If you’re a serious hiker or backpacker and you use a GPS, you know it can be frustrating to manage your trail and map data using the free software included with your GPS. We’ve tested half a dozen GPS and mapping software packages and our favorite is still TopoFusion. In fact, TopoFusion is really three products in one: mapping software, photo management & publishing software, and activity logging/training software. The crazy thing: it does all three better than virtually any other product we’ve seen.

Mapping

Of course TopoFusion is first and foremost an outdoor mapping program and it includes all the features you’d expect like support for GPX files, USGS topo maps, and elevation profile charts of your GPS tracks. But TopoFusion goes way beyond what you’d expect, starting with the inclusion of black and white or color aerial photos, satellite imagery, GIS data from TIGER, and even maps and imagery covering Mexico and Canada. My personal favorite is the “Combo” map setting that blends USGS topo maps with aerial photos - an amazing feature I haven’t seen anywhere else.

TopoFusion also features tools for visualizing trails and routes in 3D to give you a totally new perspective on familiar trails. The best part is you can view any map in 3D - topographic, aerial photo, satellite, even Combo! Simple and intuitive tools allow you to rotate, zoom, and flip 3D maps and the latest version is super responsive even on my slow 3-year old eMachines desktop.

Hiking and backpacking are all about motion along a trail and TopoFusion includes powerful tools for dynamically visualizing GPS tracks. Plug in a GPS track from your latest adventure and TopoFusion adds arrows to the map showing the direction of travel - a helpful and seemingly obvious feature that’s missing from other mapping programs I’ve used. Even cooler than that: you can play back tracks as they were hiked. TopoFusion calls this ‘multi-track playback’ and you can use the feature to show the progression of multiple hikers along the same trail or even play back hikes of the same trail on different days to see how your pace compares (see video below). I can seriously sit and stare at replays of my own hikes in TopoFusion for hours…

Trail Photo Management

Topofusion includes a feature called ‘PhotoFusion’ that dynamically places photos onto your maps. Now I’ve been hesitant to try this myself for a while - geo-tagging photos just seems too geeky and time consuming. Topofusion actually makes the process dead simple: open a GPS track, click on PhotoFusion and point to a directory with photos taken on your hike. TopoFusion then matches the timestamps on your photos with track point timestamps and places the photos where they belong on your route. Even if your GPS and camera times don’t match up, Topofusion attempts to help you resolve differences using time offsets - incredible! Photo thumbnails appear on the map as waypoints and can be moved around plus you can zoom in on pics with a click of the mouse.

Building photo maps on your computer is cool but what good is a slick photo map if you can’t share it with your friends? TopoFusion understands this and allows you to export your photos and maps to post on the web and even writes the complex HTML for you at the click of a button. Here’s my interactive photo map from a mountain bike ride at Heritage Park last month. Amazing!

Endurance Training / Activity Tracker

If you’re preparing for a big backpacking or multi-day hiking trip, TopoFusion has some great features to keep track of your training data.  ‘Log Book’ is a feature that saves your hiking, running, or riding data to a calendar summarizing your workouts: clicking on a date reveals distance, time, total climb, and speed data PLUS it includes difficulty and effort scores that allow you to compare workouts of varying length, elevation, and intensity. Log Book also computes summary statistics based on a date range so you can see, for instance, how many miles you hiked last week.

TopoFusion activity tracking tools also work great with data from other sports like running. I imported runs from my Forerunner and using the Run Analysis tool was able to compute a GOVSS Score, Lactate Adjustment Power, Average Power, and calories expended. TopoFusion also allows you to switch units from miles per hour to more runner-friendly minutes per mile.

The current version of TopoFusion includes support for direct connection to the most popular Garmin GPS units including the GPSMap series, Edge series, and of course the Forerunner series. With this support, TopoFusion also includes the ability to view heart rate, cadence, and power data, depending on your GPS unit’s capabilities. With support for multiple file formats including GPX, TCX, KML, and even ESRI ShapeFiles you can be sure that no matter what brand or model GPS you own you can use TopoFusion to view, edit, and catalog your data.

Power User Tools and Functions

Beyond the features most users will find helpful, TopoFusion also includes a few power-user functions that map geeks will find especially cool. The ‘Make Network’ tool transforms messy GPS trail data full of backtracks and dead ends into clean, easy to follow trail segments. TopoFusion also includes a tool to fix elevation profile data from GPS units with unreliable or even non-existent elevation tracking - a feature that honestly borders on voodoo magic. You can even use TopoFusion to move or delete waypoints and trackpoints to clean up errant GPS data points before sharing with friends.

Bottom Line

TopoFusion is the best GPS mapping software we’ve used - hands down - and perhaps this is why:

TopoFusion is written by Alan and Scott Morris. Brothers, outdoor enthusiasts, mountain bikers and former wilderness rangers. Both hold Master’s degrees in Computer Science. (Scott Morris) logs his adventures at topofusion.com/diary.

There are two versions of TopoFusion available for sale and immediate download at TopoFusion.com - the Basic and Pro version - but take it from us: the Pro version is well worth the additional investment. Many of the features mentioned in this review are only available in the Pro version and at less than $70 it’s still much cheaper than software from Garmin, DeLorme, and National Georgraphic - with way more features!

