Garmin TOPO maps

[+VgoSprocket]

I have a question regarding Garmin TOPO maps. I am looking at an Oregon 750t (which comes with TOPO Canada) I see that there is a TOPO 24k and 100k for the US maps but wondering if there is the same for Canada or just the one map. Obviously 24k being much more detailed that the 100k, I'd rather get more detail if it is available.

 

Cheers.

[+Mineral2]

No, it looks like there is just one Topo Canada which has 1:50K data and routable roads and trails. You may find equally good free maps, so before you take the plunge, see if the free maps will serve your purpose and save some money.

[+Viajero Perdido]

OpenStreetMap has become THE map family to beat when it comes to trail detail. Everybody's recording trails and adding them to OSM.

 

This map family includes the popular OpenCycleMap, but more importantly here, also the free Garmin-format maps mineral2 alluded to above. They can be found easily with a bit of googling.

 

The concept of paying for maps - other than a nominal sum to cover bandwidth - is becoming obsolete.

[+Atlas Cached]

The 750t has an additional 4GB of internal memory, so even if you decide not to use the installed topo map, you do get additional memory to store other maps and data on the device

[+ecanderson]

OSM is great for many trails, but if for some reason you need the elevation lines of a topo map, have a look at gpsfiledepot.com.

[Pacific NW]

Agree with above -- absolutely check out the free third-party maps that are out there. Best thing to do is install BaseCamp on your computer, then download and install some various free maps and see if they provide the detail and coverage that you need.

 

Below is a link to some excellent free topo maps and trail maps that cover part of Canada (you can also get to this site from GPS File Depot):

 

http://www.switchbacks.com/gpsmaps.aspx

[+MaliBooBoo]

If you were wanting to spend $$ on GPS maps, IMO the best ones going for Canada are:

Backroad Mapbook GPS Maps

 

Very detailed information all around plus the shaded relief is amazing!

[+Red90]

If you were wanting to spend $$ on GPS maps, IMO the best ones going for Canada are:

Backroad Mapbook GPS Maps

 

Very detailed information all around plus the shaded relief is amazing!

 

Maybe... In BC, they are quite good. In Alberta they are not so great. The backroads are not very accurate here.

[+Viajero Perdido]

I have the Backroad maps for BC/AB. Cost a pretty penny, they did.

 

Never use 'em any more.

 

When I go into the woods nowadays, I grab the phone with offline OSM maps.

[+Red90]

.....I grab the phone with offline OSM maps.

 

Which are pretty much the crappiest of the choices, IMO. They let any moron upload junk and it is full of unreliable trail information. Someone sent me their trail data to incorporate with my maps last year and there is very little of it that I would rely on. You can tell much has been copied over from the 40 year old Federal maps, which is worse than useless.

 

In BC, the BackRoad maps are really quite good and accurate for motorized back road travel. Alberta, not so much.

[+Viajero Perdido]

Careful.

 

My mission is to clean up as much of the useless 40 year old gov't data as possible that people insist on importing, leaving in place GPS-recorded trails and features traced from satellite images. The good stuff.

[+Red90]

You should be sending it to me then, where is is carefully evaluated, filtered and merged into the rest of the trail network. Inaccurate trail data is worse than no trail data.

[ohgood]

so both of you are doing the same thing? that's pretty cool

 

I've found very little osm trail data that is bad, in my areas

[+MaliBooBoo]

If you were wanting to spend $$ on GPS maps, IMO the best ones going for Canada are:

Backroad Mapbook GPS Maps

 

Very detailed information all around plus the shaded relief is amazing!

 

Maybe... In BC, they are quite good. In Alberta they are not so great. The backroads are not very accurate here.

True, most of my experience with these maps is within BC where I live.

[+BlackRose67]

Around the Ottawa area, the trails on the OSM maps are very good.

 

They still document trails that the NCC has abandoned, but us Geocachers use on a regular basis.

 

If they happen to be missing, then the maps from the Ontario Trails Project fill the gap.

[+MaliBooBoo]

I have the Backroad maps for BC/AB. Cost a pretty penny, they did.

 

Never use 'em any more.

 

When I go into the woods nowadays, I grab the phone with offline OSM maps.

I've been thinking about this and must note that if you bought these maps many moons ago the product likely has vastly improved in the meantime. I say this because they are constantly working to update their data. And if you haven't seen their shaded relief you really should check it out. This was re-introduced in version 5 I believe. I do have the BC/AB chip so if there is anywhere that you would like to check out on the map, I could upload a screenshot.

[+Viajero Perdido]

No need, but thanks. That would require me blowing the dust off the old Garmin [cough cough], and I'm no longer interested in peering at maps on such a tiny low-res screen any more. (I did upgrade my BR maps not too long ago, and did see the improvements. [Their app, let's not go there.])

 

Dare I post it again? Oh what the heck, sure. This is what they're competing against:

OpenAndroMaps (OSM-based) with contours, on Locus Map Pro, with shading, on a high-res Android phone.

Edited August 25, 2016 by Viajero Perdido

[+Red90]

The picture is a good example.... It shows a mix of accurate trail data taken from my project and bad data taken from the federal topo maps all in one. And no differention between what is an actual trail and just some route that one guy took one day.

[+Red90]

...a tiny low-res screen...

 

If all you ever used was a 60 series, I can understand. The resolution is horrible. The Colorado and Oregons screen size and resolution is more than adequate though and the perfect size for outdoor use.

