Thread: Garmin Topo France v2 (Mapsource)

I can add some more info about this issue after having used it on an Oregon 450.

The quality of the maps is really far better than the previous issue, where it was impossible to tell where were the woods and the peaks. Now, everything looks more like a real map and it is much easier to recognize the geographical points of reference.

This version has auto-routing, but you should be careful about it. If you want to go from one peak to other peak that is only distant 200 m, it may take you down to the valley and then up again, for the simple reason that it only knows a way up to each peak from the bottom of the valley.

For calcs on roads, the results can be surprising. First it includes all paths on the calculation, so a route takes ages to be generated. On some long routes, my Oregon is just unable to go to the end.

Then it tends to take you offroad if it considers that it is a shortcut.

On my last trip to France I went to Meribel (in the Alps) and the proposed route made me go around the village in a spiral for more than 100 km. I had activated both TopoFrance and Navigator, but the information for the route seemed to be taken from the Topo.

If you desactivate the Topo France and have other routable maps (say Navigator) the routes are straight as expected.

I have not been able to reproduce on the computer the snail-like route, but the attached can give a hint of how things can get wrong.

[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

TopoFrance proposes not to take N90 (running North-South) which is clearly the best option. It proposes instead a trip on the mountains taking small roads or paths. TopoFrance will not propose to follow a highway or a big road if there is an alternative, even when this alternative means adding hundreds of kilometers.


Finally, when I use it in my car, I turn off TopoFrance for any calculation of route and turn it on once the route is defined. If you do not deviate from the route, then everything goes OK and you have both roads and land information.

I would say the only possible use is to find itineraries off-road between POIs. You should however not follow blindly its indications. Otherwise you may get lost in the forest or the snow and the weather is chilly these last days.