Uploading trips from PRO to XE

Users who are now using BackCountry Navigator PRO are interested in how they can use their trips on BackCountry Navigator XE.

First, obtain a login at https://bcnavxe.com/

Go to your profile there and find a place where you can generate an Import hash.

Profile on https://bcnavxe.com has a place to generate a hash.

BackCountry Navigator PRO.

Then choose the share option.

There is a button called Upload to BCNAVXE.COM.

Then it asks for the email you used at bcnavxe.com, and the hash code that you found on your profile there. It is also asking for a folder name. XE, unlike PRO, allows you to categorize trips into folders.

If you have membership with XE, you can download it from the cloud in the XE Android app. On the Trip Menu.

It is always an option to export to KML or GPX and upload to the website, or import with the XE Android app.

Use the import button in the upper right corner of the Trip menu in XE

New Offerings from Accuterra

Accuterra is offering newer map sources that cover the world and use Open Street Map data.

This will increase the value that you get from an Accuterra subscription within the United States. For the first time, an Accuterra subscription is useful outside the United States.

If you are using BackCountry Navigator XE, these map sources will be incorporated into a Gold membership.

At this time, they are not at peak performance for online use, but this won’t affect offline use.

The offerings are:

Accuterra Topo

The style of this map looks most like a topo map that you are used to. It incorporates Open Street Map data as well as some proprietary data from Accuterra.

Accuterra Outdoor

The data is largely the same but the style is different. The ground is colored according to land ownership as you are used to seeing with Accuterra.

Preview a map of these on Accuterra.

Thunderforest Subscription and Alternatives

As we have been warning in our menu for a year, Thunderforest has become a paid subscription map service.

Thunderforest are worldwide maps and include the Thunderforest Outdoor, Thunderforest Landscape, and OpenCycle Maps.

They have been charging us for years and we are forced to pass this cost on to customers to stay in business.

There is no change to users of BackCountry Navigator XE. The Thunderforest maps are part of a Bronze or higher membership and still are.

For BackCountry Navigator PRO users, there is a new subscription available called Thunderforest (USD 7.99/year). It will also work if you have another subscription already, such as Caltopo or Accuterra.

Alternatives - Local

The main alternative is using a map that is specific to your country. Not all countries have them, and in some cases, they may not be preferred. OpenStreetMap based sources like Thunderforest are often the best at having obscure roads and trails.

Alternatives - Global

There is no free, worldwide comparable map source that I am aware of. If you know of one, please let us know.

Correction: If you are using maps from openandromaps.org, that is still a great option, although the instructions are different. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7hmn0MaSTQ&t=1s for some examples.

OpenTopoMaps is a choice that is in the menu, and is similar in that it uses OpenStreetMap data and covers the world. However, performance is not very good. There is no guarantee that it won’t become part of a subscription someday. That tends to happen once they get enough use.

Accuterra Topo or Accuterra Outdoor are new options that use OpenStreetmap and now cover the world. However, these are also part of a paid subscription, Accuterra. These are not yet completely optimized, so they may be slow to display in online use or in downloading. However, this won’t affect offline use. In the long run, I think these are a very good option, perhaps the best one, even though they can cost money.