[+Viajero Perdido]

Routes (taken by one guy one day) vs actual trails are indeed an issue in OSM. There is a "trail visibility" attribute that can be used to differentiate them, but it's rarely used by mappers in these parts. If used, the two can be shown differently. Getting back to the OP's issue, I can hope the Garmin-format maps based on OSM would indeed do this. But I have no idea if they do.

 

Sometimes routes are identified in their name, at least around here, which'd be visible if you zoom in. "Rocky Ridge Route". It's non-standard, but better than nothing.

 

However, for sheer numbers of mapped trails (+routes etc), I'd be surprised if anything came close to OSM. It's good data and so-so data mixed together, true. A work in progress.

 

And I agree, the phone/GPS comparison would be a closer match if a modern GPS unit were being compared; I'm just not in the mood to buy one. (That's a whole separate thread!)

Edited August 25, 2016 by Viajero Perdido

[+Atlas Cached]

The picture is a good example.... It shows a mix of accurate trail data taken from my project and bad data taken from the federal topo maps all in one. And no differention between what is an actual trail and just some route that one guy took one day.

 

Exactly why I chose to make my own trail maps.....

[+MaliBooBoo]

No need, but thanks. That would require me blowing the dust off the old Garmin [cough cough], and I'm no longer interested in peering at maps on such a tiny low-res screen any more. (I did upgrade my BR maps not too long ago, and did see the improvements. [Their app, let's not go there.])

 

Dare I post it again? Oh what the heck, sure. This is what they're competing against:

OpenAndroMaps (OSM-based) with contours, on Locus Map Pro, with shading, on a high-res Android phone.

Seems to me like BRMB is competing pretty well. Look, they even have a trail that the OSM map is missing! Plus, they are viewed on a device built for the outdoors with a screen that is sunlight viewable and where the battery won't die in 2 hours, unlike the Android.

[+Viajero Perdido]

My Android's battery lasts all day, not just 2 hours. (But I carry a spare.) In brightest sunlight, all I have to do is turn my body so the phone's in my shadow, bingo, screen very visible.

 

Already own the hardware. App costs around $10. I donated ~$30 to OpenAndroMaps. Total cost, ~$40. Includes free download of topo maps for anywhere I wish to travel.

 

One trail. Okay, you win. For now. Someone may add that trail.

 

PS, I'd consider re-buying the BRMB maps if they were available for Locus or another quality Android app. They do have an edge on oilfield roads, cutlines, etc., but are only available for Garmin or through a... problematic... Android app of their own.

Edited August 31, 2016 by Viajero Perdido

[+MaliBooBoo]

My Android's battery lasts all day, not just 2 hours. (But I carry a spare.) In brightest sunlight, all I have to do is turn my body so the phone's in my shadow, bingo, screen very visible.

 

Already own the hardware. App costs around $10. I donated ~$30 to OpenAndroMaps. Total cost, ~$40. Includes free download of topo maps for anywhere I wish to travel.

 

One trail. Okay, you win. For now. Someone may add that trail.

 

PS, I'd consider re-buying the BRMB maps if they were available for Locus or another quality Android app. They do have an edge on oilfield roads, cutlines, etc., but are only available for Garmin or through a... problematic... Android app of their own.

I don't consider it a case of winning. I recognize that the OSM mapping is good. I just wanted to point out there are other options out there such as BRMB that are also excellent.

 

To be honest with you, if I pan to the west a bit, there is a trail missing in BRMB that OSM has so it can go both ways.

 

Agreed on the BRMB app...not a fan of where they have gone with that.

[+Viajero Perdido]

BTW, the OP appears to be in Eastern Canada, but in Alberta there's an issue with topo contours. As explained here, there are two sources of topo contour data. I'll summarize them as "good" and "bad".

 

• OpenCycleMap and siblings (OSM), use Bad contours. (EG)
• OpenAndro- and Locus Maps (OSM), use Good contours.
• Garmin Topo use [?]
• BRMB use [?]

With "Bad" contours, you can see multiple contour lines going across lakes, and rivers appearing to go both directions, downhill of course but uphill too.

 

Earlier BRMB versions had real problems with contours (uneven intervals!), but hopefully they've straightened things out by now.

 

Does their auto-routing understand one-way roads now? (Freeways are paired one-way roads.) I got tired of laughing at being asked to exit left off the freeway by going up the on-ramp.

Edited August 31, 2016 by Viajero Perdido

[ohgood]

No need, but thanks. That would require me blowing the dust off the old Garmin [cough cough], and I'm no longer interested in peering at maps on such a tiny low-res screen any more. (I did upgrade my BR maps not too long ago, and did see the improvements. [Their app, let's not go there.])

 

Dare I post it again? Oh what the heck, sure. This is what they're competing against:

OpenAndroMaps (OSM-based) with contours, on Locus Map Pro, with shading, on a high-res Android phone.

Seems to me like BRMB is competing pretty well. Look, they even have a trail that the OSM map is missing! Plus, they are viewed on a device built for the outdoors with a screen that is sunlight viewable and where the battery won't die in 2 hours, unlike the Android.

 

hmm, two hours you say? what model was that you were using?

[+MaliBooBoo]

hmm, two hours you say? what model was that you were using?

It was an exaggeration highlighting how much less battery life smartphones/tablets get vs a GPSr.

[ohgood]

hmm, two hours you say? what model was that you were using?

It was an exaggeration highlighting how much less battery life smartphones/tablets get vs a GPSr.

 

oh, exaggeration, yes i got it now.

 

we usually just change batteries (the standalone guys munch on AAs, the smartphone guys chew up OEM) when they need em , it's not a big deal