Ability to print more detailed and informative maps
As an assistant scoutmaster for my son's Boy Scout troop, we're regularly printing out copies of our routes to give to the scouts and review with the scouts the route of our backpacking and hiking trips.
However, the current output from GAIA's website is a bit lacking, regarding detail and reference points. It would be great if the website can generate printed maps similar to the one below (which was generated by a competing mapping web service / app) :
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The competing app/service that Erwin mentioned is CalTopo, I think. Caltopo allows you to create a mapset of your route, with each page looking like the snapshot that Erwin posted.
Caltopo also lets you build a route at the resolution you want; I know Gaia allows that by zooming into whatever you like, but it's cumbersome. It would be better to just specify a resolution, something like 1:24000.
Please consider adding this feature - it would make Gaia a one-stop shop rather than use Gaia on my phone and Caltopo to print, etc.
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Is it possible to print to scale using Gaia yet? I haven't been able to find any direct information related to this yet.
I've been trying to decide if I want to switch from Caltopo to Gaia since my subscription is up and it's time to renew. This is one of the features that would help me to make a decision.
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Yes, I'm just now working to print out maps and find complete lack of map scale information a significant lack. Thanks for the reference to caltopo.
Here's what appears on the "printed" map
"Hey! why am I printing maps? Gaia is an on-line topo program!" you may ask. Well, I'm planning a trip down a river in the arctic. I don't want my phone exposed during the day, I don't want to use the power, and it is hard to beat reliability of printed maps.
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We always advocate having a printed map that works with your compass. I have taught folks how to use Gaia and CalTopo and now I just tell them if they want a printed map they have to use CalTopo. Gaia's map printouts are frankly terrible and unusable. The most basic features that are lacking compared to CalTopo are the fact that you can't select the datum or the exact scale. Most compasses are only designed to work with one or two scales, so Gaia's random "zoom in and out and get whatever you get" approach is extremely annoying. CalTopo's multi-page map printouts is really nice and would be great in Gaia where I regularly do recommend its use for backpackers, but that's a nice-to-have rather than a must-have.
However, what really clinches the deal and makes Gaia printouts useless is the fact that they are completely unreadable. The printout is low contrast with faint contours and the text (elevations, places) is faint, pixelized and unreadable. While I love that there is no annoying hillshading (which makes inkjet printouts a muddy mess) the default Gaia topo, while perfect for the screen, needs more contrast when printing.
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