Hardcopy maps a thing of the past?

[johnlt]

I found out today the Tucson Map and Flag store has gone out of business.  The owner for the last 50 years said the demand for hardcopy maps has gone down significantly and the local community can't support a store anymore.  Maybe I'm  "old and old fashioned" but I like a hardcopy map that gives you detail and context.  Most digital softcopy maps give you either but not both in one display.  I guess its just a sign of the times.

 

johnlt

[Bill_Walker]

You can get maps from Amazon.  And the Butler motorcycle maps are great!

[roadscholar]

Not only do paper maps give context and a lot more detail from what I've seen (the small and big picture) but if you study them at all it's easier to know then recall where you are/were in the grand scheme of things. In my dualsport crowd the GPS has become a crutch and without it the user usually doesn't have a clue where they are/were and is unable to discuss it (referring to tiny roads and trails). 

 

Barnes and Noble has a map section and carry the state atlas' for our area (DeLorme). When I'm out west I use Benchmark state atlas' they're actually a little better.

[LBump]

I like a compass... 

Though a good map of a given area is a great tool.

A GPS is a great toll  tool too, but you'll need consent connection, connectivity, satellite etc. More so with a  phone device.

Grease pencil road numbers on a tank bag for a route are a great way to travel with succinct directions and no fiddling with technology. 

You need to trust your planning.

IMO 

[bendbill]

Another vote for Butler maps.  Too often, I'm  out of cell range in the back of beyond and cannot get  my bearings via cell phone.

[dba]

Some of the modern GPS units can tell you how to get there, but not necessarily where you are.  Before every road trip, I go through my paper map collection and check to see if I have ones for where I'm going and hit up AAA if I need new ones.  

[Hank in WV]

I get my maps here:   https://www.heyitsfree.net/free-state-maps/

[longjohn]

2 hours ago, dba said:

Some of the modern GPS units can tell you how to get there, but not necessarily where you are.  Before every road trip, I go through my paper map collection and check to see if I have ones for where I'm going and hit up AAA if I need new ones.  

AAA has dropped the ball in recent years, at least with respect to their CA maps.  Their central section map which covers roughly Yosemite to the coast  is no longer printed.

[Skywagon]

I still keep paper maps on the bike.....a US Atlas and a map of Texas and Louisiana where I ride the most.  I rarely use them but they are there when I want to see the big picture versus scrolling through a small screen that seldom does what I want it to do.  Viva la papel…  I know people like the butler maps, but I'm not a fan of them.  

[Bill_Walker]

6 hours ago, dba said:

Some of the modern GPS units can tell you how to get there, but not necessarily where you are.

All the Garmins of my acquaintence will tell you where you are if you touch the vehicle icon on the map.  And of course, they show your location on the map.  Just zoom out for context.

[dba]

On 7/29/2019 at 8:44 PM, Bill_Walker said:

All the Garmins of my acquaintence will tell you where you are if you touch the vehicle icon on the map.  And of course, they show your location on the map.  Just zoom out for context.

 

Of course they will if you work it; but navigating a 5 inch screen pales to spreading out a large map across the seat or trunk.  Especially if you can find a shady spot out of the sun.

[Bill_Walker]

On 8/3/2019 at 10:04 PM, dba said:

 

Of course they will if you work it; but navigating a 5 inch screen pales to spreading out a large map across the seat or trunk.  Especially if you can find a shady spot out of the sun.

Yes, but you can first find your location on the GPS so you can then find your location on the paper map for planning.  I fully agree that there's not enough context on the tiny screen, especially since details go away as you zoom out (a problem that Google Maps and BaseCamp also have).

[Selden]

Before I rode to Alaska, a friend offered to loan me his GPS. I looked at a map and said "Why, there aren't many navigational choices." Ten days into the ride, I found that my short term memory seemed to have improved considerably with the relative absence of screen time in front of a computer, and the need to remember where I was headed after a stop for a map check.

 

Unlike slide rule vs electronic calculator, a map and a GPS are different, but complementary tools. I use my GPS mainly as a trip computer, rarely for routing, but it is great for "Hey, I wonder where this road leads?" explorations, because I know the GPS can always guide me back to my starting point.

 

My old Garmin Nuvi died last spring, and I replaced it with a newer model with the same size screen so that I could use the old GPS mount. Garmin has improved the UI considerably, adding a lot more detail, which is good up to a point, but more info means more information density, so it really needs a 6" screen or even larger.

[Dennis Andress]

Someday I'll have a Global Positioning Sphere...

[tallman]

I ask Ncik Danger.

Explaining how can you be in 2 places at once when you're nowhere at all not realizing you can't get there from here and we're all bozos on this bus takes skill.

[MariettaMark]

On 7/28/2019 at 11:15 PM, LBump said:

 

"Grease pencil road numbers on a tank bag for a route are a great way to travel with succinct directions and no fiddling with technology."

 

Love this! I may sound thick but this had  never occurred to me nor had I seen someone do it! Thank you!

[MariettaMark]

On 7/29/2019 at 4:49 PM, Hank in WV said:

I get my maps here:   https://www.heyitsfree.net/free-state-maps/

Cool site! Thanks!

