![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
I needed a map for the hike this weekend, and as always happens, the path cuts across 3 different USGS quads. I decided to try ordering a custom map from mytopo.com. And then I decided that people might care about my opinions on the service.
The good: You can choose the size, scale and exact center of your map. The online interface is good, if a bit slow, and shows you exactly what you end up getting. They splice the maps together from real USGS topos, so the content and visual design is excellent. (You can also get them with aerial photography instead.) They come on waterproof paper, which is great. (Last year on the canoe trip I didn't once use the topos I had with me, instead relying on a really crappy folding map aimed at fishers, just because it was waterproof.) For fun you can add a label and owner tag to the map. They also list the magnetic declination current to the day it was printed, which is a nice touch.
The bad and/or ugly: These are scans of the topos, not the vector data. The printing is decent, but you can see some raster ugliness up close. The exact color balance of the original quads don't always match each other, so you get some jarring changes across boundaries in the composite version. The waterproof paper is semi-gloss and is slightly unpleasant to hold. (Brushing it with your fingernails has overtones of a chalkboard. I might well be the only person who notices this.) You can only get standard aspect ratio maps, which is still somewhat wasteful for linear trips. An interface to define a series of strips which are then printed side by side would be really cool.
Overall: I'm fairly pleased with it. For what I wanted, it's perfect, and came at a decent price. However, these are not real USGS topos -- the aesthetics just aren't up to the same level. I shouldn't be surprised, since that's a damned high standard to meet, but it's still a bit disappointing.
The good: You can choose the size, scale and exact center of your map. The online interface is good, if a bit slow, and shows you exactly what you end up getting. They splice the maps together from real USGS topos, so the content and visual design is excellent. (You can also get them with aerial photography instead.) They come on waterproof paper, which is great. (Last year on the canoe trip I didn't once use the topos I had with me, instead relying on a really crappy folding map aimed at fishers, just because it was waterproof.) For fun you can add a label and owner tag to the map. They also list the magnetic declination current to the day it was printed, which is a nice touch.
The bad and/or ugly: These are scans of the topos, not the vector data. The printing is decent, but you can see some raster ugliness up close. The exact color balance of the original quads don't always match each other, so you get some jarring changes across boundaries in the composite version. The waterproof paper is semi-gloss and is slightly unpleasant to hold. (Brushing it with your fingernails has overtones of a chalkboard. I might well be the only person who notices this.) You can only get standard aspect ratio maps, which is still somewhat wasteful for linear trips. An interface to define a series of strips which are then printed side by side would be really cool.
Overall: I'm fairly pleased with it. For what I wanted, it's perfect, and came at a decent price. However, these are not real USGS topos -- the aesthetics just aren't up to the same level. I shouldn't be surprised, since that's a damned high standard to meet, but it's still a bit disappointing.
no subject
no subject
Hey, do you have a backpacking stove, and what kind and do you like it?