Delorme Topo USA 8.0?

I have no direct experience with this software, but I've thought of getting something like this. What stops me though is printing the maps. If I print on an inkjet printer, I'll get the resolution, but it's not water resistant at all. If I print on a laserjet, it's water resistant, but the resolution isn't nearly as good.

Do you have a good place to make reasonably affordable print outs? This to me is the main selling point for store-bought maps.

I sure do love my software, however, I can't answer all your questions. Plus for $30 a year you can get unlimited downloads of their maps.

I would go here:

http://forum.delorme.com/viewforum.php?f=140&sid=ec772178231fb1efe36fe4ca6df4bed6

They will have all the answers. A very helpful forum and they will set up right up.

I don't recall what version I have, but it is absolute $@#%. It defualts to roads half the time, the trails are all wrong, lakes are often missing, and the waypointing system is retarded.

Then my friends make NatGeo maps and I get sad because they are so much nicer.

"If I print on an inkjet printer, I'll get the resolution, but it's not water resistant at all."

REI carries waterproof inkjet paper.

" don't recall what version I have, but it is absolute $@#%. It defualts to roads half the time, the trails are all wrong, lakes are often missing, and the waypointing system is retarded."

You can set the route system to use roads or trails.

And yes, the trail information is occasionally wrong, or the trail names are wrong, which negates using the route feature sometimes.

I have been using Topo for a lot of years, and I am currently using Version 6. While an older version, it has all of the things that you are seeking. See below.

1) Can you make a printout that includes the scale and north arrow with declination? I use a compass, and this has been the dealbreaker for me regarding free programs like Google Earth, ArcExplorer, Google Maps etc.

* Yes

2) In the same vein, can you print elevation profiles on the same map?

* Yes

3) Does the default software come with usable trail info? Is it the quality of the paper Delorme state Atlases, better/worse?

* If I remember correctly, most trail data is from USGS so you have to take it all with a grain of salt. While quite often wrong, so are most maps unless they are custom maps. Don't know a comparison of the state atlases.

4) I know it can download maps to the PN-40/30/20 series GPS units, but does it export good gpx data that I could use elsewhere or on a different GPS?

* You can download/save either track data, or routes.

5) I've heard the interface has a steep learning curve, but I can live with that. But, important for me, is it relatively easy to import gpx data for overlaying routes, etc?

* Very easy. I didn't think that the learning curve was that steep.

other comments: I agree that NG has prettier lookin' maps, but I don't believe that they are more accurate. I was also put off by NG because you had to buy a map for each state. If I remember correctly, Topo has all of the maps in the East and West packages.

Thanks for all the info! I think it will work for me. Now to scrape up some dough…

YMMV, but in the past I haven't found that upgrades are worth the dollars. Something that you might consider is buying version 7 (National), which you can find for around $30-$35. Version 8 (East or West) can also be had for about $30-$35.

"REI carries waterproof inkjet paper."

How cool! I didn't know anyone made that… FYI for those who may be interested, this appears to be much cheaper:
http://www.waterproof-paper.com/inkjet-paper.shtml

Well, I bit the bullet and bought the PN-30 GPS unit with the Topo USA 8.0 software. $199 from Amazon, which was much cheaper than everywhere else.

Get my new toy(s) tomorrow! I'll try and post a gear review soon.

Thanks to everyone for the input!