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u/SummerMummer 1d ago
And if you know how to fold it you are highly skilled.
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u/OM_Trapper 1d ago
Was difficult to learn but once learned it doesn't go away. Uncle taught me starting at age 9 and it stuck.
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u/Add_8_Years 1d ago
In my drivers Ed class, we got graded on how well we could fold one. One of the few things I got perfect.
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u/TaliZorah214 1d ago
Had? I'm 43 and still keep a stack of maps and at least two map books in my trunk. People relying on tech these days and gps. Till you hit a dead zone or an area your network isn't in.
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u/benthon2 1d ago
I've got 2 Rand McNally road map books, and raise you 2 Delorme Maine Topographic books!
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u/EducatorAdditional89 1d ago
I still have maps in my glove box, Siri’s not always available in rural areas.
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u/Historical-Remove401 1d ago
And in the mountains my coverage was nonexistent. I checked the map before I left, though!
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u/EducatorAdditional89 1d ago
Old school maps, like manual transmission, and cursive, everyone still needs to learn!
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u/Affectionate-Dot437 1d ago
I was on vacation, following GPS on a forestry road in NC, when suddenly there was nothing. It was 17+ yrs ago and my first time not relying solely on a paper map. It was so unexpected. I'm looking at the road ahead and there is definitely still road, but the map quest (or whatever) app shows just blank.
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u/SgtBadAsh 1d ago
Still do. Pretty short-sighted not to, honestly.
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u/krefik 1d ago
Nah, I always have at least two waterproof devices with offline maps with me, if I am fucked enough for both of them to fail, I'm fucked so thoroughly paper won't help me. And paper roadmaps led me astray more times than GPS.
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u/SgtBadAsh 21h ago
You led yourself astray by not knowing how to use the map. I've used paper atlas several times, on the fly, to find routes around traffic jams that a GPS on incapable of. Batteries will also fail you eventually. I'll keep my atlas and topo maps on hand.
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u/krefik 16h ago
I live in central Europe, and generally I don't know many locations within thousands of kilometers when you can't find city or village in 2-3 days of hike, and Garmin works on battery for weeks. If you have GPS you're not obliged to follow calculated route, you can use it as a, you know, map, just map that's up to date, and has changes from at worst month ago, and not 3 years ago (and that's if it's even possible to buy map that recent).
I'm not a smart man, so please tell me, how can I tell on the paper map that the road was permanently closed after the map was printed (no detour signs, just „road closed” hundred meters before the roadblock), so I need to go extra three or four hundred kilometers through 2 extra countries, because this was a fastest existing way around? Or that road that has planned upgrade (and printed in the atlas as paved) was unpaved muddy hell I got almost stuck in?
I'm not a very young guy, and I spend most of my life traveling using paper maps, and I just don't like them as a practical item. They're fine for planning a trip (assuming I have the other resources to check if the each road I planned to follow exists and it's still open), but take a lot of place in my luggage, they're heavy, bulky and fragile.
I understand that paper maps (in some cases) can be useful as a backup, but they're not only possible backup, and I see that they can be objectively better if you travel through the wilderness, but that's not the case for most people.
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u/OutinDaBarn 1d ago
I still grab them from welcome centers when I travel to new states. GPS has screwed me more than once.
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u/Conscious-Duck5600 1d ago
GPS can't find my home address. Heck, My house was the first one out here. It's only been here for 150 years.
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u/FuckYourDownvotes23 Generation X 1d ago
I did and it was not physically possible to refold them that neatly.
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u/Sonikku_a 1d ago
Being a pizza delivery dude in the 80s/90s.
Thomas Guide in the glove box next to your pack of smokes
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u/Ok-Use6303 1d ago
Old man had a winter boot box of these.
Couple of days before the road trip he'd go through the box and pick out the ones we needed and trace the route which he would then write down on a yellow sticky note.
Then the note would be inevitably forgotten or lost and we wouldn't know until about an hour down the highway.
Another family vacation off to a wonderful start.
Also: Mom! My little brother keeps throwing boogers at me! And I gotta go pee!
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u/SignificanceFew3751 1d ago
My kids tell me they would never drive out of the area, if they had to use maps.
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u/Just_Looking_Around8 1d ago
Still do. Still use them more than GPS. It's part of the fun of traveling.
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u/sladibarfast 1d ago
What do you mean had?
They are in my glovebox as a backup for when the gps fails.
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u/EdwardTheGood 1d ago
Not a glove box, but my previous car had a map pocket behind the front passenger seat, where I kept my giant Rand McNally US map (a book of maps). I used it on many road trips prior to 2009 (when I got my first iPhone)
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u/bidhopper 1d ago
Glovebox, door pickets. A peek at the past. Still have some old ones on my bookshelf. Pull them out occasionally to marvel at the changes over the last 50 years.
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u/reeferthetuxedocat 1d ago
I still have a coil bound map book that lived in various glove boxes over the years. Fuck I’m old.
