A recent Outside Online article was shared to the NE Spahtens FB group – introducing me to Nice Trails, a company that turns your GPS track into something tangible and physical that you can display on your shelf.
I reached out to them, and after some discussion and back and forth, they offered to produce a map from my 2015 Killington Beast, and while I was away on vacation it arrived, to be unboxed and reviewed when I got home.
Before you ask, I have asked about an NES discount code, and presently they’re not setup to do so – hopefully we can offer one soon!
They produce these in an interesting way – they’re 3D printed by Shapeways, a vendor that specialize in producing and printing items for people, and offering a sell through store – think of something like a 3D printer version of Etsy. They know what they’re doing, and will be consistent in their quality. The items are hollow, so light weight, and they have a rough texture feel. My biggest feedback on the piece is that the size isn’t quite what I anticipated, but looking over the gallery on their website and Facebook, I imagine the size of your piece depends on the type of GPS log they receive.
I shared a few non mountainous GPS logs with them, and their guidance was to go with the Killington track – so don’t anticipate flat races to display as nicely as something on a larger elevation change.
I think these make really nice memento’s for your shelf – pick a nice GPS log from a memorable event, reach out to the nice people at Nice Trails and let them know you’ve come from the New England Spahtens – post a photo to the group when you get your piece!
