Alternatives to OnX maps

[beartooth83]

There seems to be a lot of issues with the new app & offline use. Being this close to hunting season, I'm a little weary to trust it fully. What are some alternative apps out there? All I really want is to download high resolution aerial imagery maps for offline use. At this point, I don't care about private/public boundaries, I just want to be able to see the aerial topography and where exactly I am. I've seen a few guys talk about Backcountry Navigator. What else is out there and how does it work?

 

[mj23polaris]

I've use Garmin earthmate and like it, have it on my yabelt and phone, think it was 25$ for a year

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[Mischief209]

I had to uninstall earthmate. The darn thing kept running in the background and killed my battery in 4 hrs. Even aftrr id force close it. It would start back up. Hated it. Just beware. All the reviews say the same about the battery. I used mine just to pair with my inreach and phone. But i cant take a chance in the backcountry on that app killing my battery. Looks like the issue arrived after the last update a few months ago. I currently use GAIA Gps. Works great for topo and aerial.

 

[muddydogs]

I've run the Earthmate app for 4 years and never had a problem with it killing my battery. Generally what kills the battery is not turning off your mobile data when out of cell service so the phone doesn't spend all day searching for data and trying to get a cell signal.

 

[gdog]

I like Gaia

 

[Mischief209]

I've run the Earthmate app for 4 years and never had a problem with it killing my battery. Generally what kills the battery is not turning off your mobile data when out of cell service so the phone doesn't spend all day searching for data and trying to get a cell signal.

Are you useing an iphone? Im on andriod and its a problem. Even in airplane mode. If your on andriod have you updated the app? If you go to the play store in andriod the last 100 plus ppl report the same issue. The problem didnt arrive intill the update came in april. I had no problems beforehand. It forced me to update which sucks. The app went from 5 stars down to 3 and half in 4 months because of this problem. Im on the newest andriod operating system maybe that jas something to do with it but i hope they fix it. So much easier to use the inreach when i can connect to it.

 

[Hunter6]

I just got back from a hunt and used the onx map in offline mode with no problem. I did have some trouble downloading the map at home but once that happened I have had no trouble. I also use Earthmate app to par with my inreach with no trouble. I run an iPhone


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[COlineman78]

Backcountry Navigator is the best app functionality and stability wise. Public/Private boundaries are available for a one-time fee for certain states. It is very obvious when GPS/location is being used. That being said, the interface isn't exactly the most intuitive or modern.

Gaia is also quite good, but doesn't have as many features or layer options. Gaia pro requires an annual subscription and isn't as good as onX. It's also relatively expensive for the app itself.

Earthmate is meh. Imagery options are extremely limited.

US Topo Maps is much cheaper and is usable for what you want. There's a free trial for online use only if you wanted to give it a shot. US Topo Maps Free - Android Apps on Google Play

 

[muddydogs]

Are you useing an iphone? Im on andriod and its a problem. Even in airplane mode. If your on andriod have you updated the app? If you go to the play store in andriod the last 100 plus ppl report the same issue. The problem didnt arrive intill the update came in april. I had no problems beforehand. It forced me to update which sucks. The app went from 5 stars down to 3 and half in 4 months because of this problem. Im on the newest andriod operating system maybe that jas something to do with it but i hope they fix it. So much easier to use the inreach when i can connect to it.

Actually in July I got a new Android phone and had to load the Earthmate app on the phone so my system is new and up to date. I'll keep an eye on my battery but so far I'm getting good life out of it?

 

[muddydogs]

Earthmate is meh. Imagery options are extremely limited.

Really? So aerial photo's, Topo North america, USGS Quad sheets, Digital Atlas of the Earth, Open Street Map, Game Management units, Public Lands, Public Land Survey System, Parcels and there Hybrid Map is limited? To think I used to hike 5 to 10 miles cross country to find a specific spot on the ground with old quad maps and 1:40,000 black and white photo's, I only wished I had this tech back in the day. Not sure what else Garmin could offer in the way of map's and photo's as what they have covers whats out there.

 

[danarnold]

GAIA for me

 

[COlineman78]

Really? So aerial photo's, Topo North america, USGS Quad sheets, Digital Atlas of the Earth, Open Street Map, Game Management units, Public Lands, Public Land Survey System, Parcels and there Hybrid Map is limited? To think I used to hike 5 to 10 miles cross country to find a specific spot on the ground with old quad maps and 1:40,000 black and white photo's, I only wished I had this tech back in the day. Not sure what else Garmin could offer in the way of map's and photo's as what they have covers whats out there.

