Big Chief J
Active Member
I carry my phone with the application, GPS with a chip, and a paper map. The odds of losing all 3 are really low.
Dedicated GPS or phone?
- Thread starter jjgaw
- Start date
JEandAsGuide
Active Member
I will be leaving the GPS at home this year for the first time. I started using OnX on my phone a couple years ago and have completely quit using the GPS although it has always been on me just in case. I download the maps before I leave regardless of whether or not I will have cell service. It?s usually in airplane mode while on the hunt to save battery anyway. I should say that when I first started using it on turkey hunts, I had trouble getting my maps when I would go offline in OnX. Apparently they fixed the problem or it was something I was doing wrong because it worked perfect for me in Wyoming and New Mexico last year and was a big reason why I was successful on both hunts. I like having the option to look at aerial imagery that my GPS doesn?t provide. Also used it successfully on turkey hunts this spring in both Kentucky and Kansas. The GPS never left my vest all spring.
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HighPlainsHunter
Active Member
Funny to look back as at one point people looked at different cameras for hunting as well as GPS units. At this point the phone has replaced many cameras and GPS units.
mallardsx2
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- Jul 8, 2015
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JimP
Administrator
I agree with the paper maps. I will start to study them as soon as I know what tag I drew just to get to know a little about the lay of the land. Then if it has a lot of private which I avoid I'll use my GPS with the OnX chip in it but I still avoid even getting close to the private except to cross it where it is legal.
Slugs, I looked at that enhanced map and in a few of the areas that it shows that people have access to Verizon I am betting that it is text only because I have been in some of those area and you can not talk on it and if you do find a place to talk you are in one spot and not moving.
So in the long run I'll stick to my GPS with the chip and paper maps. But then my phone is still the flip phone with no data, I like it that way.
Slugs, I looked at that enhanced map and in a few of the areas that it shows that people have access to Verizon I am betting that it is text only because I have been in some of those area and you can not talk on it and if you do find a place to talk you are in one spot and not moving.
So in the long run I'll stick to my GPS with the chip and paper maps. But then my phone is still the flip phone with no data, I like it that way.
Slugz
Veteran member
JimP
Administrator
Just on a side note on the cell tower signals.
Back when I was working I used to drive Vail Pass quite often. Just off of the Vail Pass rest area there are a set of cell towers. I found while I was driving through that area that there was about a 1 mile dead area. It is strange that you can see a tower and not be able to talk on a cell phone. Hopefully they have that situation fixed now. It has been over 10 years since I even worried about it.
Back when I was working I used to drive Vail Pass quite often. Just off of the Vail Pass rest area there are a set of cell towers. I found while I was driving through that area that there was about a 1 mile dead area. It is strange that you can see a tower and not be able to talk on a cell phone. Hopefully they have that situation fixed now. It has been over 10 years since I even worried about it.
retrieverfinder
New Member
- Nov 8, 2014
- 25
- 0
Love the perspective. I'll be scouting next weekend and have downloaded the ONX maps to my phone for offline use. Any advice on a backup charger to pack in with me. I'm going in pretty deep and want to stay as lite as possible. I'm a little concerned about battery life. Thanks for the help!!
Don't have or want a smart phone. Have an old flip phone with a gazillion extra batteries and a Garmin with Onxmaps) also with extra lithium batteries. The Garmin takes pretty good pictures to and stamps them with the location for future use. Always carry paper map and compass too along with a DeLorme (Garmin) Inreach.
nunt'butmuleys
Member
- Nov 29, 2016
- 77
- 0
I like my dark energy Poseidon. Works great, probably 4 charges if my phone dies completely-galaxy s8
Don K
Very Active Member
I picked up OnXmaps this year for the first time and have a Android phone thats a couple years old. The unit I will be hunting this year is very big and I tried to download all the maps needed but ran out of memory. So I started looking into getting a better phone, more memory and bigger screen, and looked into a tablet.
After much research I picked up a Lenovo 8 inch tablet for 90 bucks, loaded up OnXmaps on it, and downloaded maps for the unit. With a tablet and Onx you have to have a lot of ram to load it and this tablet had it. I went out on a scouting trip and used the tablet for 4 days and it was awesome. Battery life was incredible, the larger screen was great, and my GPS never came out of my pack other than to mark my camp and truck for backup.
