Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting GPS review, what's easy but reliable?

I just keep the onX on and the In Reach....use my phone for all...

I've ran into guys lost in the woods because they were using their phone and the battery died. Out here, if you don't have cell service, you lose your on-x as well. Father in law was playing around with it on his phone. It was a free trial deal and he opted to not buy after using it for a while. You could see the battery drain as he used it. When we were out in the woods and he lost cell service, it didn't show property lines and ownership boundaries. Use at your own risk is all I can say. You guys that love it, must live in a different neck of the woods than I do. By the way, the guys with dead smart phone batteries were driven back to their camp. I think they learned their lesson....

Sounds made up..As said before, download the maps you’re going to need and you don’t need cell service.

Yeah, that isn't true really. If you download the maps onto your phone, your phone still works just fine as a GPS with high detailed maps in Airplane Mode. To be honest, that is all I use now. I download all of my maps while I am home sitting on WIFI on both my IPad and Iphone. With the phone on airplane mode I have zero issues using my phone for days especially the Mophie pack. I do still carry a small Garmin E-Trex as well since I can't break the habit, but OnX on my phone has been a game changer. I have ran OnX for two years now in Wyoming and Idaho and had excellent results. I do not walk with the phone out for hours on end though. I typically pull it out, spot check my location, and shoot an azimuth and move out, but OnX allows me to "see" ahead of where I am.

I then use the IPad back at camp in order to scout and plan the next days hunts sitting around BS'ing with the partners and having the larger screen is pretty nice.

I been using my iphone with a topo map app. Same thing you download the map and use it with out cell service. Works great. I am thinking about getting the onx app. I always carry an Anker power bank weighs 3 onces capable of charging my phone 3 times. If I was needing more than that I would couple the power bank with a solar charger or get another power bank. I have several handheld gps units i havent used them in years. Mind you I am not a backpack hunter that stays out for a week or 10 days but I pretty sure if I was I could figure out how to keep my iphone powered up. I have a good case on my iphone so unlikely I would break it. I dont care what electrical device you use if you cant figure out how to keep it powered up you probably arent smart enough to use it.

I looked at the OnX thing. I believe the trial has to have cell service. If you buy the full program, it downloads to your phone so you don't need the service.
It didn't work well on my phone anyway. It's smart but not nearly smart enough. It's a Tracfone, nowhere near the level of an Iphone.

You download the maps you want while you have cell service, then switch to airplane mode and carry on. The GPS uses your phone's GPS receiver to locate you on the maps. I tend to check my GPS alot during the day to both confirm where I'm at and to see where I want to go and determine the best route to get there. I recently got a new Samsung S8+ and may need to re-visit the phone+Onyx again.

That said, I do alot of hiking in the Smokys. I've run my phone, Montana 610, and my GPS enabled running watch (Polar M400) on several recent hikes to test them. I've had situations where both the phone and watch have blinked out for short periods of time while the Garmin did not. Short periods of time are 5-10 minutes until I get to a different point on the trail. I bought the Polar M400 because I had issues with my phone dropping GPS signal while running using both Runtastic Pro and Runkeeper Apps. Maybe my new phone has solved that issue but I tend not to run with Runtastic or Runkeeper now. GPS reception on my phone while trail running is the nagging little doubt that keeps me from fully relying on the phone+Onyx. The times I've used my phone+Onyx out west has worked well. Add tree cover to the equation and I'm not all that confident in the phone+Onyx system.

Incorrect. OnX can be run perfectly with no cell phone service at all. I do it for probably a month a year....

You have to download maps prior to and then use some common sense. The above issue is not the phone nor onX's fault....

The guys with the dead smart phone didn't understand how to use their phone as a navigation tool in the backcountry. Their fault, not the phone.

I've used my iPhone in the backcountry for 4 elk hunts, 7 day long trips. Never had one die in the field. Minor recharging needed when back in camp. But never had one die when taking proper battery precautions.

If nothing else, you can buy extra batteries for about any phone cheap on Amazon. Keep a couple extra charged ones in your pack.

So I have a Garmin 64st. If I buy the Idaho chip from there website is says I get the app for a year as well. I’m going to have my iPhone with me anyway. it is carrying both over kill?

Not in Alaska anymore so my response doesn’t help much in that regard. However for here in Colorado I’m running On-x in my phone for everything. I tried to like several of the newer GPS units and evaluated several of them but to me the user friendly ability of my IPhone 8 Plus with the bigger touch screen with on-x is hands down better. I’ve carried a couple extra battery packs and use my Luci light Pro to charge it as I go. No need for data or reception as was mentioned, and I have the ability to take pictures, use the phone when I pick up reception but keep it on airplane mode most of the time. Really incredible if you ask me. Have done most of my scouting using the mentioned set up in satellite mode and it’s been awesome.

I'm a handheld GPS retard and I can still manage to work the Oregon very well. I want no part of using my cell phone for it.

I'm hell with shipboard electronics though.

That’s my biggest concern. If I beat the hell out of the Garmin I’m out $200. If I break the iPhone 8 I’m out a hell of a lot more. With the chip I get the app for a year. I guess I will try both and go from there.

iPhone in a life proof is pretty hard to beat up, seriously. I think it’s that I’m so used to using my phone and the quality of the map images is so much better than the GPS ‘s that I felt like I was giving up quality and convenience and paying extra to do so. I was pretty skeptical about using it as a primary navigation device but after several multi day scout trips it’s no longer a concern.

AlaskaCub thanks for the reply’s and input. I’m not fond of the newer lifeproof case I got. The version also won’t fit in a phone scope that I can find. Don’t like taking the phone out of the case to use the spotter. Another small issue I’m dealing with...

Hey man a guy has to be comfortable with whatever he uses. I was a serious skeptic about the idea of using my phone for in field navigation, just sharing the change of heart.

Agreed. I’m a work in progress. I use to just hunt Blacktail deer in CA. Never had much use for all the electronics. Now I hunt mostly in Idaho and need the GPS etc. Thank you for the input.

One thing I'll add on the Garmin products that drives me crazy but need to be aware of - they don't track distance all that well. I use mine for hiking and it always reads more miles than actual. It is because of the GPS tracking mechanism - it 'gains' distance while you're stopped. It is a well known bug but Garmin hasn't seemed to want to fix it. Maybe it has to do with the Earth's rotation while you're stopped, I don't know. I haven't tested other manufacturers but all the Garmin products I've used have done the same thing. I'd estimate mileage is off 10% in a day of hiking.

You can always enable the 'pause' mode but I found that irritating as well.

I've had the etrex, 62 (previous version of the 64), Oregon and Montana. Personally unless money's tight, I'd get either the Oregon or Montana. I put mine in a GizzMoVest and hang it off my pack with a D ring. As far as the phone, the claim they work as good I've run them side by side and IME they (at least mine) didn't. Plus it's pretty simple to carry a few extra AA's around so you don't ever run out of power.