Even if you don’t own a GPS yet, TopoFusion is a great tool for viewing topographic and trail maps created by others and posted online. Get it today and start planning your next trail adventure!

I’m a bit of a fanatic when it comes to outdoor GPS units and over the past 7 years I’ve owned nearly a dozen different models. I recently got a chance to use the Earthmate PN-40 from DeLorme and I have to say it’s one of my top 2 choices for camping and hiking.

The PN-40 is a color-screen, palm-sized GPS that uses 2-AA batteries. At first I was hoping for the unit to use a rechargeable battery but it turns out serious trekkers prefer the portability of replaceable batteries (no where to charge up on the trail!). The PN-40 has a rugged, rubberized case and it’s waterproof to IPX 7 standard meaning you can dunk it under 1 meter of water for 30 minutes and it will still work. The screen is readable in all but the brightest sunlight though some map images were harder to read than others (more on that later). The buttons on the PN-40 give you quick access to the most commonly used functions like marking waypoints and searching for points of interest but can be difficult to press with gloved hands.

Since the PN-40 was designed for hikers and bikers it comes with an incredible set of topographic maps via the DeLorme Topo USA software. I’ve been a fan of Topo USA for a while now - well before I tried the PN-40 - because it includes some of the clearest, most detailed outdoor maps available. You can transfer detailed topographic maps to the PN-40 to take on the trail, though unfortunately the process can be a bit tiresome using the slow serial-USB connection. The PN-40 comes with plenty of memory to fit detailed map coverage and you can add up to 32GB of additional memory though the SDHC slot.

Once you’ve loaded detailed maps on your PN-40 you can start using it as soon as you walk out your door thanks to its ability to provide driving directions. It won’t talk to you like your Nuvi or Tom Tom but it will help you navigate to an unfamiliar trailhead. Once you’re at the trailhead you can queue up a downloaded GPS track of the trail (Topo USA and the PN-40 support GPX formatted files) and follow it just as you would a road. The PN-40 even chirps like a bird when it’s time to turn - pretty outdoorsy if you ask me.

The PN-40 also has the (fairly) unique ability to view satellite and aerial imagery on the GPS itself. You’ll need to download the imagery before you head out and the imagery isn’t free (about $30 a year last I checked) but once you’ve loaded the images it’s like having Google Earth in the palm of your hand! Some satellite images were hard to read in direct sunlight and the images aren’t nearly as clear or detailed as some online services like Google Maps. Satellite images can certainly come in handy but at times I at times felt like it ruined some of the suspense and adventure of hiking. Instead of being surprised to find that the top of the mountain is bald, now I can see it before I’m out of the trees…

Of course the PN-40 also includes all the functions you’ve come to expect from an outdoor GPS - time, distance, speed, etc. but it also includes some helpful functions like a digital compass, barometric altimeter, and fishing and hunting functions. If you’re looking for a good all-around GPS to use in the great outdoors and you’re tired of paying for extras like detailed maps (ahem, Garmin) the DeLorme Earthmate PN-40 is a good choice that won’t break the bank. Just don’t forget to bring extra batteries

Webcitytravel.com posted an article on their blog about flashpacking - basically backpacking with money and tech toys. Flashpacking doesn’t typically refer to the outdoor type of backpacking - more of the “touring-Europe-and-staying-in-hostels” style of “backpacking” but it’s an interesting idea for outdoor enthusiasts nonetheless. It got me thinking about the concept in terms of flash-hiking and how it’s becoming more and more common (minus the money part of course - what good is money in the great outdoors?).

So what makes a hiker a flash-hiker? It’s really all about the gadgets you bring with you on the trail and probably the most common electronic item you’ll find people using on the trail is a digital camera. Bringing along a digital camera on your hikes is a great idea because you never know what you’ll encounter and these days they’re making cameras smaller and more compact meaning they won’t weigh you down on the trail. I always make room for a camera on day hikes and especially multi-day backpacking trips so I can share trail photos with friends and online here at tripleblaze.com.

The second item most flash-hikers rarely leave home without is a GPS unit of some sort. A GPS unit can keep you on the right path when hiking but honestly for me it’s also about entertainment (I’m a real data geek at heart). Bringing a GPS along for the hike is also a great way to document your trip and when paired with your digital camera you can do some interesting things with geo-tagged photos when you get home to your computer. Marking landmarks and finds along the trail with GPS waypoints is the digital equivalent of staking your country’s flag at the North Pole.

Some flash-hikers might choose to bring along other electronics like MP3 players or - *gasp* - portable DVD players but old school hikers will argue these items are antithetical to the natural experience. In many ways I have to agree - being outdoors is about immersing ourselves in the sights and sounds around us and an MP3 player or video device blocks our senses. Teenagers may disagree and it seems like the younger generation has truly mastered multi-tasking such that they probably can pay attention to birds singing AND John Mayer singing at the same time.

The next time you head out the door for a hike, consider packing the digital camera and a GPS unit to help document your adventure. Then head back here to tripleblaze.com and share your trails with the world!