Name: Ken Bigelow
Age: 27
Gender: Male
Height: 5’ 9” (1.8 m)
Weight: 205 lbs (93 kg)
Email: krb84108 (at) yahoo (dot) com
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah USA

Backpacking Background:

I was first dragged on a backpacking trip eight years ago and have been addicted to it ever since. My adventures vary in length from a weekend to over two weeks. I consider myself a mid-weight backpacker as I bring along a few luxuries, such as a tent. From spring through fall I typically backpack in the mountains or desert, while in winter I often go snowshoeing. I typically see a wide variety of climates ranging from 10 F (-12 C) with snow to 90 F (32 C) and sunny with just about everything in between.

Product Information:

Manufacturer: National Geographic
Website: www.nationalgeographic.com
Product: TOPO! Streets & 3-D Views Expansion Pack
Year of Release: 2004
MSRP: $20 (US)
System Requirements: Windows 98, 2000, ME or XP
DirectX Version 9 (included)
8MB Video Card

Field Conditions:

Throughout the test period, I have used the program itself at home on my computer. Prior to each trip I trace my determined path, view both an elevation profile and three-dimensional fly-thru of the trail, and then evaluate any detour options. I bring the data obtained from the software along in the form of GPS downloaded waypoints and printed maps. I have taken trips to the Canyonlands National Park, Fish Lake National Forest, the Wasatch Mountains, the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument and the Uinta Mountains. The terrain has varied greatly and has included wet and muddy corridors, slickrock, steep and rocky terrain, canyon washes, river wading and plain old dirt paths. Temperatures have ranged from 30 F (-1 C) to 95 F (35 C). I have seen all types of weather ranging from heavy rain and hail to sunny. The elevations experienced have been between 4,000 feet (1,220 m) and 11,000 feet (3,353 m).

Software Accuracy:

As I mentioned in my Field Report, the software has been fairly accurate in measuring the terrain. I have been pleased with the three-dimensional views produced by the program and their similarity to the encountered topography. Whether hiking in the mountains or the desert the software has helped me achieve a general idea of the topography that I will see in a given region. Vegetation, boulders or obstacles can always obstruct my line of sight between my location and landmarks I expected after performing a fly-thru on the expansion software. This means I still have to rely on the good old map, compass, GPS and common sense to help me navigate in the wilderness.

Below is a comparison between the software imaging and the actual topography. The two images both show Sundial Peak. The general shape and form of Sundial Peak in both pictures are very similar. Both show the Peak fairly close to the lake and mountains farther in the background. The software image, however, does not show the trees, talus slopes or rock outcrops. These obstacles in the picture hide the creek portrayed in the software image from view. These different images show that the three-dimensional view, while fairly accurate, does not show everything and should only be used only as a navigational aid.

Picture of Sundial Peak 3-D Software Image of Sundial Peak

The map and street updates do help to maintain the accuracy of the software, however they do not appear to be updated very frequently. Initially there were both map and street updates available for almost every quadrangle I looked at. Since downloading the updates in my primary hiking areas I am yet to see more updates available for these regions.

Trip Planning:

With a fairly accurate idea of the surrounding topography I have been better able to plan my trips. While preparing for a dayhike in the Wasatch Mountains I noticed that there was a nice meadow not far off the main trail. The meadow occurred in a place where I anticipated I would be around lunch time. This information added a slight detour and gave me a place to eat lunch. I was happy I had planned on stopping in the meadow because the fall colors were out in full force on the trees and hills surrounding the meadow. It was a beautiful site that I had all to myself on a high-traffic weekend and it only required a five minute side trip. The detour gave me a view that few who hike the popular trail see.

Navigation:

Throughout the test period I have used the expansion pack in conjunction with my Garmin eTrex GPS. The expansion pack does not really add anything to the state series as far as I can tell. The waypoints I mark out on the trail do show up in when loaded onto my computer, but I was able to do this prior to receiving the Streets & 3-D Views Expansion Pack. They do, however, remain on the screen even when viewing in the three-dimensional mode and I am able to retrace my route on the computer in 3D after a hike.

So far the Streets & 3-D Views Expansion Pack has proven to be a useful aid in reaching a trailhead. I believe there is still room for improvement though. When traveling on unfamiliar roads it is nice to have the mileage to the next turn (particularly if the turnoff is a dirt road). The mileage can be obtained by using the Route Tool function which allows users to trace a desired path in order to build elevation profiles. It also conveniently reports the mileage for the traced route. I have noticed that the route tool will not trace over any streets when the Street Settings are turned on to highlight and identify roads. This means I have to turn off the Street Settings in order to trace along a road. This is not by any means hard to do, but the roads are much more pronounced and easy to follow with the settings turned on.

Summary:

The National Geographic TOPO Streets & 3-D Views Expansion Pack enhances the state series be incorporating a number of different (and what I consider cool) features. It has helped me to plan hikes, prepare mentally for the topography of the trail, find trailhead access, improve my map reading skills and aided in navigating while on the trail.

Things I like:

Helps for trip planning
Improves my map reading skills
Decent navigational aid both to the trailhead and on the trail
Lots of cool features
Map & street updates are available

Areas for improvement:

Fly-thru feature does not properly acknowledge less pronounced switchbacks
Cannot trace roads when Street Settings is turned on

I would like to thank National Geographic and BackpackGearTest for allowing me to test the TOPO! Streets & 3-D Views Expansion Pack

Read more reviews of National Geographic gear
Read more gear reviews by Ken Bigelow

Long Term Report

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