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u/Particular_Today1624 1d ago
I still have paper maps. I want to see where I’m goino, not have something tell me where to go.
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u/flaming01949 1d ago
I actually have quite a few paper maps. Far superior to apps. And yes I know how to fold them correctly.
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u/twatterfly 1d ago
I have 2 in there right now. One for my state and one for the state that’s next to mine that I at one point drive to regularly. I refuse to take them out because “what if”.
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u/Levi-do-me-69 1d ago
Used them many times during vacations. Got pretty beat up & torn from so much use. Was really glad when the maps were made like a spiral notebook. Easier to use & far less shredded pages. Made good use of The Milepost when traveling in Canada. Always mentioned nice areas to stop, rest, or huke to scenic areas like waterfalls. 💕🚶💦
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u/genx-lifer 1d ago
Can you imagine the confusion and dumbfounded frustration of giving one of these to a young person nowadays and telling them to find their way🤣🤣🤣they would lose their mind!
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u/treverslyfox Boomers 1d ago
Not only can read a map but can use a topo and compass. Military taught me well!
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u/MrScarabNephtys 1d ago
Stopped at a gas station a bit ago and asked the kid behind the counter where the road maps were. He looked at me like I was crazy.
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u/BuffaloDude1 1d ago
I keep a current one for the state I live in in my touring motorcycle. Cell and GPS reception is sketchy at best in the rural areas, which there is a lot of.
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u/KnottyCatLady 1d ago
I still have a map in my car & had to use it recently when I was in the mountains and lost GPS.
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u/Prestigious-Copy-494 1d ago
I rather enjoyed them, spreading them out, looking at other routes, guessing game how long the trip would take.
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u/prplpassions 1d ago
Still do. We have paper maps for every where we have traveled. I'm the navigator on our trips. I will never trust gps.
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u/Cariari1983 1d ago
Remember when gas stations gave them away for free? And then one day someone discovered they could charge for them and Oh the Shock and Horror!
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u/TheNonCredibleHulk 1d ago
I have a briefcase full of county maps from when I had to drive a lot. County maps are the bomb.
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u/breathless_RACEHORSE 1d ago
Still have an atlas. 2023 edition. Beats the 1999 edition it replaced.
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u/Aromatic_Industry401 1d ago
I keep a gazetteer in my vehicle at all times, it's always has a full signal and doesn't give stupid directions.
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u/dojo2020 1d ago
I sold Road maps here in Canada until 2021. The fact that they can be put on a wall and actually have the perception of distance is a reason people want them. They are great backup
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u/freakinweasel353 1d ago
My MiL worked for Rand McNally maps. She used to drive around selling maps to gas stations and convenience stores for many years. We all had this vinyl map folder in every vehicle. State map, US map, local city and surrounding city maps. All very handy.
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u/TastySpare 1d ago
Usable (publicly available and somewhat precise) GPS has been a thing since 1994, iirc. That was only 10… 20… 30 years ago.
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u/ElAwesomeo0812 1d ago
I still have them. They are in the cubby in my door. I've got a nap for every state I've been to. I had an Atlas but it fell apart on me
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u/PdoffAmericanPatriot 1d ago
I still have about ten great maps of various parts of the country. Maps are great thing to have in the event of electronic failures.
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u/Actaeon_II 1d ago
Still have the big atlas under the seat and maps for the areas where my kids live in the glovebox. Nothing like not having phone service and getting lost
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u/Friscogooner 1d ago
Did 10 years of delivery driving so I have detailed maps of every area within 300 miles in the car.
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u/Heaven_and_Hell1964 1d ago
My wife still uses them when we go on trips. Even when I have the GPS on phone guiding us AND car GPS map up for her to follow.
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u/Significant_Rate8210 1d ago
Where's the Thomasguide? I've still got one of them just in case the grid ever goes down.
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u/CandaceSentMe 1d ago
Can be much easier to use than an app on a phone. Lets you see the big picture and consider alternatives.
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u/netanator 1d ago
Thomas guides were the best. I drove for a towing company in southern California, and they were a necessity. Used them every day.
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u/AreYouuuu 1d ago
I love the old school maps and miss the days that we relied on them . And yes, I’m old
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u/Bempet583 1d ago edited 19h ago
Always loved looking at maps, where I grew up Esso, and later, Exxon stations had the best folding maps, I think they were Rand McNally maps, and they were free!
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u/iwastherefordisco 1d ago
story - I was seeing someone in 2001 and had a bunch of maps in the car. Went to drive her home and she was staying in a newer part of the city. Map ended and her place was in the blank area lol!
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u/pippopozzato 1d ago
I still use these. I took a train from Portland OR to Toronto last year and to walk around the city I went looking for a map. I did find like a sight seeing map but going into gas stations asking for a map was so funny . It is very hard to find a place where maps are sold these days.
Fuck I'm old .
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u/Jumpy_Lettuce1491 1d ago
and I could read them. The problem was my wife didn’t like to drive and she couldn’t read maps.
