Cheap Topo Usa: Fly Fishing Edition (Software) Price

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Customer Reviews of Topo Usa: Fly Fishing Edition

3.0 boast a new shaded relief look to the maps. This means the average view has a 3D look making it easier to understand the terrain. Delorme didn't stop there! They cranked up the power on the 3D rendering maps too. Now the horizon extends when you rotate. This feature is awesome. Beware though; it's a power hog! Running on a loaded P4 it gives Intel reason to progress. Actually, a good 3D video card is more important. It runs faster on my 850 with a screamin' video card. Luckily you can turn these features off and only use when needed. Still useable on slower laptops with the features turned off.

Landmark mistakes I noticed on the 2.0 version have been corrected. Compatibility with Windows 2000 is now reality. Elevation quirks have been cleared up. It's tough thinking how they will improve on this version in the future. Maybe a 3D walk through of the profiles. Give it a whirl Delorme! Speaking of profiles. It's now possible to profile roads, rivers and trails. You can even combine them; just press the shift key while combining. A new reversing feature is nice too. Plotting trails is still a breeze. Start/stop features have been incorporated from Delorme's Street Atlas USA software. Big improvements have been made to printing the maps too!

This is the kind of software where a computer is really used. The value is incredible. I must say, Delorme did a big favor for hikers! Thanks - joe bartels Webmaster HikeArizona.COM

Nice, but misleading advertising
This is a very nice product, functionally speaking. In addition to Topo USA, I have tried both TOPO! and MapTech which are also excellent products. But beware! Delorme tries to contrast this product with the others based on price. In their own comparisons you will see dollar figures for the price of the map data covering the entire US for each product and, based on this figure, it is an obvious choice to pick Topo USA. What they don't tell you is that they are doing an apples to oranges comparison. The "Full USA" maps that come with Topo USA are essentially Delorme Atlas type maps. Fine for road navigation, but almost useless for hiking, backpacking, or any serious off road naviation. Delorme offers the USGS 7.5 minute series maps that most of us use in the "wilds" as add-ons to Topo USA in their "3-D TopoQuads" products, but at huge prices for each state on par with the other two products. DON'T BE MISLEAD BY PRICE. Topo USA, TOPO!, and Maptech will all cost about the same to get the same product. It comes down to software features you like best. Unfortunately, it is not an easy choice as they all do some things better than the others ...

I will probably stick with Topo USA as I like the interface and the 3D view (MapTech does this also). It also looks like Delorme has more of the US covered with the USGS 7.5 series than the other companies, but it will hit your wallet big to get the upgraded maps!

Absolutely Wretched
Delorme ought to be ashamed. Crude, slow, and buggy, this is one mapping package you shouldn't waste money on. I'm an avid cyclist and hiker and I don't know what the guy below was talking about when he said it was good for making bike routes- these maps are way too clunky and blunt for that, never mind hike routing! The reviewer who referred to a five-year-old's stick drawing was on the mark. The 3-D function would be neat if it actually worked but the software is soooo slow and crash prone you won't do 3-D more than a couple of times before you're sick of it. (Btw, I use a 1.3MHz P4.) Try the Topo!GPS series by Wildflower (now published by National Geographic) if you are a serious hike/bike enthusiast and want to plan routes. It's hands down the better software.