Customer Reviews

Garmin US TOPO 24K Topographical Maps of United States Mountain Central Region (microSD/SD Card)

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I received these topo-maps about two weeks ago and used them for road navigation (car) and trail navigation (MTB) so far on an etrex Vista HCx. My overall impression is mixed I have to admit.
From the start:
Installation is nice and easy, just pop in the micro-SD, power up the Garmin and the gadget will do the rest. In less than 5 minutes the map-set is completely configured and ready to go. I like this much better than the hassle with the DVD and transfer via USB cable which takes aeons. I made a backup of the SD card, yet I don't know if this will work the reverse way if I have to restore the SD. I recently read that this might cause problems but I don't have any experience with this.
Using it on the road it works well, fast calculation, precise directions. But this is definitely not what I bought it for.
So I took it to Lake Chabot (Anthony Chabot Regional Park) and... I was lost. Not a single one of the trails going round the lake was indicated. I rode into the golf course trying to get through somewhere, had to go back. Next through a nearby village, again, no trail indicated. Asked a resident and she told me where to get back on the trail. Fine. At least I was able to use the compass with the map to get back to my starting point. All in all: disappointing.
One week later up to Mission Peak. This time I was smarter and took a map of the Regional Preserve with me. And again, none of the trails indicated on the Garmin. Without the map I would have probably again been lost. Garmin and the map together worked well, but honestly saying the map alone would have been sufficient.
There are however some trails correctly indicated in parks and preserves which I can tell because I rode them earlier. But you'll better make sure that trails are displayed on the Garmin BEFORE you go there. Otherwise take a paper map with you. Well, I know you should always do this when hiking in the mountains where no official trails exist. But for park trails??
A downside of the SD card: you cannot use it on your PC for route planning, track or waypoint readout or whatever unless you have another map set on CD with the MapSource-SW. Think you can download MapSource from the Garmin homepage and activate it with the code of the SD-based maps? No way! Aaaaargh!!!

Summary: If you need a supplement of topo-maps when you already own MapSource it is probably alright because you can easily check on your PC and plan your trip before hitting the trail. Or you can check if there is any trail indicated at all. For the actual price it is still alright, but always make sure you have a paper-made backup with you if you are not 100 % sure that you can rely on the etrex.

This software was purchased to be used with the Garmin Rino 530HCX units, but this review may apply to other units as well, so beware.

First to note: You can only use this on one unit, and you are not able to backup the software for safekeeping or for use on more than one unit if you happen to own more than one. One card per unit. If you overwrite it, you loose it. You cannot use this card for viewing on your computer, or back it up for safekeeping. It has a lock code that prevents you from using it in any manner but inserting it into the gps unit. Technical support will not help you with this issue.It does not state any of this on the box. It is a micro SD card with an adapter, so it is small.
Second: On the Rino 530HCX, this product only gives the elevation contour of the area, with roads and some trails. No DEM shading, no 3-D modeling, etc. These limitations are not noted on or in the box, or anywhere on the Garmin website. Technical support said the flat contour map may be more detailed than the US topo map on CD, but they were not specific as to the differences, if any.

I visited the Garmin website, and it did say it had limited capability, and gave a few examples:

From the Garmin website:
" "Limited capability" may mean that a unit may be able to draw all the map features from the MapSource software, such as roads, lakes, nav-aids, depth contours, wrecks, etc., but the interactive capability of the maps may be limited. For example, you may not be able to "find nearest marinas" or look up additional text about a specific mapping feature. "

So before you purchase this product, or any other software product of this nature from Garmin, realize that they may not be fully disclosing all of the pertinent information.

For the first time Garmin is beginning to roll out 24K Topo maps on very convenient microSD cards. ( includes SD card adapter ) No computer needed, just put it in your unit and go. No fuss, no muss !

All I can say is it is about time !

They are starting with the western states and going east. If your state is not covered yet, please be patient. They are all coming.

This is the highest level of mapping detail available for your Garmin unit. They work best on the new Colorado and Oregon series units as you will see see 3-D views and color terrain shading on these units only. Very Nice !!

