I still carry my Garmin, but mostly for the comms rather than the GPS. The ability to map on your desktop and effortlessly sync with your phone for GPS navigation is just too good to pass up
Replacing old devices with a Smart Phone
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Re: Replacing old devices with a Smart Phone
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- Dave B
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Re: Replacing old devices with a Smart Phone
Curious if you're using the free version of Gaia? I was doing the same - plan on CalTopo, utilize in Gaia, but after upgrading to the paid version of Gaia, I find myself never using CalTopo anymore.randalmartin wrote: ↑Thu May 13, 2021 8:36 pm Gaia for use while on a trip but use Caltopo for trip planning. Caltopo may eventually catch up to Gaia in the mobile app capability but for now the mobile app for Gaia is far ahead. Caltopo is a phenomenal tool on the browser on your home computer for trip planning. I'll save a route on Caltopo, export to GPX for import into GAIA which syncs to the mobile application. It sounds complicated, it isn't.
I also like that it seems more apps have direct exports to Gaia than other apps, Trails Offroad for 4x4 for example.
Make wilderness less accessible.
- Been_Jammin
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Re: Replacing old devices with a Smart Phone
What is so great about Gaia? I used it with my iphone when I hiked the John Muir Trail in 2016. It was fine I guess. Maybe it has gotten better since. I used Hiking Project when I walked from Yosemite to Lake Tahoe in 2018. Hiking Project probably wouldn't be awesome for bushwhacking.
- 9patrickmurphy
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Re: Replacing old devices with a Smart Phone
You pretty much summed it up. It's like Hiking Project but you can upload/create your own tracks. The benefits over CalTopo are really just user's preferences, I think they're close enough at this point in terms of features that it's kind of a McDonald's vs. Burger King type of deal. I like Gaia though and I'll be sticking with it.Been_Jammin wrote: ↑Fri May 14, 2021 8:51 am What is so great about Gaia? I used it with my iphone when I hiked the John Muir Trail in 2016. It was fine I guess. Maybe it has gotten better since. I used Hiking Project when I walked from Yosemite to Lake Tahoe in 2018. Hiking Project probably wouldn't be awesome for bushwhacking.
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Re: Replacing old devices with a Smart Phone
The one pet peeve I had with Gaia is the "you are here" pointer on the screen. I found it maddeningly small, I literaly had to use reading glasses to fix my location, worse on sunny days. But maybe (a) the sunny day issue was a phone issue, not Gaia, and (b) the small "you are here" problem is probably due to the age of my eyeballs, not Gaia . I did contact them and suggest they make it a bit larger, that went nowhere.
Fwiw, I just use Garmin's GPS that comes with the Inreach device, paired with my smartphone. I'm going carry both the Inreach (safety, messaging) and phone anyway (camera, etc.) and Garmin's GPS is plenty for my needs. I can pinpoint targets/features on the home PC, using maps or satellite imagery, sync it easily and I'm good. And Garmin's "you are here" pointer is plenty big and easy to find. I found Gaia and BC Navigator eh....no real improvement on my system. Just me.
-Tom
Fwiw, I just use Garmin's GPS that comes with the Inreach device, paired with my smartphone. I'm going carry both the Inreach (safety, messaging) and phone anyway (camera, etc.) and Garmin's GPS is plenty for my needs. I can pinpoint targets/features on the home PC, using maps or satellite imagery, sync it easily and I'm good. And Garmin's "you are here" pointer is plenty big and easy to find. I found Gaia and BC Navigator eh....no real improvement on my system. Just me.
-Tom
- Jim Davies
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Re: Replacing old devices with a Smart Phone
For Colorado, COTrex is pretty good, and it's free. The measuring tool is great; I generally use it on the web site for the bigger display, but it lets you plot out routes, measure distances and get an elevation profile, and then save as a route and export as a GPX file. It also has statewide topo maps that you can download for offline use, and a builtin tracker that's decent.
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- Dave B
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Re: Replacing old devices with a Smart Phone
Yup, same here. I just like the UI with Gaia way better and the app is 100x better than CalTopo. To get a lot of the cool layers you have to pay whether it's CalTopo or Gaia, I've just slowly adapted to Gaia and can work efficiently in it now, so it's become the default. Kind of the same reason I'll probably never switch to Android from iPhone, or Mac from PC. I know the way things work and have little interest in learning a new interface unless it is waaaaaaaaaay better. I do keep threatening to switch to Linux, however.9patrickmurphy wrote: ↑Fri May 14, 2021 8:58 amThe benefits over CalTopo are really just user's preferences, I think they're close enough at this point in terms of features that it's kind of a McDonald's vs. Burger King type of deal. I like Gaia though and I'll be sticking with it.Been_Jammin wrote: ↑Fri May 14, 2021 8:51 am What is so great about Gaia? I used it with my iphone when I hiked the John Muir Trail in 2016. It was fine I guess. Maybe it has gotten better since. I used Hiking Project when I walked from Yosemite to Lake Tahoe in 2018. Hiking Project probably wouldn't be awesome for bushwhacking.
My one complaint about Gaia is the "snap to trail" feature for drawing routes can be laggy sometimes, but it was never really great in CalTopo either.
Make wilderness less accessible.
- supranihilest
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Re: Replacing old devices with a Smart Phone
For peak bagging I use... Drumroll please... Peakbagger. Yep.
Spanish Peaks overview with tracks I downloaded right from the app. I can also download GPX from LoJ/All Trails/Hiking Project/anywhere that has GPX tracks and import them to Peakbagger.
West Spanish Peak overview.
West Spanish Peak GPX closeup for fine detail.
Want to know where you are on a track, or where a spot on a track is? You can find that out.
