Lynn Coleman
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- Aug 24, 2013
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- 59
And I also put large hand warmers in pocket with phone, helps a little, hunting in 15/20 deg weather, pulled it out (phone) to check area map, dead in 15 minutes. ****
What the best hand held GPS
- Thread starter Sgt. grizz
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I personally don't hunt very far away from the truck much during cold weather (archery seasons are pretty warm here) but I second using the phone. I use the sat photos as much as the map. I have an external battery pack with a solar charger from Amazon, when I leave camp I make sure it will be in the sun when it comes up, and charge the phone off it while I sleep. With the bump charge while I'm driving to my take off spot I never have any problems with being out of power. I do turn it off or put it in airplane mode when not in use, when I remember.
As a certified BOOMER, map and compass are my primary. Actually don't need to use the compass all that often. I carry a GPS but usually don't use it. It is handy for finding the truck after dark in the forest. The free apps for the phone work well enough but I must admit to considering the GIAI, CalTopo and OnX apps.
Have a bulk tape eraser that I use for demagnetizing most of the stuff I carry including the weapon. The phone is a problem and interferes with the compass.
Have a bulk tape eraser that I use for demagnetizing most of the stuff I carry including the weapon. The phone is a problem and interferes with the compass.
Sgt. grizz
Well-Known Member
Lol certified BOOMER!!! I guess so, I'm very proficient with land navigation being in the military as long as I was in, and training for that kind of stuff a lot but, it doesn't help me out with private property that's the main reason why I want one so I don't accidentally take something on someone else's land. Yes onyx maps is great for this problem I just wanted something different then my phone in sub 20deg. Weather but I am we gonna take some of the suggestions that other people have already posted great stuff thank you guys.
74sharps
Well-Known Member
Another iPhone app to consider is BaseMap. It is very similar to onX, and less expensive. Both have almost the same features. I must download maps and go offline since cell service is spotty in hunting area. I always carried my phone for taking photos, so now a gps isn't necessary.
Rhino Hunter
Well-Known Member
What are those? LOL. I always have a compass or two. Maps are almost a thing of the past IMO. When's the last time one you saw somebody use a road map in their car? LOL.
I also use OnX, it's a great app. I just downloaded the OnX Trail version which is for trail riding. I can't wait to try it out here in MI.
Country Bumpkin
Well-Known Member
I have the training and know-how to rely on map/compass, but it sure is a lot less mental-figurin' to use my phone, InReach and backup external power. Call it lazy, call it an efficient use of my time and energy in the field, but it works for me.
Two years ago I did a 10 day hunt in Ak with this setup and it worked flawlessly (amid dense fog where traditional map/compass would have grounded me. It's easy to say that you can navigate in the dark (or dense fog), but confidence wanes when you spotted a buck a mile away across broken terrain full of cliffs and incredibly dense undergrowth..... can you really pop out at 300 yards using a map/compass without risking injury or blowing the stalk? You could, but I can do it a LOT faster if I chart a course through that maze on my phone and follow the bread crumbs. I can also get a really good idea of how far away I'll be when I reach my destination. What I really like about InReach is the mapping capabilities PRIOR to the hunt, so many options (USGS, satellite, etc). You can plot routes and waypoints, determine distance and elevation, and everything syncs up to your phone, so I have high-def maps with preloaded data ready to go. If my phone fails, I still have the standalone capabilities of the InReach, with all screen, navigation and text/PLB functions.
As long as your iPhone is less than 2 years old (when they miraculously loose battery life capabilities, overnight), you should be able to get 2-1/2 days per charge if you keep it in an inside pocket and warm, on airplane mode. The GPS still works on airplane mode and it's still bluetoothed to your GPS. The InReach can work in harmony with your phone or it can work independently. It's more fluid to use your phone because the screen is bigger (but you are burning battery for both). I would sparingly use my InReach (because that's the device with PLB and will get you out of the worst-case scenario). The InReach will last for about 5 days if I'm not using the track function (so much longer if I use it sparingly and only turn it on to send messages to my wife at night and for occasional stalks or wayfinding).
The external battery pack I have will give me about 6 charges for either device. If I enter the field with full batteries then I can get through a 10 day hunt just perfectly.
