National Geographic TOPO State Series

Take the 20% off offer because this item is rarely on sale at the walk-in stores. You can see how it works at most outdoor stores that have a National Geo Map Machine. (REI, Joe's Outdoor, Dick's, Sportsman's Warehouse--why spend money at those money-grubbing employee abusing retailers?) Keep in mind that the home version does much more than the in-store Map Machine. With the home version you can highlight your trails, etc. and use a 3-D Fly over effect that in reality is more entertaining than useful but it's fun to play with. Your maps at home will print smaller than the Map Machine version unless you have a printer and paper capable of printing the Map Machine version. Warning: if you have an ink-hog printer, you will use up your ink cartridges quickly after you become addicted to printing out all the maps you want. You will first download the install disc and then use separate discs for different regions of your state. My Idaho state version has five separate discs, so I have to load another separate disc when I venture outside a given area. No big deal. You could download the whole works if you have a terabyte to play with, but it still would not be practical. Go play with the Map Machine at an outdoor store and you'll love it. Just remember that the home version does more.

I have used this series for several years, and planned all my larger outings with it. If you are willing to fight through the 1980's style installation, the user interface, which is neither windows nor unix in nature, and "fiddle" with it as necessary, you can achieve very acceptable, custom results. You can also use plasticized paper to create ruggedized maps. And in any format (under about 24 x 28) that you want. The road overlays don't precisely match the road in the topo, but they probably had the digitizing done overseas ... what do you expect? Despite all its warts, it is a unique and effective product, just not easy to install, to use or to get the prints you want on the first try.

No need to ever purchase USGS TOPO maps again with this software. It includes many options like creating & printing your personalized routes, shaded relief, build profiles including mileage & elevation gained, etc. Download all CD-ROMs for seamless coverage. 3-D enhancement allows fly overs & virtual relief. Great product.

The maps are essential for our weekly hikes, and easy to use with my GPS data. Even if you don't use a GPS, you'll love these maps.