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Read the product review, if it sounds like what you need, buy it. It is always a great product. Every edition is right there.
Benchmark sorely needs an update to California. Mileage accuracy was also poor for the region near Mount Shasta.
The ability to zoom in at 3 different levels of detail on a particular area is a major bonus. We've had excellent luck with benchmark maps in the past, especially Idaho, Oregon, and (for the most part) Washington.
In particular we were traveling in Northern California, and time after time, the map failed to indicate that roads no longer were open to the public due to privatization, development, gated resort compounds, logging, etc. The landscape level detail typically far exceeds the Gazeteer maps.
California is really out of date, however, and caused miles and miles and hours of wasted time. We traveled miles down dirt roads to find locked gates and campgrounds that no longer existed.
We won't give up on the company yet, but this book was truly disappointing.
I ride bikes and like to see all the back roads. if there is a road then its in this book. perfect travel companion.
More than just an atlas of maps, Benchmarks are works of art. Benchmark tells you at a glance which route goes through flat desert and which one skirts a mountain range. The topography section is gorgeous and to me the most useful. Not everyone cares when driving from point A to point B what the topography is, but the West is all about topography. I drive 5000-10000 miles each summer on road trips, mainly just drifting where the road takes me, and I have Benchmark's California and Utah so far. I've ordered Oregon and Nevada but Amazon tells me they're out of stock though they seem to be available in (ugh) retail stores.
I am not happy with this book. We are planning a trip to California and this book is very hard to use.
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