Is the stand alone GPS a thing of the past?

[elkyinzer]

My only concern with ONX is you know they're data mining all of our spots. At some point, they will be low on revenue, need to "Expand their brand" and offer a "Premier Service" full of "Suspected" elk spots based off of years and years of kill locations and georeferenced hunting locations.

Just look into these spartan forge clowns. They went straight to the bullshit. Machine learning where to kill bucks! Imagine that! This MF claimed his algorithms know where deer travel because he studied terrorists.

He don't have deer collared, all the data they need is in their customers' pockets.

I've seen data from the other side too working at a startup. Zero, and I mean zero respect for it. Data is $$$ and people are so conditioned to thinking nothing of giving it up. People pay to give up their data in situations they should be paid for it on a daily basis. It's the great heist of the 21st century.

You wanna talk about posting up your spots on the internet, be careful where you are storing it.

 

[Wyobohunter]

I kid… there is probably a lot to that.

 

[324matt]

Just look into these spartan forge clowns. They went straight to the bullshit. Machine learning where to kill bucks! Imagine that! This MF claimed his algorithms know where deer travel because he studied terrorists.

He don't have deer collared, all the data they need is in their customers' pockets.

I've seen data from the other side too working at a startup. Zero, and I mean zero respect for it. Data is $$$ and people are so conditioned to thinking nothing of giving it up. People pay to give up their data in situations they should be paid for it on a daily basis. It's the great heist of the 21st century.

You wanna talk about posting up your spots on the internet, be careful where you are storing it.

He is exactly right you know. No tin foil hat needed.

 

[wyelkhunter]

Not sure why so many people have battery problems on their phone. Put it in Airplane mode. My phone lasts as long in the backcountry on a battery charge as my brothers garmin montana gps with the same amount of use. My battery pack recharges my headlamp, phone and inreach. Dont have to pack muliple spare batteries. If I am only day hunting out of camper no need to pack spare battery pack any way. As far as durability put the phone in a lifeproof case and it is as durable as a GPS unit and lighter.

 

[mtnbiker208]

right or wrong, some people want to escape from there phone, others want to use it more.
which ever works for you, cool.

 

[Wyobohunter]

Airplane mode turns your phone into a… not phone. To each his own though.

 

[Rich M]

It is always amazing how much faith folks have in their phones. Have had phone failures in the past and choose not to trust em. YMMV.

Do carry a stand alone GPS. Nice, easy. Lasts a couple days on AA lithium batteries. No complaints. Use it as a backup for my fish finder too.

Really like the GPS units they used to have for cars. I put the onXmap card in it when driving around the units. Simply knowing where I'm at as opposed to driving around with my cell phone or GPS in hand.

Seems like there used to be annual threads about issues with OnX.

Mostly operator error, I'm sure. I have CO and had WY chips for GPS. Never an issue. Never expected a lot either tho. Tell me if I'm on public and I'm happy.

The discussion about saving your hunting spots on the onX platform is true. All the various platforms do it, these guys have folks most treasured info and its only a matter of time.

I'll stick with my hand held GPS for stuff like that.

 

[Wyobohunter]

It is always amazing how much faith folks have in their phones. Have had phone failures in the past and choose not to trust em. YMMV.

I don’t put a whole lot of faith in my phone. Just like a stand alone GPS, the phone is a convenience and an electronic gizmo that is apt to let you down at some point. I believe if you don’t carry and especially know how really to use map & compass you are putting yourself at risk. By know how to use… I mean you understand declination correction, can triangulate and follow an azimuth. Carrying these basic things is of little value without practice.

 

[WCB]

Never used a stand alone GPS a day in my life. Started using my phone while hunting for navigation about 5 years ago but don't rely on it and almost exclusively use it to locate boundaries if there is no chance I'll hit a boundary or they are well marked/easy to distinguish phone rarely comes out of my pocket/pack...I don't mark camp or my truck or where I dropped my pack...guess I never had a use for it. I do carry a compass and a map if I'm just winging it in the middle of nowhere.

I also do not get the battery issue with phones....If you need your phone that much in a day for it to go dead you are on your phone too much and need to hunt more. If on a multi day hunt its called a battery pack.

