Outdoor Maps+, my thoughts and hopefully yours...

Hi,

https://www.garmin.com/en-US/newsroom/press-release/outdoor/garmin-extends-outdoor-maps-coverage-to-additional-countries/

today announced an expansion of its premium mapping solution, Outdoor Maps+, to now offer TOPO Pro mapping content for European countries, in addition to all 50 U.S. states and Canada.

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Topo Pro and others are described here, maps, details, water, Pro, etc. are different in each region/country

https://www.garmin.com/fr-FR/p/893561/pn/010-D2098-00/#additional

Outdoor Maps Plus Premium Mapping Types

i put here all links from "support" for information or reference

• Getting Started With Outdoor Maps Plus

• Managing My Outdoor Maps Plus Annual Plan

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I think your may now, but in case of, Beta 17.xx

Thanks

Tested in Germany. My watch is an Epic 2, 47mm

• I was considering to comment about the Topo Pro maps+ option, but was not sure about the right place in this forum. As it is a saleable product, I think there should be an additional sub-forum below  'outdoor recreation' as this maps are for all the products in this group, not just for expix. But as I found this thread, I write my experience with maps+ here
• I am on Beta 17.17. and have problems to download as described in the beta forum. But with some attempts I got some maps. I am not sure if they are complete. Sometime got the red warning at a certain percentage of download, but the maps are there.
• I am not happy either, that during the download the watch has to be connected to power. But as one get a whole country although marked a small area for a download, it makes sense. However, when downloading satellite images, which are for small areas only and consequently of small size, it does not make sense at all. I anyhow would download a satellite image only on the spot during an activity. But this is not possible, as these small downloads require the watch to be connected to power. I tried to connect the watch to a power bank. That's inconvenient, but it doesn't help either, as w-land is required.
• I was wondering about the different layers, because in my area all maps seem look the same. When moving the map to another place, eg with mountains and change the layer, unfortunately the map jumps back to my place.
• When i am in the map menu --> map lawyer --> scroll down to topo pro --> therein click on topo pro, I understand that only this enables the topo pro. As I wrote above, enabled and disabled looks like all the same. When there below I enable Topo Germany, the map shows more colors (nice). When I than disable the topo pro option, the colors disappear. So it seems you have to enable both, the option itself and the country layers.
• The colorful Topo German map is as nice as useless. There are no trails shown !!! The country layers rules. The information from the other map disappears.
• I downloaded some other areas in nearby countries. These countries can be enabled and disabled just like the the Topo Germany map. They can also been enabled/disabled in the connect app. Somehow not all countries appeared in the connect app, maybe because of download errors. With some try and error and deleting and reloading these countries finally appeared in the connect app. However, no matter what I try, a switch for the downloaded map for Czech Republic does not appear in the watch nor in the connect app. It can not be disabled and possibly blocks memory in the watch.

Conclusion. I give maps+ a chance till the subscription expires and probably go back to openstreetmaps.

My comments  after testing maps+ for some days.

For those who are not living in a nice place with just streets and forest, lakes, mountains, it is not so easy to compare the maps. When ever you go through the menus in the watch, the map jumps back in your place.

My easiest way to compare maps is this.

• create a favorite in a nice place. I propose Brandenburg gate, as it is close to a park and a river.
• Go in the watch to an activity. Don’t start it to avoid gps locking, searching for sensors etc, but hold the up button instead
• Go down and press navigation 
• Go down and press favorite
• Choose the favorite of the nice place
• Go down to maps
• Now you do everything else in connect app
• Go to the same activity as chosen on the watch
• Go down to maps
• Go down to maps configuration
• Go down to the layers.
• Here you can play around, The map on the watch changes within a second. Switch on the layers for buildings and shading and see what happens.
• These layers are shown on topoactive maps and if you go down further to TOPO PRO also on the maps therein. Maybe the buildings and hill shade are also shown on OS maps, I don’t know. I deleted all OM maps and stay during the subscription with the Garmin maps.
• In the TOPO PRO level, you switch the maps on. For the maps shown there below, you have  to switch them on individually. E.g. Germany is shown. In order to see these map, you have to trigger two switches. E.g. Czech Republic is not shown there. It is already on when Topo Pro is switched on

Sometimes, when switching forth and back,  the building layer disappears, although in the connect app it is switched on. Then switch it in the app off and on.

The topo maps are replacing the topoactive maps. So they are no real layer. They are different maps. The topo map Germany (and maybe others) does not show trails in my area. Maybe nowhere. However, it looks so bountiful and has IMO and real good advantage. The topoactive maps are too much overloaded with ‚POI‘, e.g. many bicycle stand, that it distracts you from more important POI. I will use Topo Pro mainly in cities and Topoactive on trails.

The main selling point for me was the satellite imagery (only way to get it now that they killed off the Birdsdeye Imagery service), and the public land maps are also pretty useful.

i have a GPSMAP66ST. Free Birdseye was included in the ST models. It still works.

You can download the imagery

• without connecting the GPSMAP to power.
• outside at any place by using your mobil as a hotspot 
• not only at your location or near a favorite. You choose any place by using the map. So you see precisely where you have imageries and choose the area where you don't have it.

That you have to connect a wearable to power in order to get the satellite imagery is most annoying and makes no sense. The data is so little compared to a map, starting with 5MB, that I don't understand why.

I think my GPSMAP is something precious and I should keep it as long as it works,