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Paper map sales are booming

wsj.com

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Re: Paper map sales are booming

#31

Post by TurkishPoptart »

skyfaller wrote: post #26
rob74 wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Strange... if you store a map for offline viewing in Google Maps, it will be cached for at least a few months - and when that time expires, it will ask you if you want to update it. But I can't vouch for the various hiking apps which may be better for hiking data, but have worse UX overall. Or you can use an "offline-only" app like OSMAnd and feed it with GPX tracks downloaded from hiking sites, then you only have to…

According to CNet, with Google Maps "Transit, bicycling and walking directions are also not available offline -- only driving directions." https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/why-you-shou... So Google Maps offline may actually be useless for hiking? This would also explain why I had trouble using Google Maps offline on my last bike trip.

How dreadful. Well, there's always Alltrails.

Re: Paper map sales are booming

#32

Post by mvexel »

Part of this resurgence can undoubtedly be explained by the ready availability of high quality open geospatial data sources like OpenStreetMap.

The United States has always had a lot of open geospatial data available, but it's patchy, can be hard to find, and is of wildly varying quality. In Europe, open (geospatial) data has become the norm, but that wasn't the case even 10 years ago. And in spite of harmonization efforts, it can still be hard to cobble together map data that is consistent across countries from government sources.

Re: Paper map sales are booming

#33

Post by ttcbj »

They aren't mentioned in the article, but Butler Motorcycle Maps fit with the theme.

You can currently access the same data via an app called Rever (which is great for actually driving a route you have already planned), but the physical maps give a better overview, and more accessible editorial content, than the app does:

https://butlermaps.com/

They are more useful for deciding where you want to go in the first place.

As developers, I think it is really interesting to think about why this is true/possible. (I also find it true that PDF brochures for automobiles are a better way to understand the different trims than the car's website). All the filtering/searching/data analysis features of software seem so powerful, but sometimes committing to a single, static format for presenting information yields a more comprehensible result.

Re: Paper map sales are booming

#34

Post by mvexel »

rr888 wrote: post #4

Went hiking while relying on a phone app. Offline, it cached the map no problems, until a few hours in when the TTL must have been triggered then everything disappeared. Bought a real map soon after.

For hiking and other back country activities, I rely on Gaia GPS, but there's others that offer offline capabilities (sometimes as part of a subscription) like AllTrails, OnX and CalTopo.

Re: Paper map sales are booming

#35

Post by mminer237 »

kypro wrote: post #20

Something I find really fun when traveling in the car with kids is to give them a paper map and ask them to plan a route a for us to get to our destination. Then when you're driving ask them to follow along and give the directions. Obviously they can't be too young and they're not going to be perfect, but if you have a child around 7-13 they'll probably find this quite fun. Being able to use a map is one of those ski…

Even with a map on your phone, it's useful to have some map reading skills so you can get a good idea of where you are and where you need to go without relying on turn-by-turn navigation which can sometimes catch you off guard or malfunction.

Re: Paper map sales are booming

#36

Post by Finnucane »

joshstrange wrote: post #2

> His customers, he added, aren’t just looking to maps for directions, but as inspiration for future trips or even as art worth hanging. I think that alone accounts for the vast majority of this increase. The article throws that in as a minor detail but I'd bet money it's the only reason. Of course you don't get as many clicks for "More people are buying maps as art". 2 of the 3 examples of maps they give at the end…

Down the street from my office is a store that sells maps as art. Old maps, new maps, and transit memorabilia. One of the advantages of a digital map is that it always up to date, but that also means it can never be a historical document, the way an old map can be.

For myself I have a pile of bike maps, that I admit I don't use as much as I used to (partly because I have all my regular routes in my head now). The nice thing about those maps is that they marked elevation changes, and also the location of ice cream shops. You know, the essentials.

Re: Paper map sales are booming

#37

Post by narag »

joshstrange wrote: post #2

> His customers, he added, aren’t just looking to maps for directions, but as inspiration for future trips or even as art worth hanging. I think that alone accounts for the vast majority of this increase. The article throws that in as a minor detail but I'd bet money it's the only reason. Of course you don't get as many clicks for "More people are buying maps as art". 2 of the 3 examples of maps they give at the end…

I'm renting now, so I avoid putting things on the wall as much as possible. But I used to have a map to help build a mental map from repeatedly seeing it. Recently I've noticed that something similar happens to me with analogic watches.

Re: Paper map sales are booming

#38

Post by sigspec »

kypro wrote: post #20

Something I find really fun when traveling in the car with kids is to give them a paper map and ask them to plan a route a for us to get to our destination. Then when you're driving ask them to follow along and give the directions. Obviously they can't be too young and they're not going to be perfect, but if you have a child around 7-13 they'll probably find this quite fun. Being able to use a map is one of those ski…

When I was 12 I was the "navigator" using state rest stop maps on a 14 hour drive with my Grandfather. It's a great memory.

Re: Paper map sales are booming

#39

Post by zikduruqe »

eldaisfish wrote: post #28
kypro wrote: post #20

Something I find really fun when traveling in the car with kids is to give them a paper map and ask them to plan a route a for us to get to our destination. Then when you're driving ask them to follow along and give the directions. Obviously they can't be too young and they're not going to be perfect, but if you have a child around 7-13 they'll probably find this quite fun. Being able to use a map is one of those ski…

an interesting thought experiment is to ponder just how many skills are being lost due to technology. I know how to read a map and how to find rough compass bearings but i was never in a situation where i needed either skill. Could i manage without GPS - probably but i’m not confident. If GPS died tomorrow because of a solar flare, would the younger generations manage?

https://www.gislounge.com/spatial-orientation-and-the-brain-...

Studies have shown that people just cannot read maps anymore due to dependence on GPS apps in their daily lives.

Re: Paper map sales are booming

#40

Post by kzrdude »

Just to note, all the hiking maps I get now are made in tyvek, not really in paper. It's a newer material, it doesn't wear as much (but still some) in the folds, it is water resistant and so on. It's a more usable map as a result. It does feel slightly waxy to touch.
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