Customer Reviews

Garmin US TOPO MicroSD Data Card for Garmin GPS Units

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I ordered this map, assuming it was based on 24k USGS maps. When it arrived, I noticed that in the lower corner of the package it said 100k. This means than one inch of the map is equal to 100,000 inches (1.57 miles). This compares to one inch of the 24k map being 0.37 miles. When you consider that the map is in 2 dimensions, this means that the 100k map has about 1/16th as much detail as the 24k map. When you are using a map for hiking, small scale is very important.
The 24k map is available on Amazon.com at the time of this review (12/2009) and is only about $10 more.
Garmin Topo U.S. 24k Mountain North - Idaho-Montana-Wyoming

I used the Garmin MicroSD Data Card in my Garmin GPSMAP 60Cx on a two week hunting trip in Montana in November,2008. Performance was excellent after I called Garmin tech support to find out how to view the topo data (that would be drill down in scale until the GPS will display topo data).

The chips are pricey. I would have used a data CD but Garmin is not Macintosh friendly, so I needed to buy the chips for my hunt.

The chips are not marked as to data content, so I used a small ziploc bag to hold the data chip and a note on the contents. Otherwise your option is to install the chip in the GPS and then view the title.

I purchased this to up-grade the base maps on my Garmin. Easy, easy upgrade, just insert the card wait 30 seconds during initial installation and have all of the Northeast in the GPS. Having detailed topo, road, RR, powerlines and even hydrologic details is worth it when out hiking in the boondocks. I esp. like the information on springs and streams, it has precise locations of 4 springs within 1 mile of my house. It really makes geocaching with my son easier and more informative. With accurate topo and stream information it is much easier to figure out a way to hike into to an unknown 'cache. I am planning a trip out west and plan to purchase the appropriate card for that area to make outdoor activities more fun.

This is a good product I plugged it in and it worked fine.
The reason I only gave it three stars is because I feel these chips are overpriced and Garmin should make them available to their customers at a much reduced price or even as a free download/upgrade. The next time I buy a GPS system (which I will}, I will look more closely at the cost of the upgrades and accessories necessary to use it. I think Garmin will come out very low on my list and I probably will choose another brand.

Bought this SD Card Map to use with my Garmin Nuvi 350 on a trip to Toroweep on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. The dirt road is 61 miles with many other roads crossing and intersecting with it. Even though many of the roads had Forest Service road numbers, the map often did not show these numbers. The less traveled roads did not present a problem, but some were as well used as the one I was on. If I was counting on only the GPS map, (which is not a good idea) I might have taken a wrong turn several times.
On the same trip, I had similar problems on dirt roads in the St. George, Utah area.

names of paths and some roads had changed. This map looks 30yrs out of date. Used map with Garmin 400c and find the points are 500-600 feet off.
Save your money.

This does provide topos of the areas indicated BUT the only distinguishing features in the topos are contour lines, none of the other typical features shown on printed topo maps. Quite disappointed in it.

This map does look like a topographical map. And it does have elevation lines. However, I was disappointed at the lack of details other than elevation information. Non-topographic information, like trails and streams are not well updated and not detailed enough to be really useful. These remarks are relative to use with a Garmin nuvi 255W. I don't know how it would work installed on a GPS designed specifically for off-road use.

If you are visiting Yellowstone National Park, or hiking Wyoming, Montana or Idaho you have to have this TOPO data card! Very easy to install. Covers all trails, and major roads inside and out of Yellowstone. A surprise bonus for the Yellowstone Park visitor is: this data card contains the name for every single geyser, geothermal feature, and major attraction within the park.

What can I say. Save your money. There are better ways to get this map. I would say just average at least for me. This map is the same as the none topo version of the city navigator except it is supposed to have topo info on it which it does but just average at that. Garmin has been eating to much big dog cat food. It has gotten too fat off it's customers.