 

[Forsythe]

My only concern with ONX is you know they're data mining all of our spots. At some point, they will be low on revenue, need to "Expand their brand" and offer a "Premier Service" full of "Suspected" elk spots based off of years and years of kill locations and georeferenced hunting locations.

I’ve always wondered about this. they could totally sell this data. Man I’d love to see some of the accumulated waypoints they have. I have a buddy who marks all his waypoints with different names and images of what he is actually marking to avoid this exact thing. I think it’s funny cause he’s only confusing himself.

 

[Coopsdaddy]

Always carry my garmin 64 in areas i dont know.

 

[mtnsterno]

My trusty old Garmin 64st fits nicely in my bino harness side pocket. I have put a bunch of waypoints into basecamp over the years, so it is still useful to me.

Still carry an ancient garmin...but use the onx app, mostly. Also have many waypoints and tracks that are still in the old unit. Maybe I need to backtrack and go over all of them again so I have them in onx! lol

 

[Carlin59]

While their popularity is certainly declining, I think stand-alone units will still find favor with a subset of outdoor enthusiasts for a while. My old Etrex 20 lives permanently (dummy corded in a side pocket) in my Bino harness. I do have OnX on my phone as well, and use them both in conjunction. A few pluses of the Etrex over the phone (for me at least):
1. Easy one handed operation. I can manipulate my phone with one hand as well, but the GPS is much easier to grab for a quick peek
2. Faster. No Lock Screen, and no lag as the phone pointer finds its new location
3. Constant tracking. I know I could turn this on my phone, but more of a hassle to actively manage phone tracking vs. constantly rolling on the gps for quick reference.
4. Ability to easily use with heavy gloves/mittens and in inclement weather. This is the biggest one for me. Phone touch screens tend to not work well with moisture on them, and I’ve never found a heavy touchscreen glove that actually worked. Can leave my mittens on and still use the Etrex.
4. Battery compatibility with my headlamp
With that said, if I lost it tomorrow I’m not sure I would spend the money to replace it (although it sounds like the used market is cheap ). But until it doesn’t function and/or is lost, I’ll always carry it and will continue to use it more than phone Onx.

 

[Poindexter]

Still carry an ancient garmin...but use the onx app, mostly. Also have many waypoints and tracks that are still in the old unit. Maybe I need to backtrack and go over all of them again so I have them in onx! lol

I added the OnX card to mine. Very useful for finding property lines out in the countryside where I have 9 neighbors touching my land. Haven’t had it off the property yet. But it helped me find a small pond I didn’t know I had LOL.

 

[Mountain Goat]

I run my Garmin 64ST, and keep my phone powered down - I want to make sure that if something bad happens, I have a full phone battery in case I need to try to send texts or for my position to be triangulated by the cell phone company. I saw a news article just the other day about a family (with a newborn) that went hiking, got lost, and died of exposure in the mountains. The dude had one last garbled (delirious) text message that was never sent, typed out on his phone, begging for help.

 

[Wyobohunter]

I run my Garmin 64ST, and keep my phone powered down - I want to make sure that if something bad happens, I have a full phone battery in case I need to try to send texts or for my position to be triangulated by the cell phone company. I saw a news article just the other day about a family (with a newborn) that went hiking, got lost, and died of exposure in the mountains. The dude had one last garbled (delirious) text message that was never sent, typed out on his phone, begging for help.

Makes good sense if you have reliable cell service where you hike/hunt. I don’t so my phone is not an emergency device. I carry a PLB/satellite messenger.

 

[WyoHuntr]

My GPS has never failed me in cold weather. I've had more than one phone either rapidly lose battery in the sub-freezing temps, or restart out of airplane mode (draining the battery). I'm not in spots where I can afford to have a dead navigation device. I leave in the dark and come back in the dark. Plus my Garmin 66i battery outlasts my phone by a large margin.

 

[pirogue]

Don’t use the rhinos anymore. But I download ON-X maps before I go, then use them in offline, in airplane mode. Battery use not an issue.

 

[Diablo7]

Great info

 

[Pony Soldier]

I have onx chips in both my 64sw and my etrex 30. That provides land ownership maps that I need occasionally but with the knowledge that cadastral can be off by hundreds of feet and onx is based on the state's cadastral coverage. My gps units have no transmission capabilities - voluntary or otherwise.