What do you carry GPS/Compass/Maps ?

[SWVA_Tim]

Interested to see what most of you carry with you as far as combination of GPS/Compass and Maps. I am looking at getting a compass. I always have a GPS and map, but lost my old compass and looking at getting another. Interested to hear brands, models, and features you like and don't like as well.

 

[miller1]

I know most backcountry guys don't like to use phones for a GPS but last year in Co. I used my LG G3 with backcountry navigator and loved it. If I kept my phone on airplane mode my battery would go for about 3 days with intermittent gps use and it was just a accurate a my Garmin. I downloaded the topo map of the area before I left home and it was awesome. I had my Garmin just in case but never turned it on.

 

[weatherbow21]

I've been trying to find a good gps for my iphone, tried Trimble but I'm not a fan so far.

 

[weaver]

Paper map and compass
+
Backcountry navigator on phone
+
Delorme inreach explorer.

The inreach is mostly for communication purposes but does have some navigating capabilities if (when) my phone battery dies.

 

[the_bowhunter]

Map, compass, gps, and a delorme

The delorme is a lifesaver!!

 

[5MilesBack]

I love playing around with my GPS, but I love my maps and could never get away from them. Sure is nice though getting a UTM coordinate on the GPS and being able to plot it exactly where it goes on the map. And vice versa.

 

[bivouaclarry]

Topo, compass, Suunto. The topo is an absolute necessity for being able to see alternate routes into an area, seeps, saddles, ect. I used to carry a handheld but the Suunto suffices now and lightens my pack.

 

[TJ]

Paper map, compass & GPS.

Don't leave home without them.

 

[DudeFromOhio]

Paper map, compass & GPS.

Don't leave home without them.

Me too. Got lost once, for about 12 hours, wasnt fun.

 

[Justin Crossley]

For me it just depends. Sometimes I take a GPS, map and phone. Sometimes just one of the three. My watch has a compass so I guess I always have that although I've never used it.

 

[jtw]

I've always carried a good compass and paper map. I added a garmin last year and its nice for double checking my route but I mainly use the compass for navigation.

 

[rbljack]

I haven't backpacked in years, but we did some trips when I was younger and that was before GPS was available "over the counter". We relied on compass and paper map...there was no other option. Having said that, there are/was times that trusting the compass can be tough. I got caught in a snowstorm once, and im trying to get back to camp. I was in (what I thought was) unfamiliar territory, so I pull out my compass and it doesn't point the way I expected it too. My instincts said there is no way camp is that way...so I intentionally headed on a different bearing that my gut said was closer. Needless to say, I should have trusted my compass. I went way off course, and hit the river way south of camp, and had to walk back up river about 2 miles. Everything looks different during different times of the day, and different weather conditions.

Now that GPS is available, I will definitely have one with me also. Navigation devices are like fire starters for me...I want redundancy! Two or three methods are better. And for those that say they will follow the sun......been there, tried that, and got completely turned around in a dense fog! Sun isn't one of the methods I want to rely on, because it wont be there when you need it most and are lost, cold, wet, and caught in a storm.

LOL....basically what JTW said, but this post takes longer to get to the point.I added the garmin Montana 650 to my gear list this year. If I would have had the GPS back them, when my instincts said camp CANT be that way, Id have pulled that thing out, and been back at camp much quicker, and warmer. It dumped snow that day, and here is another thing to think about....I went from hunt mode to "get back to camp mode" because I wasn't sure where camp was. If I had the GPS that day, I could have HUNTED my way back to camp during a great opportunity to watch for fresh tracks, etc. Because I was in "back to camp mode" those other things, like stalking quietly, following tracks, etc...weren't on my priority list.

OH...and I got way sidetracked in this post...here is a you tube video worth watching on compasses:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtdeuE153sA



Something to think about.

 

[BroodBuster]

What 5MilesBack said!

 

[rayporter]

map, compass and gps.

and if you think you wont argue with a gps [ or that they will never fail ] think again.

 

[Nalgene]

Cammenga with tritium is my compass of choice

 

[Scotto]

I carry all three, and the iphone with the Gaia app was tested last year as well. It proved to be accurate but the limitation is the battery life.

 

[mtnwrunner]

A topo map and a silva ranger. The best there is and I hate to rely on electronics, as in no phone, no walkie talkies, no gps.

Randy

 

[danarnold]

we used our garmin rino's because of the radio, Gaia gps app on my iphone was killer tho, paper map too

 

[Darren Best]

Map, compass, GPS and iPhone with Gaia GPS.

Download the maps on Gaia ahead of time.

 

[tttoadman]

map, compass and gps.

and if you think you wont argue with a gps [ or that they will never fail ] think again.

I never go anywhere without the GPS and compass. Just a simple liquid filled compass that closes tight when not use. Take maps everywhere unless I am hunting up above my house.