Rating: 
Summary: A useful tool
Review: I used this software to help plan a recent backpacking trip with my GPS (I have a Garmin 76S which it works well with) and found it very useful. ... for the entire country is a pretty good deal in my opinion but I did not expect miracles. It has decent detail but is not a substitute for a detailed map of where you are going. I also use this software for making maps of local trails which it does a good job at.I did not have any of the problems listed by other reviewers - after I downloaded the patch from delorme. Also - Delorme will sell USGS maps and satellite pictures compatible with this software. I think the USGS was about .../state. I downloaded free samples of both and they were pretty good (the USGS map looked a little like it had been scanned in but it was still very legible). It does leave you a little bit on your own on how to figure out how to use it but I was able to figure most things out fairly easy on my own and the help topics covered the rest.
Rating: 
Summary: Functional and Fun
Review: I was really surprised to find the average review of this product to be so low. I would have paid the full price of this software for just the 2-dimensional maps of the country and much more when the GPS, 3-dimensional, trip planning, printing, profiling and other features are added in. I use a Garmin 12XL GPS and have had no trouble loading routes from the computer to the GPS, or downloading from GPS to computer. Unlike another reviewer, I have not had to use third programs, text files or any computer expertise at all. The vector nature of the maps gives them far more functionality than other programs, which use scanned GIF or JPG images as the maps. The maps are seamless and virtually all features, from streets to trails, mountains to lakes etc. are clickable for more information. I found no trouble adding trails that I've found which were not mapped and Delorme has responded to my e-mails about additions quickly and courteously. In conclusion, I've found Topo USA to be useful, a good value and a product I will continue using well into the future.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointed
Review: I was severely disappointed in this product. Contrary to it's billing it is almost entirely useless for planning hikes. It has essentially _no_ trail info & the route planning is clumsy to the point of being unusable. There is a tremendous amount of data here that is packaged and marketed in about the least useful way possible.
Rating: 
Summary: Topo -- not useful for hikers
Review: I was severely disappointed in this product. Contrary to it's billing it is almost entirely useless for planning hikes. It has essentially _no_ trail info & the route planning is clumsy to the point of being unusable. There is a tremendous amount of data here that is packaged and marketed in about the least useful way possible.
Rating:
Summary: Very good software
Review: I was somewhat surprised to read the reviews of a minority of malcontents. No, this product does not have the detail of USGS topographic maps, but it never claimed that it did! The trade-off is that it covers the whole country. Yes you can buy detailed maps on CD-ROM from Maptech, DeLorme and NGS Topo but it would cost you a couple thousand dollars to cover the entire US. I have not had any problems with displaying maps in 3-D either, it works fine. I have been using DeLorme products for many years and I can also vouch for their product support. However this is serious software for people who like maps, cartography, GPS and navigation. It has many capabilities that require buyers to make sure that their computers meet the minimum requirements and spend some time to learn how to use it. This is definitely more capable software than Street Atlas or Streets and Trips.
Rating:
Summary: Don't Count on This Information
Review: If you are a hiker or backpacker you will be putting you life at risk with this product. They sell this as TOPO's but they are missing a ton of important information you will need for hiking. I compared the DeLorme topos to several USGS topos that I have from trips I took last year and oh man what a mess. The program is neat and very impressive, but you may get lost. :(
I am going to be working on a refund.
Rating:
Summary: Far from what it is billed to be
Review: If you are interested in seeing 3D renditions of terrain then this has something to offer. The problem comes when you want to try and navigate the wilderness in any way. The trails, while routable, are extremely far from comlpete, and Mapquest is much better at creating street routes. Also, the interface gives you the option to make certain points of interest visible, but the program will NOT show them no matter what. You can search for specific campgrounds, and most can be found, but none are visible. This is true of many POIs. They are there in the database but can not be seen. I talked to Delorme about this, they said "TopoUSA is for terrain and not POIs, that is what Street Atlas USA is for." If a program is billed as "Great for Camping...", and it has the campground information then it should display it! Because of the lack of secondary trials and useful POIs this program is hard to bill as more than an expensive toy to look at terrain in 3D. While it rounds many formations that are rather sharp, it is pretty decent at 3D. Otherwise it is fairly useless.
Rating:
Summary: Far from what it is billed to be
Review: If you are interested in seeing 3D renditions of terrain then this has something to offer. The problem comes when you want to try and navigate the wilderness in any way. The trails, while routable, are extremely far from comlpete, and Mapquest is much better at creating street routes. Also, the interface gives you the option to make certain points of interest visible, but the program will NOT show them no matter what. You can search for specific campgrounds, and most can be found, but none are visible. This is true of many POIs. They are there in the database but can not be seen. I talked to Delorme about this, they said "TopoUSA is for terrain and not POIs, that is what Street Atlas USA is for." If a program is billed as "Great for Camping...", and it has the campground information then it should display it! Because of the lack of secondary trials and useful POIs this program is hard to bill as more than an expensive toy to look at terrain in 3D. While it rounds many formations that are rather sharp, it is pretty decent at 3D. Otherwise it is fairly useless.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointed
Review: Initially I thought this was some great software, but once I started trying to do more advanced things I quickly saw the limitations of this software. Like another reviewer said, the routing is almost unusable. I guess if you aren't a hiker you might like this software. I should have gone with my gut feeling and bought Maptech.
Rating:
Summary: powerful program for the money
Review: Just purchased Topo USA 4.0 Mountain States Region for $39.98. This is a good product, but the maps are way out of date. For example, I live in an area that is over 6 years old and still does not show up in the maps -- period. In fact, I'm amazed how out of date these maps appear. My little old Microsoft Streets & Trips 2004 is much more up to date. That's a shame because Topo USA 4.0 gives me the layout of the land, elevation, etc. It believe it also will update it's screen about once a second from my Garmin GPS while Streets and Trips updates about once every 15-30 seconds. If Topo USA 4.0 had maps as up to date as Streets and Trips, It would be 100% better IMHO. As it is now, I have to continue using Streets and Trips because I do need to locate streets that have been built within the last 6 years. I am quite disappointed actually. I have already spend more than $300 on DeLORME mapping products over the last 3 years and each time I find some problem that makes the product half as useful as it should be. They should tell me on the cover of the CD how old the maps are because this is silly to have such old maps.
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