PEAX Equipment

GPS selection

How many of you guys use your cell phones with the OnX map app? How can you get that to work in the mountains with no signal?
 
I'm using BackCountryNavigator on my galaxy. It crushes my Oregon 450 in ease of use and features, and it's like $12.
 
I use a Garmin Dakota 20. It is small, but does everything that I need. I bought a refurbished one from Garmn and it was cheap. Onx map works well in it.
 
UPS just delivered my Garmin 64S along with the ONXmap for Idaho. Trouble is I'm still at work and it is at home. Probably won't get much accomplished at work tomorrow. Can't wait to check out the BirdsEye subscription that came with it. I haven't hunted in the area we're hunting in this year since the late 60's early 70's. Should be able to kind of preview the area our cousins are pointing us to for our cow tags.

I also just got a new 64s, but with the Montana chip and have been playing with it.
 
Had an Oregon 450 last year but must not have secured it in my pocket because it disappeared. I don't like the way it went through batteries. This year I got an iphone 6+ with ONX Montana maps and it works great except for the no gloves.
 
Montanaborn, its been about a month now, how are you liking that 64S? I recently got the Hunt Map premium for Minnesota. I have a Garmin ETrex Legend HCx and that screen is so small. I bought it used about 6 years ago, so I think its time for an upgrade. I am looking at the 64S or the ST. Trying to decide if the extra memory is worth the money.
 
How many of you guys use your cell phones with the OnX map app? How can you get that to work in the mountains with no signal?

I've been using the onXMaps with my iPhone 6. It is pretty easy to use. It does take some planning, but you just need to download the map areas that you are going to be in BEFORE you leave on your trip, and load it into your phone.

The GPS feature does not need a cellular signal to work. I've used it on recent hikes and it works great. It tracks your location very accurately and you can add waypoints and photos to your route as you go to be referenced later.

You will need to have some way to recharge your phone in the field, though. It does use the battery pretty heavily, but you don't need your phone to do anything else while in the field, so disable all of your other apps to conserve power. I use a solar charger to store energy during the day and then charge the battery back at camp and it works great.
 
Montanaborn, its been about a month now, how are you liking that 64S? I recently got the Hunt Map premium for Minnesota. I have a Garmin ETrex Legend HCx and that screen is so small. I bought it used about 6 years ago, so I think its time for an upgrade. I am looking at the 64S or the ST. Trying to decide if the extra memory is worth the money.

Like I said, it's my first GPS and I think it's great. I like the arrow buttons better than a touchscreen gps or the 'toggle switch' like the Etrex. Downloading or uploading between it and my laptop is great. My laptop will be going with us next Monday also.
 
Another Garmin Rino fan here. I have the 650 and like it, including the touch screen. I got a flyer from cabelas that says the 655 is on sale right now for $370 which is a steal compared to what it was at $600 when it first came out.
 
Hey, @Barn.
How come none of yall have a DeLorme like do? Do you know something I don't?

I have a kind of complex system that I find really reliable.

I pair a simple Garmin etrex 10 w/ a deLorme InReach -- which has saved my butt!!! -- and my iPhone.

The InReach pairs w/ the iPhone; it can send and receive messages; and it gives me reliable UTM coordinates that I can plug into my Garmin when I need to.

It's a little clunky carrying around three devices, but the InReach's battery is AWESOME; it communicates via Bluetooth w/ my phone, so I can just leave it in my pack; and I can conserve battery life on my iPhone by keeping it in airplane mode.

Seriously, the InReach is worth the money, especially if you hunt way deep in the backcountry and you have a wife who loves and worries about you.
 
Garmin 62S

I've been running the 62S for a year now, I like the buttons over the touch screen so don't have to remove my gloves on really cold days, and the screen is still pretty small. I considered the 62ST but decided against it cause if your going to run a chip like Trax West or Huntmaps you are basically buying the preloaded maps in the gps again, but you wont get the color separations between private and public lands or land ownerships.
 
I use the Etrex 20, it is a good unit for the price. if you hunt in cold weather, steer clear of the touch screen models, as the colder it gets, the worse they respond, from my experience.
 
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