Short Answer: The A.T. Guide (aka AWOL) is made for people who want to be infuriated by trying to deal with a book that is inexplicably bound in landscape orientation.

At this point the Thru Hiker’s Companion and the A.T. Guide are basically on par with each-other, just with different layouts. For several years the A.T. Guide was legitimately better, but the Companion has caught up. Personally I have a bit of a preference for the Companion since I’m a section hiker and I find its layout a bit better for planning section hiking logistics. The A.T. Guide has a more stripped down layout that seems to have thru hikers in mind and I can see the appeal of the design if I was hiking hundreds of miles at a clip and not worrying about trailheads and parking as much.

Never used the databook, so can’t comment on that.