Using cell phone as GPS??

[searle7]

Last year I used my Garmin 60CX as my GPS. This year I got a smart phone and was thinking of leaving the GPS home and using the smartphone for weight savings. What do you guys think? Anybody done this?

We are planning on a six day hunt and I can get a app that downloads the maps so it doesn't need cell service. I also found an extended battery for my phone. Plus the map on my phone looks ten times better than my GPS.

 

[a3dhunter]

You can search for previous results on this and see if they are still available on here for you, but after many attempts to do this it was a disaster for me.
Location was off quite a bit, as much as a couple hundred yards. It was also unable to acquire data on several situations in Colorado, even though it was supposedly saved to my smart phone.
Would not recommend it as a primary source for GPS.

 

[Justin Crossley]

I use mine and love it. I use backcountry navigator and I added the game unit overlays. I've had no problems at all.

 

[Matt Cashell]

I like a dedicated GPS myself.

 

[Manosteel]

I wouldn't do it, battery life is one big issue and then their are service issues and locations acuracy.

 

[Brock A]

I'm GPS all the way. I can never keep a battery charged up long enough. Especially when its cold.

 

[flatlander51]

I was going to do this same thing and opted against it. Main reason was reliability. Phones are more fragile and battery life isn't as good. I even looked at getting a solar charger but by the time you spend the extra money and gain the wieght for a solar charger your back to where you started or heavier.imo.

 

[armyjoe]

I would never use my cellphone as a GPS. Like everyone has said, the battery life is horrible. Also, I've been in some thick north facing timber and my cell phone GPS was very erratic when I tried it out but my Garmin was perfect. A cellphone is a cellphone. I hate that people use these things in place of a dedicated electronic. Thats when they get lost or in trouble, but that just my option.

 

[maverick]

I used Backcountry navigator on my cell phone last year. There are pros and cons to both. My buddy had a motorola phone and his had a hard time locking satellites. I have an older HTC phone that would lock faster and with more satellites than my Garmin. With the stock battery I could get 2-3 days of use if I had the phone in airplane mode and wifi off. I bought an extended battery for mine a couple weeks ago. I would guess I could go 4-5 days. It seems to be very accurate too. If your on a trail it shows you on the trail, the Garmin is close but I think its the maps not the GPS unit itself. One othe plus is you always have a camera and video camera when you have the cell phone too. If your one of those guys that tracks yourself all day or is constantly using your GPS I don't think the cell phone will last. The biggest plus is the screen size and the maps. They are so much nicer than the ones I've found for the Garmin. Still, if my life depended on one or the other (middle of nowhere Alaska) I would pick the Garmin because it proven. But for the way I hunt most of the time the Cell phone works great. Here are some screen shots from the cell phone maps available. Its easy to toggle betwen maps too.

 

[searle7]

Supposedly with my phone I can download the maps and not need cell service. My plan is to just turn it on when I need to look at a map or see where I am at. I think I might do a test when I go scouting and just bring both.

I love mavericks pics and thats why i want to use the cell phone.

 

[T43]

I use my cell. Its lighter has a decent camera, the GPS and battery work fine where I hunt and I only have to carry 1 thing. I do agree if I was hunting somewhere unfamiliar I would probably go with a dedicated GPS.

 

[Backpack Hunter]

My preference is the GPS. For me it has been more reliable, and as mentioned the battery life is much better.

 

[larryschwartz]

whatever you do, practice with it some wilderness area or state park nearby to see how well it works, even if you use a dedicated GPS. it pays to make sure your stuff works the way you expect it to. somewhere in the backcountry is not the place to find out your gear don't work.

 

[Beastmode]

Dedicated gps for me. Works great and never had any issues.

 

[tim tarras]

Dedicated GPS for me as well.

 

[weaver]

Here in OH i will occasionally use my phone for a gps. Usually to mark a treestand i want to get to in the dark. No way id risk using it out west. Mainly because of battery life and the accuracy is not the best sometimes if i dont have service