Using your iPhone as your primary back country GPS

Well, what's the best and what's the worst? Let's talk about all those things we carry to make our trips more comfortable...

Moderators: teapot57, Tara

Post Reply
User avatar
trevbo
Posts: 407
Joined: Wed Jan 13, 2010 9:19 pm
Gender?: Male
Please add the numbers(11): 11
Location: Lethbridge, AB

Using your iPhone as your primary back country GPS

Post by trevbo »

I took the plunge and just sold off my Garmin unit. All new Cellphones have GPS installed and will work without a cell signal... I’ve decided to go with Gaia GPS based on friend’s recommendation. It was a free download but I expect that there will be a subscription fee required at some point. You can download maps for areas prior to heading out. You can also plan out routes and upload gpx files, etc.

Anyone using their phone as their GPS and have a software recommendation other than Gaia GPS?

Amazing how fast tech changes. I only bring my camera half the time now when I go hiking since iPhone pics are so good. It’s only a matter of time until cells have the gps emergency beacon (spot and delorme) functionality.
User avatar
Ear Mountain
Moderator & 2.1 Donator
Moderator & 2.1 Donator
Posts: 4969
Joined: Fri Jun 22, 2007 9:53 pm
Gender?: Male
Please add the numbers(11): 11
Location: Choteau, Montana
Has thanked: 32 times
Been thanked: 34 times
Contact:

Re: Using your iPhone as your primary back country GPS

Post by Ear Mountain »

My cell phone is now my GPS. I use iHike GPS on my iPhone. The cost of the app is reasonable and maps are free and there is no subscription. Once downloaded hey are available offline. iHikeGPS can import pix waypoint files created by other applications. There are some other waypoint formats that can be imported as well.
Text and photos Copyright 2007-2023.
User avatar
paul
Donator
Donator
Posts: 1696
Joined: Tue Oct 10, 2006 7:42 pm
Gender?: Male
Please add the numbers(11): 11
Location: MA
Has thanked: 61 times
Been thanked: 38 times

Re: Using your iPhone as your primary back country GPS

Post by paul »

As far as photography goes, I don't like using smart phones for photographs. First from a technical point of view the optics of smart phones are inferior to SLRs and SLR like cameras that have lenses with longer focal lengths. However, the biggest issue I have with smart phone photography is the user interface for taking pictures. I really don't like taking pictures while holding a camera away from my eyes and face and trying to frame it with the stupid display screen. First, because I can't really see the details of the image very well, and second it's much harder to keep the camera steady and to frame the image properly while taking the picture.
We are in the mountains and the mountains are in us. - John Muir
User avatar
trevbo
Posts: 407
Joined: Wed Jan 13, 2010 9:19 pm
Gender?: Male
Please add the numbers(11): 11
Location: Lethbridge, AB

Re: Using your iPhone as your primary back country GPS

Post by trevbo »

Thanks for the feedback - I really appreciate the info.

I have always been worried about the accuracy of iphone GPS's and having to depend on them in areas with no cell coverage... As a trial I did some geocach'ing on the wkend with my phone in airplane mode and the accuracy was quite good (found 2 caches). Not a scientific study, I know!

But it is also good to know seasoned BC enthusiasts such as yourselves have already gone down this road!

Both ihikeGPS and Topo+ look like great app's... While reading up on ihkeGPS and Topo+ I discovered a really basic (but free!) GPS app called Topo Maps US (and Topo Maps Canada).

See Topo Maps US https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/topo-ma ... 46196?mt=8

I have been testing out my phone in airplane mode and it works great so far... good mapsets for all of Canada and the US and the basic functionality is all I need... I never tested out the ihike or Topo+ or even Gaia GPS as extensively but I will stick with Topo Maps for now. There are a few quirks but 'tis functional. The bottom line is that this works better than my old garmin so this is great!
User avatar
trevbo
Posts: 407
Joined: Wed Jan 13, 2010 9:19 pm
Gender?: Male
Please add the numbers(11): 11
Location: Lethbridge, AB

Re: Using your iPhone as your primary back country GPS

Post by trevbo »

Paul -I agree with you about the SLR's being better - I hauled one along on my last BC ski trip but it was freezing and I was with a fast group and I had trouble keeping pace...

