Paper maps vs GPS

AsheGuy wrote:
We have been all over the US & Canada some pre-RV and a lot with our RV. Evolved from Rand McNally maps, DeLorme software on a laptop, GPS, and increasingly with my smart phone. Still carry a Rand McNally atlas, but seldom reference it.

As many have said, common sense is the key. Yes, our GPS (4th generation) occasionally does a dumb route, but the aid of the GPS far outweighs this downside. Also, GPS searching for a destination is not up to par with Google Maps on a smart phone and can be maddening at times. But again, the GPS wins out due to its many benefits. To match a GPS with paper maps, it would be necessary to not only carry a road atlas, but also county/province maps of every county/province in North America.

Those that bad mouth GPS's must not understand how to use them without committing blunders and/or what features they have.

And there has not been much mention of the GPS's main feature. It is impossible to ever get totally lost with a GPS. It always knows where you are even if you don't. Just put in a known destination and it will get you from where you are to where you want to be.

I do think GPS's will lose out soon to smart phones/tablets due to their better user interface for generating a route and their searching capability. I often find my Garmin GPS cannot find a destination due to my not matching exactly how it knows that destination, when my Android smart phone instantly finds it. Only a few obstacles remain like the need to be Internet connected and the while driving interface that is still inferior I think to the GPS.

With all due respect, only a fool blindly, totally relies on a GPS.

GPS is not infallible, it MAKES mistakes, often those mistakes are not noticed if you have never traveled in that area. You simply are oblivious to any and all mistakes it makes.

Our first major trip with CoPilot GPS we have pretty much concluded that GPS is NOT for us. Very glad we used the "free" version (although it NAGS you to "upgrade" each time it starts).

The GPS kept insisting on routing us through many highly congested cities that we KNOW to avoid. It doesn't like detours nor short cuts to get around traffic.

The ONLY way to fix that is to input many start and stop points to FORCE the routing to the roads we KNOW that do not contain tons of city traffic, stop lights and 25 MPH and 30 MPH speed zones.

Our conclusion is if we have to put in a bunch of way points we may as well use our paper map, it results in less time and hassle.

If you like your GPS then use it, but keep in mind that it may not be routing you in the best way each and every time. Thats why one should also still uswe your grey matter between the ears and some old fashioned map..