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Mapsource Products


Toyguy

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Which of the various Mapsource products are generally considered most useful for Geocaching? I have a Garmin Vista, so I have lots of RAM to put to use with detailed maps, but at the prices they charge, I want to make sure I get one that's the most useful.

 

Toyguy

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I've used MetroGuide-USA, Topo, and Roads&Rec. If I were only getting one it would definitely be MetroGuide. Of the three, this has the most up-to-date and detailed roads, ability to search for specific addresses and intersections as well as business locations, and also has good shoreline detail and marine navigational aids. And it can be used to automatically calculate routes on your PC.

Topo adds better trail information and many natural points of interest (passes, springs, waterfalls, etc.) as well as the contour lines for elevation information. OTOH, it's based on the 1:100,000 USGS map series and is therefore not nearly as detailed as 3rd-party products that use the 1:24000 series (but don't support downloading maps to your GPSr). But if I only used my GPSr for hiking, then this is the mapset I'd get.

R&R is getting seriously dated and suffers from substantially poorer road accuracy and detail than MG. I still use it with a III+ due to the small memory on that unit but wouldn't use it on units like the Vista that have more capacity.

 

BTW, you can preview all the MapSource products with the 'MapViewer' at http://www.garmin.com/cartography/mapSource/

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quote:
Originally posted by Toyguy:

Which of the various Mapsource products are generally considered most useful for Geocaching? I have a Garmin Vista, so I have lots of RAM to put to use with detailed maps, but at the prices they charge, I want to make sure I get one that's the most useful.

 

Toyguy


 

I would suggest you try the Mapsource Map Viewer yourself 1st to see which product data you like best. For me (I have the same RAM as you) the topo was best suited. It has about every road and cartpath out there with respectable topo and lake data. One of the reasons I bought topo is because it has every lake named, which is nice if you go to areas in Northern MN like the BWCAW. However, if you are more of an urban type, Metroguide may be better as all the roads will be named. Topo will have the same roads, but ony the more major roads and highways will be named.

 

I've rambled enough already, check it out youself above.... icon_razz.gif

 

"Never have a philosophy which supports a lack of courage..."49061_400.gif

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quote:
Originally posted by Toyguy:

Which of the various Mapsource products are generally considered most useful for Geocaching? I have a Garmin Vista, so I have lots of RAM to put to use with detailed maps, but at the prices they charge, I want to make sure I get one that's the most useful.

 

Toyguy


 

I would suggest you try the Mapsource Map Viewer yourself 1st to see which product data you like best. For me (I have the same RAM as you) the topo was best suited. It has about every road and cartpath out there with respectable topo and lake data. One of the reasons I bought topo is because it has every lake named, which is nice if you go to areas in Northern MN like the BWCAW. However, if you are more of an urban type, Metroguide may be better as all the roads will be named. Topo will have the same roads, but ony the more major roads and highways will be named.

 

I've rambled enough already, check it out youself above.... icon_razz.gif

 

"Never have a philosophy which supports a lack of courage..."49061_400.gif

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