I-phone GPS apps recommendation and questions

[darcytribe]

Hey all,

So I've been noticing that several of you have switched to using your smart phone as a GPS. I love the idea of leaving my dedicated GPS unit at home but am unfamiliar with using a phone this way.

Is it a fairly simple and quick switch? What are the cons? I currently have i-phone 4, will this do the trick? What about power, do I need to consider having additional power sources for say an 8 day trip? I don't need a ton of bells and whistles...What app would you recommend? Anything else I need to know?

Thanks!

 

[FreeRange]

I have used Trimble outdoors/GPS Hunt Fish on an iPhone 4s and now my 5s. In the past I would have highly recommended it but the app performance for me has gone downhill drastically recently. I believe this may be due to the fact that I haven't updated my iphone to the latest version (which I deliberately avoid because it will bog down my phone and kill battery life). This would be an issue for you as well with the 4S. Another thing I really liked about this app was the premium service which has private land maps for most states and a really nice web interface that was super helpful for scouting. I'm hoping in the future they fix some of their new issues.

On the power note you definitely will want to have enough for 2-3 charges over 8 days. If you search for it I've mentioned a few times a trick I use with the SIM card lock function to dramatically improve battery life with the iphone that lasts me 4+ days with smart use. Without it your battery will be dead in a day.

 

[stephen b]

I have used the GAIA app the last few years and I really like it. As far as battery life and recharging- as stated above you will need a charge or two for that long. I use a Trent charger.

 

[Wasatchbuck]

I recently downloaded and paid for onxmaps for my home state. So far its the best I have used as far as apps for my phone go. I was always impressed with the accuracy of their chip for my dedicated GPS that for 30 buck I was willing to give the phone app a try. Went out of cell range to use it last weekend and it worked great. Plus being able to switch between Aerial and topo is the pretty nice.

 

[dreamingbig]

Free onx maps for 1yr if you go to Fulldraw film tour! Or are a RMEF member.

 

[darcytribe]

Free onx maps for 1yr if you go to Fulldraw film tour! Or are a RMEF member.

I was thinking of going to the film tour when it comes to KC anyway! Do you know the process for getting the free year associated with the film tour? Do I have to wait until I attend or could I do it after I purchase my ticket online for the film tour?

 

[dreamingbig]

When you attend they give you the code.

 

[ChrisS]

I use Gaia gps as well. You can get by on one charge for a week by being super conservative with use and keeping the phone warm. But I don't and just use a portable battery. Ankers are on Amazon at really good prices.

 

[airlocksniffer]

I have the Trimble app and it's okay. I always have my phone for pictures anyway so I will sometimes fire up the app. I'm sure they are all similar as you need to download the imagery beforehand. Also, the gps in the iPhone will still run with the phone in airplane mode, which saves a ton of battery. Not sure you'll get 8 days w/o supplemental power though.

 

[Arlie]

GAIA works great for me. Just make sure you use the power savings setting so its not constantly pinging satellites.

 

[Warren1726]

Another vote for GAIA maps app. Just take a New Trent PowerPak Extreme and your good for at least 10-14 days.

 

[darcytribe]

Thanks for the info and recommendations everyone. I've got some homework to do now!

 

[MtnManZ]

Decide what features you must have and then use whatever app or apps have those features. If you need to know where public/private lands are, onx maps is great for that. GAIA has the most features. Trimble GPS Hunt is fine, but they don't have aerial with topo overlay like GAIA and onx. If you had to chose only one, go with GAIA.

 

[Ceby7]

Does GAIA allow you to create tracks? Also does it show you distances from your location to waypoints? I bought the OnxMaps app and it doesn't allow you to create tracks or show distances from your waypoints like a regular GPS does. The best part of the OnxMaps is the map features(landowner names/private/public boundaries) and the different overlays available, but it lacks in navigation features.

 

[ChrisS]

Yes, you can create tracks in Gaia - they even recently updated the procedures so that now it's very intuitive. You can mark waypoints, create waypoints in other areas and navigate to them as well get information such as distance and bearing.

Here are a couple of screen grabs:
View attachment 26387View attachment 26388

 

[NVCHUKAR]

+1 GAIA Lots of features and have been using it exclusively for the last three years

 

[gelton]

For you guys running GAIA Does the aerial view work even when out of service? If not, I would assume you would have to download aerial views before the trip and am wondering how much space they take up?

I have used gps on my phone in the past but it was just topo and I prefer an aerial view so I take my Garmin Montana with Birds Eye maps installed and it works fine, just would be nice to drop the GPS altogether and save some weight. Aerial view has helped me find some hidden meadows surrounded by dark timber, etc, that you cant find on a topo map.

 

[ChrisS]

For you guys running GAIA Does the aerial view work even when out of service? If not, I would assume you would have to download aerial views before the trip and am wondering how much space they take up?

I have used gps on my phone in the past but it was just topo and I prefer an aerial view so I take my Garmin Montana with Birds Eye maps installed and it works fine, just would be nice to drop the GPS altogether and save some weight. Aerial view has helped me find some hidden meadows surrounded by dark timber, etc, that you cant find on a topo map.

Yeah, you can download the aerials ahead of time and use those. They are big files, depending on the image quality, I've got some that are 20 sq miles and about 80 mb. There is also a cloud account with Gaia that you can store additional maps, tracks, and waypoints there and swap them when you need them (e.g. swap in the CO aerials when you're in CO and MT aerials when you're in MT).

 

[fingers]

I downloaded Gaia and so far hate it so I must be doing something wrong. It has tons of maps available, most of which are garbage. Is there a map that is like the Garmin maps? I need forest service roads and water features overlayed with topo which is what my hand held GPS has.

 

[Matt Cashell]

fingers,

Are you looking for more road and water information than is already on the USGS topo? In my area, the USGS 7.5 minute map layer has that information.