GPS - Wearables/Handhelds
- Thread starter SeguineJ
- Start date
Mapping, Location marking, overall travel, identifying my location. Standard use of a GPS?
I have a Garmin 64st. I carry it hiking and hunting. Works great, but it will burn up the pair of AA batteries once a day if you leave the unit on.
because many parts of the country Cell service is useless. I've had various GPS type tracking cell phone applications shut down while walking in the woods. My Garmin may be off by a few extra feet, but still shows multiple satellites.
Also, things like this happen when you rely on your cell phone.
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/lost-hiker-was-two-miles-appalachian-trail-when-she-died-n581611
Traveler III
Thanks Steve for some reason my search did not come up with that. I saw a few others talking about in vehicle.
Influencer II
I've heard good things about Spot Messenger... but I have no first-hand knowledge of it.
https://www.findmespot.ca/en/
https://www.findmespot.ca/en/
Lack of cell coverage does not mean lack of GPS. So it depends on what you are looking for the device to do. I have never had any issues with apps with my iphone in airplane mode and using the GPS. Your mileage may vary as they say.
It is ONEWAY communication. Better than nothing but not as good as the Delorme InReach. Plenty of threads on that. So again it depends on what level of safety you wish to have.
Is that in open areas or heavily wooded? Like I said, I've had issues more than once having my cell phone drop GPS signal as well while my handheld unit was still great.
Alll of my iPhones have worked well in all of the places I have taken them to. Others may have a different experience but not me. No issues.
Influencer II
He'll just need an offline mapping system to show the gps location on his phone as without signal the normal google maps, etc won't generate the map.... I don't use one so I can't suggest anything for that.
I will trust my life to my Fenix 3. You can create routes in Google Earth (or anything that creates GPX files) and download it right into your watch. My only complaint is that you need an external power supply for multi day trips. With the apps you can download, there isnt much you cannot do with this wearable.
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Influencer II
I was hoping someone was using the Fenix because I have heard good things. Including use on military maps which for me is a big deal. My military job relies heavily on map reading, map use, and the more tools I can have on my person to all be 100% correct the the better.
Also good to see the InReach numbers growing. Highly considering that product as well.
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Google Maps will allow you to downloads maps for offline use. Just need to do it BEFORE you go offline!
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For military use, the Foretrex 401 is still king. It's not exactly packed with features, but it's got pretty good battery life as a result. It'll tell you what you need to know in the shortest amount of time and you won't need a place to store it.
For almost everything else I use offline maps on smartphones and tablets. Maps.me for cities and Gaia GPS for trails. If you want to incorporate an InReach into that setup, by all means go for it. I probably will one day.
There's still a place for the Garmin GPS 60/62/64 handhelds because the antennas on them are awesome, but their niche is getting smaller and smaller for me.
For almost everything else I use offline maps on smartphones and tablets. Maps.me for cities and Gaia GPS for trails. If you want to incorporate an InReach into that setup, by all means go for it. I probably will one day.
There's still a place for the Garmin GPS 60/62/64 handhelds because the antennas on them are awesome, but their niche is getting smaller and smaller for me.
I have a Garmin 76CX handheld, I have the chips for US waterways, topo for SE U.S. and Rocky Mountains and inland lakes and waterways, its waterproof and floats, had it for years, never had a issue, mega versatile, used to work at a West Marine, sold hundreds of Garmins, one thing about Garmins they are very user friendly, I could usually teach someone to operate one in about 15 min.
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