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National Geographic TOPO! Explorer
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National Geographic TOPO! Explorer

Item # 776036

$24.95

Item qualifies for annual
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Browse a seamless, nationwide set of topographic maps, aerial imagery, and a unique hybrid of the two with TOPO! Explorer from National Geographic.

  • Works with both PC and Mac for full compatibility across platforms, making it easier than ever to plan, print and play
  • Includes 25 credits for SuperQuad maps; download the exact maps you need to print, customize or connect to a GPS
  • Each map credit is good for 1 SuperQuad, a combination of the most detailed, authentic 1:24,000 and 1:100,000 scale USGS topographic maps
  • Covering a minimum of 49 sq. mi., each SuperQuad map features current roads and streets, aerial imagery and a topo/aerial hybrid view
  • Comes with online access to the National Recreation Database, filled with updated trails, photos, videos and user-generated recreation information
  • Download trails for your favorite national park and add Forest Service roads or wildlife habitat areas
  • Customize your map with routes, symbols, photos, note boxes, web links and text; share information with an online community of outdoor enthusiasts
  • Select the exact area you need and print a photo-quality custom map on any ink-jet or laser printer or plotter
  • Transfer your custom waypoint and route information directly to or from most handheld GPS units
  • Print waterproof trail maps on National Geographic Adventure Paper (sold separately) to take along on your trips

System requirements: Internet connection (DSL, Cable, or equivalent high speed access recommended for performance); Windows Vista, XP, 2000, ME, or 98; Internet Explorer 6 or higher; 1 GHZ CPU or better; 512 MB RAM + 64 MB video memory; DVD Drive.
For Mac: Mac OS X 10.3.9 or higher; 1 GHZ CPU or better; 512 MB RAM + 64 MB video memory; DVD Drive.

Made in USA.

Item 776036

National Geographic TOPO! Explorer Customer Reviews

REVIEW SNAPSHOT®

by PowerReviews
National Geographic TOPO! Explorer
 
2.5

(based on 6 reviews)

50%

of respondents would recommend this to a friend.

Pros

    Cons

    • Crashes or freezes (3)

    Best Uses

      • Reviewer Profile:
      • Quality oriented (6)
      • Primary use:
      • Personal (6)

      Reviewed by 6 customers

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      Displaying reviews 1-6

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      Jun

      6

      2008

      (2 of 3 customers found this review helpful)

       
      1.0

      Still in Beta

      ByIslandhigh

      from Colorado Springs, CO

      About Me Quality Oriented

      Site Member

      Pros

      • Has potential

      Cons

      • Crashes or Freezes
      • Not all features work
      • Not Much Information

      Best Uses

      • Not ready for prime time

      Comments about National Geographic TOPO! Explorer:

      Topo Explorer is a really great concept but it is very much in beta testing. Too bad this has become the model for software releases. Many of the features are not functional and the ones that are have many issues. Just take a look on the TOPO forum to see the list of issues. Nice toy but wait for the sequal.

      • Primary use:
      • Personal

      Bottom Line No, I would not recommend this to a friend

      (2 of 3 customers found this review helpful)

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      Jul

      16

      2008

      (1 of 2 customers found this review helpful)

       
      4.0

      This product ROCKS!

      BySpiritfox

      from Houston, Texas

      About Me Quality Oriented

      Pros

      • Adaptive and Versatile
      • Easy To Navigate
      • Engaging
      • Lots Of Information

      Cons

        Best Uses

        • Educational Purposes
        • Preparing Documents
        • Professional Presentations
        • Research

        Comments about National Geographic TOPO! Explorer:

        As a serious tech geek and owner of about 12 of the State series (7.5 min.) products, I find this package AWESOME! I had a question or two while doing the installation and made a call to N.G.'s 800 number and all questions were answered. Great people! I fear that any reviews to the contrary are a result of assumptions based on the fact that this is a web-based, hybrid interface with the desktop applications and departs a bit from a conceptual 'norm.'