I would have to stop completely to get at my DSLR, which was in my pack (as a result I hardly took any photos). Sometimes the best camera is the one you use!
User avatar
thorn726
Posts: 89
Joined: Mon Mar 19, 2018 1:17 am
Gender?: Male
Please add the numbers(11): 11
Location: Berkeley, CA

Re: Using your iPhone as your primary back country GPS

Post by thorn726 »

OK this is a subject i am VERy into// and i feel like Glacier folks do a lot off trail and route finding hikes that benefit from advanced GPS use, so i'll go into detail here..
i cant resist posting some basic info, people already using their phone as a GPS might skip the "BASIC" and "Phone vs GPS UNIT" sections and skip down to "GPS APPS"...
Phone vs GPS UNIT : the BIG questions are do you just need to find yourself on the map from time to time?, or do you want to track your hike?, And for how long? if you want to track your hike so that you can later upload a .gpx or similar file to your computer or CalTopo, or if you are bushwhacking and absolutely need to recall the same route, a high end handheld is best especially if you are under heavy tree cover and out for days mainly because those units have much longer battery life and lose signal less often. The main advantage of handhelds is they take AA batteries and last a long time, but with many people carrying a battery pack and a solar panel that is a non issue.
Some other advantages of a decent handheld gps are they are more durable, have other features, and that it may come with preloaded maps. They are often not of the best detail but depending what unit ($$$) you get they can be good, and will be simpler than adding maps to your phone... but from what i have seen, it is worth the effort to add good maps to your phone.
Overall very few actually need a handheld gps. If you can afford a high end unit, they are a great extra device to have, but probably overkill for most.
BASIC... Better phones have better gps units, but i have found even the iphone 4 was decent, and at least as accurate as my low end garmin. - a better garmin etc will be a few feet more accurate, the batteries will last longer. Garmin type will work better under heavy tree cover- only IF you get a higher end unit.. otherwise, the average 2015 or newer phone GPS is more than accurate enough. Phones work better than my 2003 etrex.
You need "location" turned on but if you turn off wifi and use airplane mode, the battery will last longer.
Best to carry a spare battery pack and/or solar panel, especially if you want to track your route.
Tracking your route uses far more battery, but may be essential for a bushwhack.. ill say it a few times, carry a battery pack..
A problem i discovered (the hard way, at night/ ugh)- if you let the battery get too low the gps may update your position less frequently, or not at all, and can throw you off. (easily avoided by carrying a battery pack, but they are not exactly light. 10 000 mAh battery pack, about 4 phone recharges is about twice as heavy as a phone).
I won't get into the camera aspect other than to say the newest high end phones have much better cameras than a few years ago, are pretty good for non-zoom video, and it's a good option for people who would otherwise either not carry a camera, But- If you like to use manual settings and a tripod, phones are not there yet.

:!: :!: GPS APPS-
What throws some people off is some areas especially back east have cell service even in the woods so people are using the maps without downloading. In the West that will not likely work. No service, no internet, no map. All you really need in terms of an app is one that allows you to download maps to your phone. There are many gps apps that do this, if you find one and like it , it is probably good enough...
All apps require you to add/ download maps for offline use, most work in a similar pain in the neck fashion.. online, you zoom in on a map, press one corner of the area you want, drag your finger to make a rectangle around the area you want to download. Then select zoom level and Cache/ download/add the map to your phone. i'll discuss zoom level a little more below.
GAIA (and some general app info)-Gaia Is "the" gps app. The stuff that comes with the premium membership... seems like a lot of extra junk most wouldn't need... Free GAIA only allows you to use One type of map for free, and ONLY online- that is while you have cell or wifi service... paying for the regular membership is necessary to make the app useful. If i'm reading this right you could theoretically get all the maps you needed, then stop your membership. Can't say for sure, they may rescind your downloaded maps if you cancel your membership. VERY annoying as that raises their price exponentially... it used to be $20 to buy the App, get free map downloads, and the subscription was for additional services. Not anymore.
Route planning is the main reason for the advanced apps, which seems unecessary for most hikers.. we know what trail we want to take from a to b, we know the mileage.. we just need to locate ourselves on a map ..
unless the hike has never been done before, there is probably a gps track you can download and use for distance and elevation data if you really want it from a site like Caltopo for free... Gaia and Alltrails services want you to subscribe to get access to the "trips".
Elevation profiles and other details are nice to have, and sometimes the "trip" features can give you miles to go or other useful details. People thru hiking lnger trails often use GutHook which includes water sources, good campsites, a lot of extra info along particular trails.
I could go on for a long time about the complexities of adding routes to maps and why gps apps can't calculate mileage or elevation profiles in advance, but put simply the App Subscriptions are primarily about getting the ability to plot your route in detail and then watch yourself follow it on the screen with miles to go indications. If you do the same hike twice, you could track it the first time and create your own "trip" file for next time.. If you want to know more about adding .gpx files ask and ill try to help..
When you get a cheaper app without a subscription, you get just about everything else for a lot less money. You just end up having to do a litle math in your head sometimes, read the scale of miles and contours, and calculate roughly.

