Smart phone vs gps

[COLOelkman]

Bringing this thread back to the top. Im ditching my GPS and only using my smart phone from here on out and was wondering is anyone had any further advice.

Always carry a portable charger. I always carried extra batteries when I used a GPS and its even more important with a phone.

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[oakdeiros80]

Yeah, I carry a charger as well. In addition to getting 5-6 phone charges, it will also charge my inreach.


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[AdamW]

Yeah, I carry a charger as well. In addition to getting 5-6 phone charges, it will also charge my inreach.


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This.

Also for those who haven't, you can google your device name and "mah" to get an idea of how many charges you can get out of your charger. For example I searched "iphone 5s mah" and see it's a 1,560 mah battery. My charger is 10,000 mah so can in an ideal world get about 6 full charges of my phone out of that pack. I like to be conservative and allow for battery drain due to temps, etc. and up it from there. Keep your batteries warm or close to your body and in my experience this math works out to be pretty accurate.

 

[frankrb3]

I still use a designated GPS unit over my cell phone for electronic navigation. I trust it more and it's easier/cheaper to replace my GPS than my smart phone. Unfortunately I had to do that this year when my GPS fell out of it's pouch and I couldn't find it. I was off trail shed hunting.

 

[dotman]

This past season I only used my phone with both OnX and Gaia, I had issues with OnX but Gaia worked very smoothly and I prefer the layers they have, I’m done with taking a gps. I always have an Anker 20000mah battery pack with me but my phone can easily run 3 days on airplane mode.

 

[dotman]

I upgraded to the iPhone X a few weeks ago, just had the screen go out on it today. So always have a backup to navigate, nothings perfect.

 

[Beendare]

FWIW, I really like the Smatphone/GAIA system but changed it up a little. I now have 2 smaller batteries vs one big brick charger. More convenient....and my big brick charger took a dump on me....the 2 small ones provide for more options.
Link is to the one I like
Amazon.com: Anker PowerCore 10000, One of the Smallest and Lightest 10000mAh External Batteries, Ultra-Compact, High-speed Charging Technology Power Bank for iPhone, Samsung Galaxy and More: Cell Phones & Accessories

 

[Scoony]

The past two years, I used Gaia with not problems what so ever in the Idaho Wilderness with no signal.

This past year I figure out how to download Idaho USDA Forrest service maps using Avenza Maps. Really helped us in planning routes as it shows what type of traffic the routes are open to, and what was restricted. It also showed us private land which really helped as there were a few private mining areas that were not well marked.

 

[muddydogs]

With all the info on this site as well as on the internet in general and there are still so many people passing on wrong information, basically they have no clue what there talking about but yet they just have to post. Biggest one I read on this thread is the cell phone needs cell service for its GPS to work and cell phone battery life sucks when using the phone for GPS work.

It has been repeated time and time again on this forum and all over the web that a cell phone does not need cell service for the GPS function to work and it works just as well as any dedicated GPS unit.

As for power management if one would take the time to learn there phone they would see that it's easy to go into the system setting and turn off cell service, wireless data and stop other programs that might be a power suck to conserve power when not in cell service. I know Android phones are easy to do this to, as for IPhones I'm not sure as I don't use the overpriced restricted user option phones.

I pack around an android phone running the Earthmate map app on my phone for 10+ hours a day and will end the day with 60% battery left. I put the screen to sleep when not looking at the phone but its setting in my pocket tracking my movements. Most the time my phone is still searching for cell service as I hit hot spots every once in a while were I will get a text but I have mobile data turned off which shuts down most of the apps from constantly searching for signal.

If your interested in using your phone as a GPS do a forum search to find other threads with a lot of information about the topic and very little misinformation unlike most of this thread. Also a Google search will give you a wealth of info about this topic.

 

[Beendare]

With all the info on this site as well as on the internet in general and there are still so many people passing on wrong information, basically they have no clue what there talking about but yet they just have to post. Biggest one I read on this thread is the cell phone needs cell service for its GPS to work and cell phone battery life sucks when using the phone for GPS work.

It has been repeated time and time again on this forum and all over the web that a cell phone does not need cell service for the GPS function to work and it works just as well as any dedicated GPS unit.
.

^Ugh no. Nobody in the know is giving that advice on this forum.

Folks have asked these questions- sure...and made statements that they had problems.... their errors are continually pointed out to them on this site.

 

[dotman]

I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone say you “must have cell service for a phone gps to work.” I’ve seen people ask the question which is always answer with a no it isn’t.

 

[mfllood3800]

Bringing this thread back to the top. Im ditching my GPS and only using my smart phone from here on out and was wondering is anyone had any further advice.

I use my phone as my primary for all my hunts.

I did upgrade my Delorme In reach emergency sos tool to the Garmin In Reach Explorer which also has topos on it. This a redundant back up for me for when my phone goes dead, gets misplaced, drowns, burns up or what ever. . Yes I almost always carry a battery cell for recharging. But I need a SOS unit any way so the garmin has a GPS set up on if needed.

But to answer your question- my phone is the exclusive tool for navigation.

My Garmin is also my emergency sos unit. that is its primary function. But I like that it serves as a back up should the phone die, drown, burn, go dead, get left some where etc....

 

[Trial153]

i have ran iphone 6 for gps and since have switched over to an S8. I run gaia and earthmate and onx on the phone without any real issue with any of them. My inreach is just a back up.

 

[jwooley]

Smartphone gps= Handy, I myself sometimes use both..

 

[Grizz]

Iphone primary for maps and onx, but i do not go anywhere without a garmin 401 for general location and waypoint navigation. 2 lithiums will run a 401 for 18+ hours.

 

[willfrye027]

I have been using Gaia for a few years now with no issues whatsoever. They also have some articles on their website talking about ways to maximize battery life. I’ve used mine backpacking for 4 nights and had plenty of battery life (iPhone 6s), but also wasn’t using it that much. If I’m near trails I won’t bring a battery charger pack especially if it’s an ultralight trip. If I’m confident I can find my way back to a trail there’s no need for GPS. Survived most of my life without gps! Once you bring a battery pack you are not going lightweight IMO. It’s a luxury item.

 

[chindits]

I couldn’t rely on any touch screen for land navigation. Even with keeping my phone in an inside pocket, as soon as I pull it out in cold weather or even just rain the touch screen is pretty useless. Maybe that’s just my phone. I don’t know how you guys manage to keep your screens functioning in crappy weather. The little toggle switch on my Garmin always works.

 

[bsnedeker]

I couldn’t rely on any touch screen for land navigation. Even with keeping my phone in an inside pocket, as soon as I pull it out in cold weather or even just rain the touch screen is pretty useless. Maybe that’s just my phone. I don’t know how you guys manage to keep your screens functioning in crappy weather. The little toggle switch on my Garmin always works.

It's never been an issue for me. I don't use a screen protector on my phone because I have found this to be an issue in the past, maybe that's the difference?

 

[chindits]

Yup me too, no screen cover but plenty of issues when it’s not summer. I would say the worst performance is 15 to negative 25 F.

I also feel I can run a toggle easier with one hand while walking

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iPhone 7

 

[BigCountry49]

I use the Garmin inreach synced with my I-phone Earthmate app. It works really well for me but you will need a battery charger. With the charger I have no problems up to 4 days of frequent gps texting and checking maps.