Track details.
Selection of peaks and tracks I've saved offline.
High-level overview of Boulder and Jefferson counties with dozens of tracks I've saved.
I don't trust an app on my phone not to kill the battery, plus what happens if I drop my phone on a rock and destroy the thing, so I also use a GPS watch (Garmin Fenix 5) for ~20-24 hour battery life and breadcrumb trail, and a Garmin inReach for connectivity to the outside world (friends and family can watch live on an online map) and texting, plus multi-day battery life. Never had to use the SOS on my inReach but it's available if need be.
If you're only going to get one, single device I'd recommend an inReach since it has damn near every feature you could want, but the drawback is that it's not cheap.
- Free
- Offline topo map downloads
- Daily low-res and weekly high-res satellite photos
- Find peak waypoints easily and save them offline
- Trip reports and GPX tracks easily downloadable (if one is available for a particular peak)
- Peaks available worldwide, not just in US
- Syncs to Lists of John for LoJers
Spanish Peaks overview with tracks I downloaded right from the app. I can also download GPX from LoJ/All Trails/Hiking Project/anywhere that has GPX tracks and import them to Peakbagger.
West Spanish Peak overview.
West Spanish Peak GPX closeup for fine detail.
Want to know where you are on a track, or where a spot on a track is? You can find that out.
Track details.
Selection of peaks and tracks I've saved offline.
High-level overview of Boulder and Jefferson counties with dozens of tracks I've saved.
I don't trust an app on my phone not to kill the battery, plus what happens if I drop my phone on a rock and destroy the thing, so I also use a GPS watch (Garmin Fenix 5) for ~20-24 hour battery life and breadcrumb trail, and a Garmin inReach for connectivity to the outside world (friends and family can watch live on an online map) and texting, plus multi-day battery life. Never had to use the SOS on my inReach but it's available if need be.
If you're only going to get one, single device I'd recommend an inReach since it has damn near every feature you could want, but the drawback is that it's not cheap.
- SchralpTheGnar
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Re: Replacing old devices with a Smart Phone
Dave B wrote: ↑Fri May 14, 2021 8:24 amCurious if you're using the free version of Gaia? I was doing the same - plan on CalTopo, utilize in Gaia, but after upgrading to the paid version of Gaia, I find myself never using CalTopo anymore.randalmartin wrote: ↑Thu May 13, 2021 8:36 pm Gaia for use while on a trip but use Caltopo for trip planning. Caltopo may eventually catch up to Gaia in the mobile app capability but for now the mobile app for Gaia is far ahead. Caltopo is a phenomenal tool on the browser on your home computer for trip planning. I'll save a route on Caltopo, export to GPX for import into GAIA which syncs to the mobile application. It sounds complicated, it isn't.
I also like that it seems more apps have direct exports to Gaia than other apps, Trails Offroad for 4x4 for example.
I do the same exact thing Randall does,and it’s awesome, I pay 20 a year for gai, whichever subscription model that is, it just auto renews for me. I’ve never played around with gai on the web so I use caltopo more just out of habit at this point. I tend to be more of a if it works don’t bother looking for alternatives type person when It comes to tech
- 12ersRule
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Re: Replacing old devices with a Smart Phone
Great responses everyone, thank you so much!
The Peakbagger app does seem the closest fit for what I do because I hike a lot of lower obscure peaks and waypoints are important. Syncing with LoJ is a huge bonus as well.
Tom, I hear you on the eyesight thing. "Cheater glasses" are on the packing list now. Frustrating that a TI map is difficult to read without them now.
The Peakbagger app does seem the closest fit for what I do because I hike a lot of lower obscure peaks and waypoints are important. Syncing with LoJ is a huge bonus as well.
Tom, I hear you on the eyesight thing. "Cheater glasses" are on the packing list now. Frustrating that a TI map is difficult to read without them now.
- justiner
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Re: Replacing old devices with a Smart Phone
GPS apps on phones are getting *really* good, making my Garmin starting to look pretty dated, but there are some applications I'm happy to have the Garmin with. I'm not sure I'm comfortable mounting my phone on my MTB handlebars on a bikepacking trip (where I'm following a track), or really if I'm off trail for days on end - anything where losing or breaking a phone is still a possibility. The Garmin unit is just way more robust. But if I'm on a trail - or generally don't need to use it for intense navigation, phone can do the work, and sit in my pack somewhere. Maybe one day I'll get a GPS watch, but it's been a few years since I've ever worn a watch!
- randalmartin
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Re: Replacing old devices with a Smart Phone
I actually am using paid versions of both Caltopo and Gaia. I have lost track of what features the pay versions of each provide that the free versions don't. Clearly some layers that pay versions have as well as storage capacity. For Caltopo I have saved maps of each Wilderness area as an example where I have mapped routes I want to do in each. The pay version gives the ability to save many more maps.Dave B wrote: ↑Fri May 14, 2021 8:24 amCurious if you're using the free version of Gaia? I was doing the same - plan on CalTopo, utilize in Gaia, but after upgrading to the paid version of Gaia, I find myself never using CalTopo anymore.randalmartin wrote: ↑Thu May 13, 2021 8:36 pm Gaia for use while on a trip but use Caltopo for trip planning. Caltopo may eventually catch up to Gaia in the mobile app capability but for now the mobile app for Gaia is far ahead. Caltopo is a phenomenal tool on the browser on your home computer for trip planning. I'll save a route on Caltopo, export to GPX for import into GAIA which syncs to the mobile application. It sounds complicated, it isn't.
I also like that it seems more apps have direct exports to Gaia than other apps, Trails Offroad for 4x4 for example.