Gear Review: Trimble Outdoors Elite Mapping Software

[mapping software]

Shameless plug: Our trip planning and sharing tools just got better. Trimble Outdoors—the shop that develops BACKPACKER apps and prints our PRO Maps—now offers updated services for your desktop and mobile device. The program ties together a best-in-class, browser-based trip planner with digital map bundles for mobile devices and MyTopo paper maps for in-field navigating or in-home framing.

And you can easily cache full topo sets (by national park or state) on your device for off-the-grid use. For $30 a year, you get anywhere-access to maps, exclusive map layers (including live weather radar and public lands), and 20 percent off on custom-printed maps—plus, you’ll unlock all of the PRO features in our GPS Trails (Apple/Android) and Map Maker (iPad) navigation apps. A la carte, the online map editor runs $10, weather maps cost $10, and map bundles start at $10 each. backpacker.com/elite