Android GPS app suggestions

[fltlndr]

Has anyone used an Android/iPhone app for GPS navigation? I'm looking at the BackCountry Navigator app for Android. It's supposed to work without cell phone service and has all the functionality of a handheld unit. Most reviews on Google are positive; I'm wondering if any back country hunters have tried it.

Thanks.

 

[COlineman78]

Has anyone used an Android/iPhone app for GPS navigation? I'm looking at the BackCountry Navigator app for Android. It's supposed to work without cell phone service and has all the functionality of a handheld unit. Most reviews on Google are positive; I'm wondering if any back country hunters have tried it.

Thanks.

Yes, I have had it for a couple years and love it! The process for downloading maps is a little difficult so if you aren't tech savy it make take a bit to master the process. I have a phone with a 64GB external SD card, so I can download several high res topo maps for each trip. The big plus for backcountry nav is the $8/state public/private boundaries. Here in CO there is lots of BLM where just a small corner touches the road, especially where I hunt, so it is very useful in finding those places that would be very difficult otherwise. If you would like a simpler interface with a few less options check out Gaia GPS, but I think BCN offers a lot more flexibility and options with a steeper learning curve.

 

[fltlndr]

Thanks for the advice COlineman78. Do you purchase the $8/state maps from backcountry nav or from another source? The other app I heard about was HUNT by onXmaps. You can purchase each state map for $30 which is supposed to show public/private boundaries. Either way, it seems way cheaper than buying a dedicated GPS device.

i see you reside in Littleton. I've recently moved to the Denver area and will be attempting my first archery OTC elk hunt this year. Any advice on which areas/units to avoid?

 

[COlineman78]

So I just looked it up and it looks like they have raised some of the prices since I purchased the boundaries. Everything is a one-time purchase which is the advantage over Gaia. In order to purchase the overlay maps you must get the pro upgrade which is $11.99. Available Add-Ons for CO include land boundaries ($9.99) and GMU boundaries ($11.99). onXmaps looks like a really nice and fairly easy to use interface, however judging from pictures there are some features that I use a lot BN, most specifically USFS maps. Fair disclosure: I am a software engineer and for the most part am willing to sacrifice form for function and ease of use for flexibility. BN also has lake contours for some states (CT, MN, WI, WA, MI, MT, NH, ND, and OK) and some other random overlays.

As far as OTC elk, no specific units to avoid that I know of. I would target areas bordering the limited draw areas and if you have to go early in the season I would target the higher altitudes to try and get into the rut. I hunt between 7500 and 8000 (unit 131) and they are usually just starting to heard up for muzzleloader (week 3).

 

[William Hanson (live2hunt)]

Orux maps! Its free too. Has a bit of a learning curve but works very well.

 

[COlineman78]

I just tried out Orux and it seems fairly good, but I pulled up my hunting area and it is missing a lot of BLM and what's there isn't exactly correct. If you are simply looking for a topo map product it may work for you, but as you said it has a bit of a learning curve and has very limited options for maps.

I did find a site that has land boundaries available for free via KMZ. I tried to load it into Orux, however it wouldn't work for me. I did get it to work on Backcountry Navigator however and it matches the $10 add on fairly closely, with the exception of some mysterious boundaries within large blocks and some small private land locked 40 acre BLM blocks. If you wanted to avoid the money with BN, you may be able to get the free version to work in combination with the KMZ, but I think the $22 is well worth it and far less than the $100 you used to have to pay for Garmin state maps to go on a $200 device.

 

[Chem-E]

I have used backcountry navigator on a Samsung S3 for several seasons and now have it on a Note4. I think it is awesome! I paid for the map package upgrade, 19.99/yr, and the land owner overlay. I sold my Garmin and will never look back. I put the phone in airplane mode and the battery lasts for several days. I bought an external battery pack, Ravpower 15000 mAh.

http://www.amazon.com/RAVPower-1600...UTF8&qid=1432965537&sr=8-28&keywords=ravpower

I am also thinking about getting another stock battery. Samsung makes this unit that is pretty slick.

http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Galax...671&sr=8-12&keywords=Samsung+external+battery

I took the S3 into the wilderness hunting last fall on a 7 day backpack trip and I didn't run out of battery. I had it on all day, every day, logging my track and that was with an 3000 mAh Mophie battery case and a 9000 mAh external battery pack. I still had about 1/2 of a phone charge in the battery pack at the end of the trip.

 

[Kristen C Rivinius]

+1 for bcn. I've had it for years and it's great. Almost makes the Garmin obsolete.

 

[PathFinder]

BCN is pretty good, I've really come to like it. Maverick is good as well, really easy to use. I bought OnX, it's nothing special. Quite glitchy and a bit behind the other apps in some ways. My favorite thing is to use cached data on Google Earth, I use GPS maps to get through the ledges in the dark a lot and GE is in a league of its own when navigating the steep stuff.

 

[muleman]

Been using BCN for a couple years. I really like the fexibility.

http://www.rokslide.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8137

 

[COlineman78]

Been using BCN for a couple years. I really like the fexibility.

http://www.rokslide.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8137

Great writeup. I have some experience with GIS systems and the great thing is that so much information is out there and open source, the bad part is that very little of it in consolidated and in a usable form. The use of Google Earth has driven a lot of people towards KML/Z files, but still not everything. Something as simple as accurate state boundaries and city names just a few years ago was a nightmare because the US Census Bureau only provided the Tiger Database in shapefiles (shp) and geodatabases (gdb). Personally I think the best part about BCN is it's flexibility and it has so many great base layer options, but as I said above: the technically challanged may have some difficulty getting started even caching for offline use. Perhaps some more instructional videos and/or posts would be useful; maybe a good winter project.