Unsearchable, quickly outdated, unscrollable, unzoomable, without layers, that would tear on the fold lines and get soggy in the rain?

I remember those. I think I have some with my buggy whips, somewhere.

I like to have paper maps (atlases actually) in the car when I'm traveling for vacation. I do sort of a map recon to figure out what I want to see, then use the GPS to provide enroute guidance to get there.

I also love Army UTM maps for hiking.

I always travel with both a GPS and paper maps. GPS is best for bringing you to specific addresses - especially in a foreign country where you can't read the street signs. We never would have found wife"s cousin's house in Norway without one.

Paper map or 1:190000 atlas is great for overview, finding little backroads or alternate routes when stuck in traffic. My wife saved us from sitting in 60km of stop & go on the Autostrada once by spotting a way to bypass it and bailing at the next exit.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Blackmore,

Love paper and use it when I’m alone but the girlfriend does do pretty good sitting in the navigator’s seat with Waze.

Map reading is an essential skill that will always be needed. I prefer to have a paper map whenever I travel long distances. I use hardcopy maps for planning, in combination with a stand-alone GPS for close-in guidance and calculations.

Navigation is becoming a lost art to electronic means. I can't understand how some people only rely on their phone for everything. Batteries die, cell service is not always available, and situational awareness is lost in an emergency.

And they make great wall hangings.

Paper for the strategic view, phone/GPS for tactical.

I have a lot of paper maps, never out without several. When we boated I had lots of charts, even with a large GPS/plotter.

If you're traveling the West, the best I've found are the Benchmark, lots of detail.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: UTsig,

Cardinal rule of navigation is never rely solely on Electronics..... at least that is what I learned when I was taking classes with the U.S. Power Squadron..

4x5: they don't cost that much, but if you want a pretty new state map of Oregon then email me with your address, I'll pass it on... Spent two weeks back in April in Oregon and Washington state and you better believe I had maps of both... as well as a gps.

Always have charts on the boat.
Always have an atlas when the wife and I travel. She likes too have it on her lap and follow along where we are, until she falls asleep.
We use the atlas for the big picture. Before we leave on our trips out west I print out detailed maps of places we are going from Google maps. Then we put them in a d ring binder in order along with our hotel reservations printed out.
In addition, I print out each state's information from handgunlaw.U.S. and have it in another binder with dividers in order of our route.

quote:

Originally posted by PHPaul:
Problem I have with digital maps is scale. This is primarily when planning.

If I zoom in to see the little secondary roads that are so much fun on the bike, it's easy to lose track of the overall picture. Zooming back and forth is a pain in the ass on a computer, it's frustrating as hell on a phone.

Unfold a paper map and I can see all the alternate possibilities at a glance.

Digitals are handy when actually on the road tho. Haul out the phone, wait a couple of minutes and a little dot pops up on the map. "Dammit, I KNEW I should have turned left at Albuquerque!"

When planning MC trips I really like the Delorme Gazetteer state map books. Has everything down to popular trails and includes an overview page as well.
Have found some pretty cool stuff because of them.
If I was doing a trip to a specific area, say NC for the Tail of the Dragon, I'd throw it in the side case to reference on the road.

More than once when flying, I have had failures of the electrical system and / or navigation equipment.

Paper charts showing landmarks like lakes, highways, railroad tracks, etc. along with the compass and a stop watch have always gotten me to a suitable airport.

Paper charts are still required to be onboard ships for navigation.

I love paper maps!

I frequently give directions to my business. Even though it is on a main highway the address is a small side street. The really intelligent people ask for physical landmarks in addition to using GPS.
There are still plenty of people who do not use GPS and need directions based on physical landmarks.

quote:

Originally posted by 4x5:
We're taking a trip to the Oregon coast this summer, so we thought we'd pick up a map at WalMart to get some ideas of places to visit, alternate routes etc. But, apparently, WalMart no longer stocks paper maps ('just use your phone', said the helpful lady working there). Maybe I'm just a dinosaur (actually, I am, nothing 'maybe' about it), but I grew up with real maps, and have a hard time using an app to, for example, find all the beaches in northern Oregon, or find alternate routes form point A to point B.

I guess I'll buy a map on Amazon, before they stop selling them too.

Here in UK we have two map books in each car - and the same in Oregon. GPS is all well and good, but a paper maps works on those occasions when the GPS glitches, or is just not conducive to giving you a broad overview.

I was brought up on paper maps, and used them extensively in my 33-year Army career, too.

Amazing though it might be to some people here, not everybody has an i-Phone or ready access to goople maps whilst driving around in a vehicle.

If there was a 12" square display, like they have in a Tesla, that would be good, but I live in the real world that is uninhabited by $150000 cars and their spiffy displays.

tac

I should carry one as a back up. I visit a lot of customers every day to give them job proposals. I usually use my phone but one day I dropped it and it wouldn’t connect to the network for about 20 minutes. Fortunately, I had an old Garmin GPS unit in my truck that I dug out and used.

I still prefer them. GPS maps are definitely useful but I hate turn by turn directions. I like seeing the whole route from beginning to end.

You domt take a drone to scout the area and have it guide you back as well?

I like both. You my try walmarts sporting good section. I grab a new hunting atlas every year which includes a map of the entire state and of course it is free.

Can't kill a fly with your cell phone. Or you shouldn't.