        • Primary use:
        • Personal

        Bottom Line Yes, I would recommend this to a friend

        (1 of 2 customers found this review helpful)

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        Please let us know what kind of issue this is:

        Sep

        18

        2009

         
        4.0

        Useful program, but poor map quality

        ByShadycakes

        from Central VA

        About Me Quality Oriented

        Pros

        • Lots Of Information

        Cons

        • Hard To Navigate
        • Poor Map Quality

        Best Uses

        • Trip Preparation

        Comments about National Geographic TOPO! Explorer:

        It's a great map software for the price.
        The quality of the maps at 1:24000 is quite underwhelming. Some of the small print is incredibly hard to read (including elevation.) The trail lines are hard to distinguish from rivers and streams, and since they are USGS maps, they don't have all of the smaller trails. However, the USGS maps are much more detailed than most trail maps (e.g. PATC section maps) in terms of contour lines.
        Where this software really shines is downloading trails from the internet. If you find a reliable source that provides .tpo or .gps files, you can import them straight to your maps, where the trail will be superimposed on the topo.
        Map printing is complicated, but once you get the hang of it, it works well (except for that whole low-res map problem.) When you print a map, the map scale shows up at the bottom, along with true *and* magnetic north. I found this feature to be very useful as it calculates the magnetic declination from the center of the map you print.
        You can also print an elevation profile for your route that shows up beneath the map.

        All in all, a very useful program for planning trips, especially long ones. It allows you to print only the section of the map you need at the scale you want, without folding your full size PATC section map every which way. It does score low on the quality of the map scans, however.

        • Gift:
        • No
        • Primary use:
        • Personal

        Bottom Line Yes, I would recommend this to a friend

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        May

        12

        2009

         
        1.0

        Don't bother

        Byletcy

        from san francisco, ca

        About Me Quality Oriented

        Pros

          Cons

          • Crashes or Freezes
          • Lacks features

          Best Uses

          • Frustration

          Comments about National Geographic TOPO! Explorer:

          The program has serious issues.
          -features listed on the box are not available yet
          -it requires a PhD to connect it to a Garmin
          -1/2 the time you try to go to the map store it has "connectivity" issues and blames my internet
          -everytime you try to find a map, it redirects you to a "superquad" or to the mapstore....you can't just explore a route without it being a hassle
          -lacks simple feature like 'draw a box to expand', 'mark a trail head'
          -it highlight one quad no matter what, making viewing annoying
          -tiny topo screen: i have a 21" monitor and am squinting at a 4" topo!!

          • Gift:
          • No
          • Primary use:
          • Personal

          Bottom Line No, I would not recommend this to a friend

          Was this review helpful? Yes / No

           - You may also flag this review

          Please let us know what kind of issue this is:

          Aug

          22

          2008

           
          1.0

          Don't Waste Your Time

          ByBuckeye96

          from Northern VA

          About Me Quality Oriented

          Site Member

          Pros

          • Great maps

          Cons

          • "Super" Quads are tiny
          • Can't Load routes trails
          • Can't load waypoints
          • Crashes or Freezes
          • Hard To Install or Upgrade
          • Hard To Navigate

          Best Uses

            Comments about National Geographic TOPO! Explorer:

            Don't waste your time with this program or Explorer deluxe. With deluxe you get 25 super quad credits. It wasn't enough to get topo's over GW National Forest and the Shenandoah Nat'l park. The program wouldn't allow me to load my trails, routes, tracks or waypoints.........it gave me an error message and said it was a "feature coming soon". I purchased this product because the Garmin Map source that came with my Colorado 400t didn't have the topo's. What a waste of money. It does no have the features that are promised on the box.

            • Primary use:
            • Personal

            Bottom Line No, I would not recommend this to a friend

            Was this review helpful? Yes / No

             - You may also flag this review

            Please let us know what kind of issue this is:

            Jul

            26

            2008

            (0 of 1 customers found this review helpful)

             
            4.0

            Free Updates Make This a Great Value

            ByTBrown

            from California

            About Me Quality Oriented

            Pros

            • Adaptive and Versatile
            • Easy To Navigate
            • Engaging

            Cons

            • Not Much Information

            Best Uses

            • Educational Purposes
            • Preparing Documents
            • Research

            Comments about National Geographic TOPO! Explorer:

            Bought TOPO Explorer a few weeks ago. When I first fired it up I was a little bummed that it didn't have all the features as my other NG topo products. But, the guys at NG keep posting free upgrades and now it's working like a champ! I bought it to add some maps to my state collections, great value at a buck a piece. Works with my Garmin Colorado too. If you need maps I suggest giving this a shot at [$].

            • Primary use:
            • Personal

            Bottom Line Yes, I would recommend this to a friend

            (0 of 1 customers found this review helpful)

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            Please let us know what kind of issue this is:

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