0ur opinion:

:
We?ve mapped every hill and valley. Download data from the MapSource T0P0 U.S. 2008 DVD directly to your compatible Garmin GPS. Now you can enjoy topographic mapping detail no matter where your adventures take you.

T0P0 U.S. 2008 features digital topographic maps for the U.S., including Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico. lt is available in two different formats making it easy and convenient to load data to your compatible Garmin device: MapSource DVD and preprogrammed micro SD data cards.

Product Description:
Garmin's United States T0P0 MapSource CD-R0M is similar to U.S. Geological Survey 1:100,000-scale topographic paper maps. lt includes trip and waypoint management functions that allow you to transfer waypoints, routes, and tracks between your PC and nearly all Garmin GPS units (excluding the GPS 100 family and panel-mount aviation units). With MapSource, you can view highways, roads, hiking trails, snowmobile trails, backwoods trails, elevation contours, point and summit elevations, some bathymetric contours, geographic names, churches, and schools. Shoreline detail is included for lakes, reservoirs, small bodies of water, waterways, rivers, and streams. lcons represent boat ramps, dams, marinas, campgrounds, public facilities, mile markers, first aid stations, picnic sites, swimming areas, ski areas, wrecks, fuel locations, and dangerous and restricted areas.

ln addition, nautical navigational aids for the 50 states are provided, including radio beacons, RAC0Ns, and fog signals; river, harbor, and other lights; and day beacons and lighted and unlighted buoys. Shipwrecks, submerged rocks, obstructions, and other hazards to nautical navigation are also displayed.

Note on compatibility: The trip and waypoint management functions of this product work with nearly all Garmin GPS units, excluding the GPS 100 family and panel-mount aviation units. Specifically, the map-download features of this product work with the eTrex Legend, eTrex Vista, eMap, GPS V, StreetPilot, StreetPilot ColorMap, StreetPilot lll, and GPSMAP 76, 162, 168, 176, and 295. Some units may require a Garmin data card to upload map data.

---

---

Buyer's feedback: - * Not bad..... ...
While some of the maps are somewhat outdated, the program provides decent to even very good coverge to make the GPS 60 much more functional. Without this software, you're missing out on much of the capabilities of the Garmin 60 series. To me it's a must have.

---

Buyer's feedback: - Very imprecise, poor and obsolete software.
Very imprecise, poor and obsolete software. Lack of trails, roads etc.. , could be even danger in the remote area to person who trust it. You will have some use but rather with good paper topographic map.

---

Buyer's feedback: - * Good product within its limits ...
If you understand this product's limits before you buy it, you'll be happy. It shows topographical contours, rivers and most streams for the entire United States. In addition to that, it shows roads that were in existance 10-20 years ago. These major roads are also named.

The limit is that newer roads don't show up. It also doesn't support auto-routing, even if your GPS does. Garmin sells other products that are tailored for road navigation but you have to do some independant research or logical deduction to figure out that this package isn't suited for it.

The product support could be better. Neither the manual nor web site tell you how to load all 3 CDs on your computer so you don't have to swap CDs when transitioning between zones. The company's web site doesn't give a good explanation of what the software can and can't do.

You'll be disappointed if your expectations aren't grounded in reality. Garmin could help alleviate this problem by making this information readily available.

---

Buyer's feedback: - Garmin MapSource Great for Idaho Outdoors
I went to the Ponderosa and Sawtooth Mountains with my new Mapsource. All of the major trails and many of the smaller ones I hiked were mapped. The screen was easy to read at both close-up and enlarged formats.

I would recommend this product to anyone who enjoys the mountains and forests.

---

Buyer's feedback: - * A must for hikers ...
I use the topo maps with a Garmin GPSMap 60CSx. It shows trails, streams, lakes, and other details not available in the city maps, along with elevation contours that give you a pretty good idea whether you'll be climbing up or down along the trail. So far I've been hiking in two national parks and several local forests, and detail has been adequate. All lakes and significant streams were on the map. The hiking trails in the national parks have been marked and matched the paper USGS topo maps we carried.

Some people complain that the maps are old, that they don't show recent roads, etc. If you want roads, use Garmin City Navigator, which is much more up to date and provides information for routing if your GPS supports it. The topo maps show mountains and streams that don't change very often (I suppose if you're hiking near Mount St. Helens you might want something more recent!) They can only be updated as frequently as the USGS does their surveys. I agree it would be nice if it showed all roads up to date, but it's hardly an issue for hikers.

The elevation markings are in weird increments such as 5039 feet rather than a round 5000 feet. This makes it a bit clumsy to estimate the height of a point on the map. Another reviewer said this is due to a metric conversion. I find it annoying, especially since the paper maps I use show round numbers in feet, and this is after all a US topo map, not a European map.