Two years ago I did a 10 day hunt in Ak with this setup and it worked flawlessly (amid dense fog where traditional map/compass would have grounded me. It's easy to say that you can navigate in the dark (or dense fog), but confidence wanes when you spotted a buck a mile away across broken terrain full of cliffs and incredibly dense undergrowth..... can you really pop out at 300 yards using a map/compass without risking injury or blowing the stalk? You could, but I can do it a LOT faster if I chart a course through that maze on my phone and follow the bread crumbs. I can also get a really good idea of how far away I'll be when I reach my destination. What I really like about InReach is the mapping capabilities PRIOR to the hunt, so many options (USGS, satellite, etc). You can plot routes and waypoints, determine distance and elevation, and everything syncs up to your phone, so I have high-def maps with preloaded data ready to go. If my phone fails, I still have the standalone capabilities of the InReach, with all screen, navigation and text/PLB functions.
As long as your iPhone is less than 2 years old (when they miraculously loose battery life capabilities, overnight), you should be able to get 2-1/2 days per charge if you keep it in an inside pocket and warm, on airplane mode. The GPS still works on airplane mode and it's still bluetoothed to your GPS. The InReach can work in harmony with your phone or it can work independently. It's more fluid to use your phone because the screen is bigger (but you are burning battery for both). I would sparingly use my InReach (because that's the device with PLB and will get you out of the worst-case scenario). The InReach will last for about 5 days if I'm not using the track function (so much longer if I use it sparingly and only turn it on to send messages to my wife at night and for occasional stalks or wayfinding).
The external battery pack I have will give me about 6 charges for either device. If I enter the field with full batteries then I can get through a 10 day hunt just perfectly.
imyourhuckleberry
Well-Known Member
Not a tech type of guy, but the areas that I've hunted I do not get a signal for a cell. So for me a map and a compass is how I find my way around. Map will give me the terrain features I need and can get the declinations I need to find my true norths and shoot my azimuths to get me to my points of interest or by shooting back azimuths to get back to my base camp. Day or night the only difference is the moon and the sun.
Just for anyone who doesn't know, the phone based GPS apps don't require cell service. The GPS on your phone works off satellite, just like a regular handheld GPS.
74sharps
Well-Known Member
Previous post is correct. However the gps in the phone will not show a map unless there is service. The gps will be a blank screen with a blue dot showing your location. If there is no service, one must download a map of the area the user plans to be. I had the displeasure of this experience. Had to go back to the map on that occasion. I did have a compass app for my phone though. Worked quite well.
This reminds me of the nights I'm coming out heavy with meat on the pack completely exhausted trying to keep my head up so my headlamp can find my next ten steps thru the downfall as I navigate in the dark towards the truck cause there's no trail,....Phone in hand following the arrow telling me where to go as I count my steps, .02 miles "dude we're almost there".....Old School guys with map & compass, you guys are BadAsh! I couldn't do it. My name is Elksurgeon & I'm addicted to current Technology
imyourhuckleberry
Well-Known Member
Thanks for that piece of information and sharing, I really had no idea.
Rhino Hunter
Well-Known Member
You beat me to it. Yep, cell service is not required for the GPS to function.
But I grew using a map and compass and am comfortable using either maps or a GPS.
You know...Two is one and one is none.
Hawkeye Pierce
Well-Known Member
I went out with cousins who had OnX and I used BaseMap, this year I have both. Basemap will link to Google earth for 3D imaging for e scouting.there is also i difference in when the satellite images are taken I've found also.
When you download the maps you can switch the layer overlap to the topo map before you download so you can get a map map if you want one. My land nav skills aren't as sharp as they were in the military and I'm not the biggest fan of technology, which baffles my friends seeing that I turned 36 last week, I'm waiting for it to go SkyNet so I can destroy it (80s movie reference). All that to say I do like the ability to set a waypoint and just walk to it.
Also we were in the Frank Church wilderness of no return, yes that's the real name, of Idaho far from cell service, 4.5 hours to be exact if you have a lead foot. We always had an arrow for our personal marker and it would show us our direction as well as we could set it to mark the trail and keep save it .
Which is handy to know where you have been as well as way points for water, tracks, scraps and any other points you want saved.
Wow that was longer than expected.
When you download the maps you can switch the layer overlap to the topo map before you download so you can get a map map if you want one. My land nav skills aren't as sharp as they were in the military and I'm not the biggest fan of technology, which baffles my friends seeing that I turned 36 last week, I'm waiting for it to go SkyNet so I can destroy it (80s movie reference). All that to say I do like the ability to set a waypoint and just walk to it.
Also we were in the Frank Church wilderness of no return, yes that's the real name, of Idaho far from cell service, 4.5 hours to be exact if you have a lead foot. We always had an arrow for our personal marker and it would show us our direction as well as we could set it to mark the trail and keep save it .
Which is handy to know where you have been as well as way points for water, tracks, scraps and any other points you want saved.
Wow that was longer than expected.
