GPS for mobile hunting

[Gdpolk]

What's the pro's/con's of a quality phone app like the Trimble Pro vs a handheld stand alone unit?

[Ulysseys]

Lots of guys are liking the phone apps these days and say they're easier to use than a handheld.  For me it depends where I'm hunting, you wouldn't catch me in the backcountry of colorado or montana relying on an iPhone with sketchy battery reliability at best  and no real way to replace it.  Ruggedness and navigation in elements just isn't something a phone was designed for.

[Jerry Russell]

I use a host of GPS units for navigation and blood tracking from the Garmin Montana (my favorite) to a Garmin Alpha on my tracking dog to the phone apps. Like Ulysseys said, the apps are fine when you have 100% cell coverage and not in a situation where loss of signal and or battery life can get you in big trouble.

I have used Trimble but like Motion X much better. They are not highly accurate but will get you out of the woods OK.

[old_goat2]

So far all four smart phones I've had, had a replaceable battery and 3 out of four of them the app was way more than good enough to use, the fourth wasn't as good as the others but still good enough to use. I use backcountry navigator. I do carry a second GPS, a very small basic unit. I won't go back to using a regular GPS as primary. It's only 12 bucks to try buy the app I have and for a few bucks more you can get add ons that show GMUs and Private property boundaries. If you have Android phone it's worth a try for $11.99

[LongbowArchitect]

I'm having excellent success using Locus Map Pro on my smartphone (on airplane mode). I downloaded a satellite image and a separate contour map of my hunting area to it. No cell phone service where I hunt in a wilderness area in Colorado.

[tracker12]

Are you navigating to and from ;locations using waypoints and your smart phone?

[longbow fanatic 1]

From my understanding the phone apps use cell towers, which cause a few problems. First, cell towers accuracy, when compared to a dedicated GPS unit (satellite technology), is inferior. Second, cell towers reception is not as reliable as satellite technology. Lastly, use of cell phone apps will drain your phone battery and is not as efficient as a GPS unit.

I bought the Garmin eTrex 20, which allows the use of micro chip mapping. I used the OnxMaps (Hunt Maps) in this GPS unit and it worked perfectly.

[monterey]

Back country Navigator doesn't use cell service.  You download maps on wi fi before you go.  The map selections cover just about any need. I download 2 or 3 maps of the area I'm going into.  Usually a aerial map with markups, a topo and sometimes a forest service map.

No matter what map you have up it will show your waypoints and track's.

[centaur]

I have been using Gaia, and it is very accurate and easy to use, and you don't need cell service.  Probably be selling my Garmin down the road.

[Jakeemt]

Another Gaia user here. It uses your smart phones built In GPS no cell service needed and it is very accurate and loaded with features from tracking, to way points, and tons of maps available. However you do have to have the map already downloaded and probably the biggest draw back is battery life. I run it on airplane mode and carry a small phone charger. Works great.

[BenBow]

None of the phone apps use cell service unless your phone isn't gps enabled. Gaia is grea. I build maps and routes on google earth and can import them in to gaia. The pro version has owner boundary maps but the non pro version has a large number of maps available. You can download the maps to your phone and shut your data and wifi off when in the field which cuts battery usage considerably. I bought a backup battery that I connect to my phone which I can get 2+ complete recharges from.
I had trimble and got rid of it as it wasn't as user friendly or capable as gaia.

[Roy from Pa]

Yup my cell has a built in gps that works off satellite  signals. And I carry the extra battery charger.