Yes, they only offer one source of aerial imagery and IIRC they don't have topo/imagery overlays. I'm not saying you need it, but for the OP who specifically asked for aerial imagery they may find it important. BCN offers like 3 or 4 different imagery base layers on top of both new and old USFS maps and multiple other topo sources. If you look at all the different mapping sources for a specific area, some may be better than others depending on how long ago the company payed for the area to be imaged. Compare Google and Bing maps for example of your hunting area.

I have used all of these apps personally (and currently have them all on my phone), so if you are coming from the context of only using one or 2 than yes it may be enough; but it's not what it could be. Backcountry Navigator is free to try (except GMU/land boundaries), so feel free to see what I mean. However, like I said earlier the user interface is outdated and difficult to use; so it may be for you or it might not but it is the most technically capable of all of the apps but hardest to use by far.

 

[Brendan]

Gaia has public/private and is adding in a parcel-level layer for premium subscribers. Topo / image overlay is possible picking your base map and overlay.

I've done minimal comparison so far - but the public/private boundaries I've looked at are exactly the same as OnX. I'm going to try to compare in more depth when I'm in Montana next month, and as I finish up scouting.

I also like that I can manage everything in Google Earth or Basecamp and then load into Gaia as needed, and exports and backing up in the other direction work well too.

Sat Imagery is not quite as high quality as Google, but it's been plenty good enough for in the field use for me.

 

[dotman]

I recently downloaded the onyx app, no issues here I just don't like the lack of compass.

 

[muddydogs]

Yes, they only offer one source of aerial imagery and IIRC they don't have topo/imagery overlays. I'm not saying you need it, but for the OP who specifically asked for aerial imagery they may find it important. BCN offers like 3 or 4 different imagery base layers on top of both new and old USFS maps and multiple other topo sources. If you look at all the different mapping sources for a specific area, some may be better than others depending on how long ago the company payed for the area to be imaged. Compare Google and Bing maps for example of your hunting area.

I have used all of these apps personally (and currently have them all on my phone), so if you are coming from the context of only using one or 2 than yes it may be enough; but it's not what it could be. Backcountry Navigator is free to try (except GMU/land boundaries), so feel free to see what I mean. However, like I said earlier the user interface is outdated and difficult to use; so it may be for you or it might not but it is the most technically capable of all of the apps but hardest to use by far.

Earthmate does have a topo overlay over the photo, I use it all the time. Coming from an old Forester I would say that the Earthmate app has all the maps a guy needs. I tried BCN and like you state the interface is terrible which makes the app in general not worth having even if its free.

 

[hunterdan]

I've had nothing but problems with the new updated onX. Everything worked fine until I downloaded the high resolution maps for offline use. When I try to view the maps with my phone in airplane mode or no service the app crashes within 3 seconds of opening. Customer service said they are aware of the problems and are working on them. Even the guy I talked to at onX said he has the same problem with his phone. I'm leaving in a week and cannot wait for this to be corrected nor would I trust it alone. I bought the GAIA app yesterday and so far it is working great. It actually has more basemaps than onX. You can download offline maps much quicker and it lets you select a much larger area to download than onX.

 

[willidru]

Does anyone besides Onyx show a layer for burns? What about water sources? I tried calling Onyx Customer Service this week twice, sat on the phone for 6 and 12 minutes on hold before I hung up.

 

[ElkElkGoose]

I have a gmapsup file that includes all western ownership from 6-7 years ago. I think Onx maps is a bit of a scam, all that info is publicly available, nothing proprietary about it. They just paid a person to make the file. Paying a yearly membership fee for it seems nuts to me. Yes property changes hands private to public and vice versa but very rarely. The property lines stay the same but any paper map you buy will show you if anything changes in the area you are hunting. I haven't even ran across a change in CO.

 

[aron]

Does anyone besides Onyx show a layer for burns? What about water sources? I tried calling Onyx Customer Service this week twice, sat on the phone for 6 and 12 minutes on hold before I hung up.

Gaia recently created a layer for previous burns. I haven't used that layer yet so can't attest to the quality.

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[Pelagic]

Gaia has public/private and is adding in a parcel-level layer for premium subscribers. Topo / image overlay is possible picking your base map and overlay.

I've done minimal comparison so far - but the public/private boundaries I've looked at are exactly the same as OnX. I'm going to try to compare in more depth when I'm in Montana next month, and as I finish up scouting.

Hey Brendan, did you end up being able to compare these 2 last season? Looking at Gaia Premium for this coming year and wondering how it worked out for you.