I'm a fan of Cheap so i went with US Topo Maps ($10) which is for android only, sorry i don't have an exact better suggestion for Iphone BUT - both the other apps mentioned, iHike and Topo+, look good and have what you need most- the ability to download maps, and different types of map to your phone. Should be obvious but not everyone realizes, you need to download the map and store it on your phone or else it wont't be there when you are out of range. It is worth it to spend a few bucks and not deal with ads or other restrictions.
If you want to use an Iphone, get one with a good size memory// advantage Samsung, dropping in a microSD is easy. Depending on how many areas you hike in, the maps might take up a lot of space after awhile. Glacier Park in it's entirety must be around a gig in a good zoom level.
Which map should you download??
USGS or proprietary maps like "gaia topo" are extremely detailed but often take up huge amounts of space.. if you are only going to use a map once you can of course delete it later but if you plan to store many maps on your phone, you might not want the biggest files..
I have found OpenCycleMap (oddly, the bicycle map) has had every trail, every crazy tiny 4wd dirt road, very good contours and the maps are far smaller than other options with as much detail.
There are a Lot of choices in the "map layers" section of your app, check it out and play around with different maps, see what you like best...
Caution- if you download maps of different types, you will need to switch "map layers" to see them. You may find yourself saying "i know i downloaded this map, why is my screen blank".. check the layers setting...
Detail Level/ Zoom level- note this setting when you download maps. i still haven't got it for certain but seems like level 14 maybe 16 at most is more than adequate. Level 18 results in HUGE files with zoom farther in than is useful. I also like having a low level zoom of the entire region for reference. Level 12 is a very useful intermediate zoom.
Some of this was probably confusing and i can try to clarify anything people might wonder about but i hope this helped people figure out how to get the most out of their phone gps.
I strongly suggest a compass, and either knowing the trails or having a paper map as well as using landmarks to track your progress but gps sure is a lot of fun to work with....
A little more if you want to get extra nuts with the topo maps... many of you may be aware, but just in case - the USGS store allows you to download a large array of topo maps of every area they have maps for, for free.. different scales, different years. You could print these maps out for backups, or...while the only software i have found that gps enables PDFs on a tablet or phone is a very expensive app by Terrago- "Terrago Toolbar" is a free plug in for adobeReader (laptop, pc/mac only) that GPS enables your USGS topo maps on a computer. Not great for hiking, but not a bad way to have extra detailed gps maps in your car if you have a laptop and a gps usb unit (i had bought microsoft streets and trips, a roadmap for PC which came with a usb stick gps)... The newest maps are not great, too many layers too large files.. extra info that might be useful to some, but 2000 or earlier topo maps are more like what most of us would be familiar with. Because sites change their exact names occasionally i recommend searching "terrago" or "usgs store" to find these products. Probably not much use anymore with so many detailed maps online these days, but if you want to download the originals, USGS store is a great site.
well that's probably more than too much but hopefully someone finds some of this useful...
User avatar
trevbo
Posts: 407
Joined: Wed Jan 13, 2010 9:19 pm
Gender?: Male
Please add the numbers(11): 11
Location: Lethbridge, AB

Re: Using your iPhone as your primary back country GPS

Post by trevbo »

Good read Thorn. it has been so long since I had an Etrex that I forgot about gps coverage disappearing in the trees. Oh well the rest of the time the phone gps should be ok.