These are a must have for hikers, geocachers and any outdoor enthusiasts.

Highly recommended !!

The maps are great and so far they seem up to date. The only problem that I had was getting it work. If you have a Vista HCX you have to have the latest update for the GPS for the card to work in the GPS. You have to figure this out on your own because garmin doesn't have any information to this in with the card. Also if you try to look it up in on the website be sure to be precise, don't type Topo US type Topo U.S.. It took me an hour to figure this out. Once you do figure it out, it is a peice of cake to update the unit and get the card to work in the GPS. Other than that the card and and maps are of a quality that you would expect from Garmin. I have used the maps for work and for fun with great success. It is a must have for your GPS

It beats the heck out of the base map that came with my Oregon 200 but leaves a lot to be desired. Quite a lot of roads & trails in my local forest, (Deschutes) are not shown and some that are shown do not exist. In spite of all the copyrights and warnings it appears to have been taken straight off a Forest Service topo map I obtained from them a couple of years ago. I looked at points of interest and found it had not been updated in several years. Many listed are gone years ago. The city part streets are also about 3 years old. Better then the base map's 10 year old update. I only wish that Garmin would let me correct the errors I know of on my computer then re-load the map on the GPS!

All that being said, The Oregon 200 with the topo map is one heck of a tool for trecking, ATV'ing or driving the forest! Do bring a good compass though! and if you got room in your pocket a paper topo map.

The map itself is adequate assuming you plan to use it only in your device. Imagine my shock after dropping $100 that you cannot import this map from the device into the Mapsource software on your PC (as mentioned in the review below). Is this due to technical limitations? Liscensing limitations? I searched the web for reasons and possible solutions or work-arounds as I really wanted to use this map in Mapsource to plan hikes, but to no avail.

Fair warning to Garmin: Google maps/Earth is getting better everyday and is inevitably going to eclipse your efforts in short order. And it's user-friendly AND free.

I use this in the Garmin 60CSx. Great map detail. Nice feature of naming spots on the map (ex: suchnsuch mountain).

I purchased the GARMIN 24K TOPO West SD card which couldn't be easier to install on my Garmin GPS. The GPS unit immediately recognizes the additional map upon reboot. I will add that these maps have generally sufficient detail to be geocaching friendly.

Being accustomed to USGS Topo maps, I was disappointed with the level of detail shown on the Garmin maps, not all unpaved roads are shown and not all trails are shown forget springs, old buildings, mines, etc. Basically I was expecting a 1:1 match from the Garmin to USGS Topos - it's not there. The Garmin maps do show contours and provide a sense of the topography but, these do not replace USGS Topos or other references (eg DeLorme Atlas).

The maps on SD card are essentially captive in that you don't have the flexiblity to move them to the computer to augment/update them or download information on the computer to the card.

Summary: If you want to add colorized terrain to your basic Garmin unit or want to play with geocaching - this works. If you need complete trail, off-highway roads, and other detail normally found on Topo maps - you'll need to keep looking.

My Garmin Oregon 450 saw the Topo chip and tried to read it but found it to be locked.

That is improbable, as the "map on a chip" series of Garmin maps are not "lockable."

The Garmin customer support was prompt, courteous but totally unhelpful. Their suggestions were worthless and they did not offer any remedy. I finally told them I was at wits end and would replace the Garmin with a Delorme PN-60W as soon as I could.

I have had the PN-60W for two weeks now, all those high rez Topo maps that cost a fortune if bought for a Garmin came with the Delorme PN-60W . and they work!

I've had a couple of Garmin GPS units before my current Oregon 450t. On my last one, a GPSMAP60C, I had topo maps with less detail. Almost everyone in my offroad group has a GPS unit, and it was very apparent that mine wasn't as good. They saw more than I did, and were more accurate. So, this time, I bought the upgraded maps. Now, when I'm out in the wild, I know where everything is. The amount of detail is amazing. I'm never going back!