[EricV]

I carry AAA paper maps on trips and have a Garmin dezl 760 for point to point routing to give me distance and time data for reference.  The GPS is a tool, but you have to manage it.  Following the magenta line will often not take you were you necessarily wanted to go.  A recent 2 week trip we took back roads and two lane hwys for the most part.  Tuperlo, MS to Grand Junction, CO and back via different routes.  The GPS has an 'Avoid Highways' setting in the avoidances, but Garmin chose not to make that mean 'avoid interstates', but all hwys.  Strange for a trucking based unit.  Using that often makes a hot mess of a simple route, doubling or more the mileage in the East.  Out West it's not as bad.  It tries to route over every goat trail to avoid a small stretch of hwy over a river, for example.  simple, obvious things like following the Natchez Trace from Natchez, MS to Tupelo get messed up if I just allow the GPS to route and follow that.  My house is backed up against the Trace.  The most direct route is to just stay on the Trace the entire way from Natchez, but by a small margin, it's not the shortest or fastest route, so Garmin will try to route me off on I-55.  It's just as quick to take the more direct route of the Trace in real life and a lot more pleasant motorcycle ride.

 

I end up building a route for the day on Google Maps or the paper maps, then entering via points in the GPS to force it to go where I want to travel.

[graydude]

You guys know you can print a Google Map right?

[EricV]

10 minutes ago, graydude said:

You guys know you can print a Google Map right?

 But I'm old and what fits on 8.5 x 11" isn't great detail for a 300 or more mile day.  

[John Ranalletta]

Paper maps still work for a variety of reasons.  Some folks need to see the route in toto as a process with a series of steps.  Knowing which step or position in process in relation to what preceded and what follows gives them a needed reference point.  It's a personality thing.

 

My wife can use the GPS but when on a trip, especially in unfamiliar territory, see needs to see a paper map to get her bearings.

[Rinkydink]

I use my Garmin VI but for route planning and backup on the ride it’s Rand McNalley for me. 

[Groanup]

7 hours ago, graydude said:

You guys know you can print a Google Map right?

 

Well sure...
If you aren't chronically out of printer ink. 

[Joe Coastie]

I have road maps in all my vehicles.

I've the habit, cross a state line on a trip, stop at welcome center, get a new map.

Also carry tp.

[Hank in WV]

The trouble with that is welcome centers are usually only on interstates which I most often don't use.

[Achilles8857]

On 7/29/2019 at 12:15 AM, LBump said:

A GPS is a great tool too, but you'll need consent connection, connectivity, satellite etc.

I usually use Google's offline maps feature. The Scenic app, of which I'm a fan, has the same feature, downloads state by state (or province / country if out of the US).

Doesn't that eliminate the need for connectivity?

Sure you still need that GPS satellite to tell you where you are, but isn't that a non-issue even in remote areas?

[Rider1260]

Love my GPS most of the time, easier to read on the fly than a map on a tank bag. ( I really don't like having a tank bag on unless I have to ) 

BUT 

A paper map is far easier to adjust your route I still really like just picking a direction to ride and then searching for roads to ride, when I find new routes and roads I get them entered into the GPS 

I always have a map of the area I am riding just in case. 

[Green RT]

I am not very fond of the maps in the Nav V on my bike, but I use it anyway. However, if I really need to see what is going on, I stop and look at the Pocket Earth maps on my phone. They include topographic maps (with elevation contours) for entire countries, stored on the phone so no connection needed. I can zoom in or out as desired. They also include paths as well as roads, great for hiking. I haven't looked at a paper map for years. And that is from someone who used to have a collection of thousands of National Geographic maps, AAA maps, and USGS topo maps.

[Skywagon]

I have GPS in all vehicles and of course the various things that are available on smart phones e.g. google, mapsco, etc.  I have a small atlas I carry in all vehicles as well.  Every year when car/motorcycle insurance comes due I call the agent and tell her send me 4 and I'll send my payment.  I don't use them all that often but when a long ways from home and I want to see generally how to get e.g. another state, I use them.

[realshelby]

Not sure if I used a paper map this year. Probably the first year I can say that. While the gps on the bike is awesome, it is still poor for route planning or looking ahead much distance. 

I usually sit on the computer at the shop and figure routes ahead of time. Write that down and put the notes in the tank bag where I can see them. Probably should learn base camp....

I have found myself using my phone for google maps when at a rest stop or eating. I can easily bring up where I am and zoom in and out to check on things. You cannot do that moving on the bikes gps very well, and honestly I have to have reading glasses anyway. The phone app works pretty well, and I use WAZE some too. 

I do carry an atlas on long trips. But I don't think it came out this year.....

[Mike]

I still like the tactile nature of maps and the ability to get a handle on the bigger picture. While I almost always navigate by GPS of some sort, I've been screwed over by the voice inside a GPS device more than once, and it's occasionally good to see if the routing actually makes sense. It can also be nice to haul out a map to see if there's someplace of interest that strikes your fancy. 

[Sonor]

On 8/18/2019 at 1:04 PM, tallman said:

I ask Ncik Danger.

Explaining how can you be in 2 places at once when you're nowhere at all not realizing you can't get there from here and we're all bozos on this bus takes skill.

 

Just remember, we're all Bozos on this bus.

As for maps, I prefer them.  There are way too many places that my cell doesn't get a signal.  Granted GPS signal is a different protocol, but there have been times my GPS has placed me inside a shop miles from where I was.

 

[gordiet]

AAA has maps for everywhere, even Mexico