have you checked out a program called oziexplorer? I used to use it but just went with Garmins map source years ago. Anyways the PC version is like 100 bucks but allows you to gps enable scanned maps or image file... there is a 25 $ android version that you could use the maps you create with the pc version... I never actually did this but I see the usefulness of being able to make your own custom maps (more for work applications for people that work for utilities with infrastructure spread out over a large area).
User avatar
thorn726
Posts: 89
Joined: Mon Mar 19, 2018 1:17 am
Gender?: Male
Please add the numbers(11): 11
Location: Berkeley, CA

Re: Using your iPhone as your primary back country GPS

Post by thorn726 »

wow i had not heard of oziexplorer, sounds great. going to look it up next thanks!! i could think of some areas i'd like custom maps of...
//even under trees phone gps seems to work very well these days. Ive been really impressed when comparing it side by side with the old etrex. A high end handheld gps will be more accurate under super dense trees and in deep canyons, but unless you are doing a major cross country expedition few of us really need that kind of accuracy.
//edit, oziexplorer is like terrago you can use on any map and has more features this is eXcellent thanks!
vikinghiker
Posts: 9
Joined: Wed Mar 21, 2018 1:16 pm
Gender?: Male
Please add the numbers(11): 11
Location: MN

Re: Using your iPhone as your primary back country GPS

Post by vikinghiker »

I've used my iPhone as my only GPS for the last 3 years and it's worked great for me. I'm nowhere near as knowledgeable as thorn726 (great info by the way, thanks for providing), but the best app I've found for GPS is Maps 3D Pro. The best feature, IT'S FREE!! I can download several different map types, all of which are available in either 2D or 3D and you can switch between them anytime by just touching a button. It has a lot of features, more than most will need but again, it's all free so no complaint here (there are a couple of paid add-ons available, but I haven't added them). I also subscribe to AllTrails Pro as I like to read trip reports, see photos, etc. for particular trails and also have offline maps available (which requires the Pro subscription).
User avatar
paul
Donator
Donator
Posts: 1696
Joined: Tue Oct 10, 2006 7:42 pm
Gender?: Male
Please add the numbers(11): 11
Location: MA
Has thanked: 61 times
Been thanked: 38 times

Re: Using your iPhone as your primary back country GPS

Post by paul »

trevbo wrote:Paul -I agree with you about the SLR's being better - I hauled one along on my last BC ski trip but it was freezing and I was with a fast group and I had trouble keeping pace...

I would have to stop completely to get at my DSLR, which was in my pack (as a result I hardly took any photos). Sometimes the best camera is the one you use!
Yeah, iphones are much lighter and the offer other features like GPS!
We are in the mountains and the mountains are in us. - John Muir
User avatar
trevbo
Posts: 407
Joined: Wed Jan 13, 2010 9:19 pm
Gender?: Male
Please add the numbers(11): 11
Location: Lethbridge, AB

Re: Using your iPhone as your primary back country GPS

Post by trevbo »

Viking hiker - that is a cool app! Thanks for sharing.

FYI the free version has probably been updated since you downloaded... it limits viewing to only 1 map tile at a time...

I downloaded the $5 'Pro' version. I don't even want to use this as a GPS app but just as a map viewer... it works even better than Google Earth for viewing stuff.
User avatar
Heff936
Donator
Donator
Posts: 1146
Joined: Tue Apr 25, 2006 1:51 pm
Please add the numbers(11): 0
Location: Indianapolis, Indiana
Been thanked: 1 time

Re: Using your iPhone as your primary back country GPS

Post by Heff936 »

trevbo wrote:I took the plunge and just sold off my Garmin unit. All new Cellphones have GPS installed and will work without a cell signal... I’ve decided to go with Gaia GPS based on friend’s recommendation. It was a free download but I expect that there will be a subscription fee required at some point. You can download maps for areas prior to heading out. You can also plan out routes and upload gpx files, etc.

Anyone using their phone as their GPS and have a software recommendation other than Gaia GPS?

Amazing how fast tech changes. I only bring my camera half the time now when I go hiking since iPhone pics are so good. It’s only a matter of time until cells have the gps emergency beacon (spot and delorme) functionality.
We used Gaia GPS for a trip to the Beartooths and it literally save us from getting way off track. We were off any maintained trail and it proved perfect for the task. We created a desired route using the computer and then had it on our phones that remained in airplane mode. We did bring another power supply just to make sure it lasted.

Heff
Post Reply

Return to “Backpacking Gear and Such”