Cant wait to use it on my hunt
After much research I picked up a Lenovo 8 inch tablet for 90 bucks, loaded up OnXmaps on it, and downloaded maps for the unit. With a tablet and Onx you have to have a lot of ram to load it and this tablet had it. I went out on a scouting trip and used the tablet for 4 days and it was awesome. Battery life was incredible, the larger screen was great, and my GPS never came out of my pack other than to mark my camp and truck for backup.
Cant wait to use it on my hunt
Mule3006Elk
Active Member
- Jul 3, 2013
- 264
- 82
Awesome thread. I already had onX maps for my garmin. I just downloaded some hunt maps for off-grid use. I was unaware of this option. Can't wait to use the maps in the field.
Montana
Veteran member
I?m sure there are better options out there but I actually picked up one of the solar chargers from Eddie Bauer. As someone mentioned earlier, once you go into airplane mode you can get 3 days pretty easy, maybe 4. That solar has got me through everything I?ve needed so far, which includes a 10 day trip. It never gets to 100%, high 80?s for whatever reason but every 3 days I recharge.
It?s been a great combo for me.
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virgil
New Member
I used on x maps last year on a diy elk hunt, what I did is download the maps ahead of time where I had service. Then you can use those maps where there is no service, it also works on airplane mode and does not drain your battery. It worked great for me, able to mark locations, track yourself, see private land, etc. I will use it again this year, and its like 15 bucks for a month.
mallardsx2
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Catahoula12
Very Active Member
I carry my GPS with OnX chip, a compass and a paper map with me always! I have my phone with me but I generally find it useless.
As taskswap mentioned above. You may not have phone service, but I believe that anywhere that you could get gps signal with a dedicated device, you should get gps service on your phone - someone please correct me if I am wrong.
But if you are going into an area that doesn't have phone service, you must preload the maps for the area that you will be in. Pretty simple really. You can call onx maps and they will most likely be happy to help with that. Also, there are probably several videos, and tutorial content on the internet that will allow you to do that.
If you aren't comfortable doing that, then buy a dedicated gps.
The drawback for me personally, is that cell phones generally eat batteries much more quickly than a modern gps unit.
But if you have a plan for those two things, then I would say the phone, as it is capable of much more, and it is one less thing to keep up with, buy, and keep batteries in.
On another note, you mentioned that you hunted the black river forest last year. Would you mind messaging me and telling me how that went? Because I have been planning to hunt that same area around black river falls, either this year or next.
Good luck.
But if you are going into an area that doesn't have phone service, you must preload the maps for the area that you will be in. Pretty simple really. You can call onx maps and they will most likely be happy to help with that. Also, there are probably several videos, and tutorial content on the internet that will allow you to do that.
If you aren't comfortable doing that, then buy a dedicated gps.
The drawback for me personally, is that cell phones generally eat batteries much more quickly than a modern gps unit.
But if you have a plan for those two things, then I would say the phone, as it is capable of much more, and it is one less thing to keep up with, buy, and keep batteries in.
On another note, you mentioned that you hunted the black river forest last year. Would you mind messaging me and telling me how that went? Because I have been planning to hunt that same area around black river falls, either this year or next.
Good luck.
You're correct toddt: unless you've got a $20 throwaway flip phone, every major phone has a "real" GPS chip these days, sometimes even the same one as in the dedicated devices, and they do not require cell service to work. But make sure you download your entire area before you go! (I like to download the surrounding area too, to cover access roads and whatnot).
Cell phone batteries can last longer than you expect if you remember to go into airplane mode and don't keep the screen on super long while using it. The "work" they do is pretty similar. But dedicated GPS units can have a much larger battery to begin with, giving them an edge.
In my opinion the two most important factors are ease of use and durability. If you're the type that never fell in love with cell phones, a dedicated GPS is ideal. Or if you're going to drop the thing, that Garmin may survive what the phone doesn't.
Or just get a good case...
Cell phone batteries can last longer than you expect if you remember to go into airplane mode and don't keep the screen on super long while using it. The "work" they do is pretty similar. But dedicated GPS units can have a much larger battery to begin with, giving them an edge.
In my opinion the two most important factors are ease of use and durability. If you're the type that never fell in love with cell phones, a dedicated GPS is ideal. Or if you're going to drop the thing, that Garmin may survive what the phone doesn't.
Or just get a good case...
tim
Veteran member
so am I crazy for going into the woods, without a gps, map or phone? I wonder how I am still alive.