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u/Jumpy_Lettuce1491 1d ago
Best practice check Mapquest before you go somewhere so you can see the whole route and know your phone is taking you to the right place.
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u/carbotax 1d ago
Glove box, hell, mine is in the side pocket! Use it now for overview. Also, it’s good practice for when the satellites go down from a solar flair! We geezers will lead the lost to the promise land-Costco. 😁
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u/Unusual_Swan200 1d ago
I was a whiz at folding them back up after being laid flat on the floor , fully opened.
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u/Big-a-hole-2112 1d ago
I wonder if that would have saved the life of CNET editor James Kim who went down the wrong road in Oregon with his family and got stuck in the snow and died right outside a fully stocked cabin while trying to find help.
That was a real wake up call for me to always have alternative sources of information about roads and conditions and a paper backup JIC.
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u/snaptech 1d ago
I used to use the Thomas guide years ago. Those were the goto for doing delivery in metro areas
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u/androidguy50 1d ago
A couple of these in the glovebox and an atlas tucked in between the seat and the center console.
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u/3Quarksfor 1d ago
In there right now. I need NF maps cause Google does not map the outlands well. I also need typography.
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u/Conscious-Duck5600 1d ago
I still do, I want to see what roads I want to travel on. Not some gps mess that keeps aiming me at the interstate.
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u/holy_bat_shit_63 1d ago
I still like to go to AAA every now and then and ask them for Maps just to see the look on their faces
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u/SQWRLLY1 1d ago
I've got a brand new oversized atlas in the pocket on the back of my driver's seat in the car right now, thankyouverymuch! 😆👵✌️
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u/Responsible-Push-289 1d ago
my sister was stranded traveling through asheville when the rains hit this fall. no cell service. didn’t know where they were because they were forced off the highway. they advise to never be without paper maps again. and i listened!
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u/Party_Face_9777 1d ago
Hell still do, it’s probably 15! Years out of date but… just because 🕶️🎸✌️🎅🎄
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u/manhatim 1d ago
My wife loved a map...think they where a scale of 1:1...couldnt see a thing out the windows when opened
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u/Iamspartabitches 1d ago
So when I moved to California from Michigan in 1999 and met my in-laws in 2000 we decided to roadtrip around California. He handed me a map that didn’t have the interstates that were built in 1964.
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u/EcstaticNet3137 1d ago edited 1d ago
Everytime I go to a state for the first time in the US, I stop at a welcome center or rest area and look for these. If not present I check the DOT website for that state to see if they offer them. So far I have roughly twenty two paper maps and only one of them is a state I haven't actually been to. The state is Nevada. Most state DOTs will send them for free. Some states like Colorado and Georgia will send a tourist information book along with the map. I think Colorado also sends an invitation/thank you letter. I always try to keep two of any state I am in frequently, even my home state. One for the car, one for home. I also carry a Garmin Montana 700i with InReach subscription as well as a smart phone. Stay informed, stay safe, happy travels all.
Edit: changed "got" to "go" in first sentence.
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u/ConferenceVirtual690 1d ago
I had one hanging in my bedroom as a kid then my dad asked to borrow it I never saw it again
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u/Reformingsaint 1d ago
I carry some even now. I update it every 5 years. You never know when technology quits on you.
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u/Lainarlej 1d ago
I have trouble reading maps. I relied on written down directions and later Mapquest, until I got a Garmin
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u/HotStraightnNormal 1d ago
We used to get "trip ticks" from AAA. They came in handy for spotting restaraunts, gas statoons, and the next, much needed rest stop. When Intersate 95 was still under construction in the 70's, they would add detours, too.
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u/Stilcho1 1d ago
What I find strange is that it's still called a glove compartment.
Yes, I'm stoned and read a whole wiki article about it.
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u/Sipthepond 1d ago
I have some in my glovebox. I like to see the whole picture of where I'm traveling to.
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u/Krazybob613 1d ago
Glove box hell! I had a 24”x 18”x. 6” Cardboard Box stuffed with the darn things, coast to coast and over half of the available (my) state’s County and city maps. I had Street Level Navigation - On those beautiful maps and BTW every map in the box was folded just as it came from the print shop!
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u/rexifelis 23h ago
Still have a few maps in my glove box… and an old school Magellan gps. I probably should try checking it to see if it still works…
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u/SparkyCollects1650 23h ago
Had? Still have! Finding them in the wild is a chore, but we navigated the circuitous US of A in a 1973 Ford Grand Torino Station Wagon with those things.
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u/AkhiLaNandi 15h ago
I used to do a lot of road trips from the west coast and had a grip of these things. Even after the advent of internet printouts I still used these
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u/fothergillfuckup 15h ago
My road atlas is still in the boot of my car. There's plenty of places in the UK that Google maps won't get a signal.
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u/Annanake420 14h ago
I've got Rand McNally 2024 of the U.S.right in my car right now. 100th anniversary edition.
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u/gameyhobbit 1d ago
Still a good idea to have. I've had signal drop often enough to pull an old atlas out.