Base map, Gaia, Onx

[elkhunter505]

Hey everyone,

I am looking for opinions on which one of these softwares is the best program. I have always used Onx but the other two are just so much cheaper to get all 50 states. I like some of the features Onx has but others I am kinda iffy on. What are your guys’ pros and cons?

 

[ResearchinStuff]

No experience with basemap, but I used gaia and onx side by side for a season. In alphabetical order:

Gaia - great App for hiking, has more detailed topo maps, can give great stats about your hikes. Shows ownership boundaries, but it can be tough to find the actual land owner name. Lots of basemap options.

Onx - better for dropping pins in spots other than where you're standing. Roadless area layer, easy to see who owns a chunk of land. Very course topo map, not as good at tracking where/what you hiked.

Overall, hunting private land or east coast I like onx, for Rocky mountain, large public land chunks I prefer gaia.

Unfortunately they each use different GPS coordinate formats, so whatever you pick make sure your hunting partners pick the same one or you're in for a real annoying time.

Sent from my LM-G820 using Tapatalk

 

[veganhunter]

For me GAIA is the superior app. I use it almost exclusively for outdoor mapping/navigation. As mentioned above, its got better base map options, more complete statistics reporting after trips and better navigation tools. It's also very easy to switch between coordinate systems which has proven very useful in SAR applications when dealing with aircraft or other agencies

I only use OnX for ownership information and GAIA for everything else. I'll gladly keep paying the annual fee for OnX because the ownership information alone is worth the cost but in general its inferior to GAIA.

Those are just my opinions and I have no experience with Basemaps

 

[elkhunter505]

So Gaia does not have a roadless or a landowner makes layer? I thought that it did have a roadless layer?

 

[ResearchinStuff]

Roadless may have been added since I stopped using gaia. They had landowners info, and the borders are clearly marked. However, the landowner info was portrayed as written text somewhere in the parcel and wa oriented whatever way a drunk squirrel saw fit, frequently upside down. The visibility of that info changed as you zoomed in and out. The text was also semi transparent and could be obscured by overlays like satellite imagery.

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[Chordeiles]

I’ve had all three at one time or another. For the money, Gaia is the best option IMO.
The issues in the posts above have been addressed.

Property owners are clearly labeled.


Roadless areas have been added.

 

[ResearchinStuff]

That's a tremendous improvement over what it looked like when i used gaia.

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[Brooks]

I’ve had on x and Gaia. Now I’ve only got Gaia. IMO Gaia is every bit as good as onX but much cheaper. Haven’t felt the need to stop using Gaia, especially since I’ve got it all dialed in. Great app.

 

[wapitibob]

Gaia has excellent data organization on the web map side, onx and basemap need improvement in this area.

 

[deerhunt1988]

Have both, prefer Gaia

 

[elkhunter505]

I also found another one in Feature and Weather overlays that is like a gradient map how Onx has it. It also will give you areas without roads and trails.

 

[Felix40]

I have both and prefer gaia most of the time. Onx often shows roads and trails that dont exist or are private. Gaia you can see what is an actual usfs trail or road by looking at what is essentially a usfs map. Topo is better in gaia too.

Someone said they use different coordinate systems but thats not true. You can change the coordinate system on either. I actually use gaia to convert from UTM to DD pretty often.

 

[Dos Perros]

I have OnX and am mostly pleased. (I do see a lot of untapped potential unfortunately.) Curious, for ATV or off-road motorcycle or overlanding...is there a way to keep the screen on and your current location centered in the screen as your driving? If I'm maneuvering a dirt bike I'd rather not keep having to touch the screen to keep it on.

Does GAIA have this option?

 

[Swampcruiser]

I am with everyone else- Gaia kills it for Topo's but I need the OnX mapping

 

[Wyatt.Carter]

For the GAIA users. Can you use a computer to mark points etc. And then access them on your phone in the field like OnX??

 

[GunsAreFun]

For the GAIA users. Can you use a computer to mark points etc. And then access them on your phone in the field like OnX??

Yes

 

[Wyatt.Carter]

Yes

Thanks for the feedback

 

[Fozzy26]

I’m not a big fan of basemap. I may have to check out giai since I don’t have any experience with that, but as far as basemap and onX go, I prefer onX. I’ll be honestly, as far as the intricacies of basemap, I can’t speak to much. The land ownership was so messed up in my area, that I stopped messing with it pretty early. That being said, onX isn’t great in my area either, but it was vastly more accurate than basemap. Again just speaking for my area that I know who owns what. But would kind of sketch me out if I didn’t already know for sure and was trusting it

 

[GunsAreFun]

My two cents is that if you’re just starting out with these apps or you’re not super techy, OnX is probably the simplest app for the basic features.

Gaia has way more layers and takes some getting used to but is a superior product. If you’re advanced, you can even add custom layers.

I tried BaseMap, but something just didn’t sit right with me with the layering setup.

Honestly, I still use HuntStand more than anything because it has wind direction prediction, which is very helpful for whitetail hunting in Missouri where thermals aren’t as big of a factor. It also auto downloads areas you look at for 30 days and has the simplest waypoint interface of any of them. The free version does everything I need for deer hunting.

 

[BaseMap]

I’m not a big fan of basemap. I may have to check out giai since I don’t have any experience with that, but as far as basemap and onX go, I prefer onX. I’ll be honestly, as far as the intricacies of basemap, I can’t speak to much. The land ownership was so messed up in my area, that I stopped messing with it pretty early. That being said, onX isn’t great in my area either, but it was vastly more accurate than basemap. Again just speaking for my area that I know who owns what. But would kind of sketch me out if I didn’t already know for sure and was trusting it

What didn't you like about BaseMap?