. If you use their offline mapper it will allow you to create a map that stores in the cache of your browser via HTML5 in something called a manifest. Since it's stored locally, it's accessible even when you are offline. You can mark it up and do other things with it, but it isn't a moving map or anything like that. But it does have nav info, and you can customize it to suit your needs with various layers. And free.
Be aware that various browsers may limit the amount of the cache, which may be tweakable. I tried this on Safari on a Mac and on an iPad and it worked fine. Very handy.
Here's a solution if either you don't wanna shell out more money for more apps, or if the hardware you're using doesn't give you access to the ideal app. For this to work you just need a browser capable of HTML5 offline application caching (Safari for instance, on iOS and OS X; or Chrome).
Go here: http://caltopo.com/about.html
I've posted (and will update) about caltopo before but basically it's a web-based mapping tool that has a ton of maps sources from USGS, Google, Canada, USFS, etc etc. If you use their offline mapper it will allow you to create a map that stores in the cache of your browser via HTML5 in something called a manifest. Since it's stored locally, it's accessible even when you are offline. You can mark it up and do other things with it, but it isn't a moving map or anything like that. But it does have nav info, and you can customize it to suit your needs with various layers. And free.
Be aware that various browsers may limit the amount of the cache, which may be tweakable. I tried this on Safari on a Mac and on an iPad and it worked fine. Very handy.