OnX maps cell phone vs GPS

[Thinnes79]

Hello all !

As a guy that spends most of his time hunting white tail and geese in Indiana I think I’ve come up with about 14,000 questions and ideas of things my group will need to try out an over the counter tag in Colorado. We plan on next year so we have plants of time to gather gear and as much info as we can. I’ve read tons of post and am overwhelmed with the willingness to help folks! My first question as far as gear goes is how well does Verizon do out west? Are we better to have a hand held GPS with a chip or can I save that money pay for the cell service they offer and use the money saved for boots good glass and a pack ? Thanks in advance

 

[Khunter]

if gonna use onx on a phone you will need to pre download all possible maps for hunt area onto phone for use when you will almost certainly not have a cell signal to live load map data as you move around while hunting.

if hunting a purely lublic land area without need to worry about steering around pvt land Earthmate app has terrific and much easier to amanage mapping for phone. they also have a land cover layer for an extra fee to ,ake it more like onx functionality, and great aerial photo coverage that is good quality and way faster to download than onx. downloading onx maps is an always irritating process. slow and kinda buggy for me.

That said i would not hunt withiut a gps and chip, they are bullet proof in form and function as compared to apps on a phone so I use all of the above.

verizon does quite well out west and in "most places" outperforms at&t. but there are always gaps in cell service out west. always. so plan for it.

 

[nontyp]

The OnX system can be used without cell service. You just put your phone on airplane mode and the gps in your phone still works. I just got back from new mexico and the OnX app worked great. I was in the same boat as you wondering if i needed a gps. I would say the app is very reliable and it is nice to have the aerial imagery overlayed with land ownership and topography while in the field. You do need to download the unit you will be hunting which takes up some space on your phone.

 

[Bulldog0156]

Verizon has the best coverage of any carrier in Montana. Don't know about the other western states.

 

[nwihunter]

I was just in your position. I also live in Indiana and this year went on my first western hunt. I brought a Garmin GPS with the on x Colorado chip (chip was borrowed from a member on this forum). I also purchased the on x map app for my I phone. Of all the money spent to get geared up for this trip, this was absolutely the best $30 dollars I spent. I used the phone more than anything. No cell service needed. It really helps having the satellite image of some of the areas you want to get into. Really helpful when searching out water sources. Also for me it was very easy format and easier to use than my garmin. I will probably still take both along next time I hunt out west, but the phone app was extremely helpful.

 

[Thinnes79]

I was just in your position. I also live in Indiana and this year went on my first western hunt. I brought a Garmin GPS with the on x Colorado chip (chip was borrowed from a member on this forum). I also purchased the on x map app for my I phone. Of all the money spent to get geared up for this trip, this was absolutely the best $30 dollars I spent. I used the phone more than anything. No cell service needed. It really helps having the satellite image of some of the areas you want to get into. Really helpful when searching out water sources. Also for me it was very easy format and easier to use than my garmin. I will probably still take both along next time I hunt out west, but the phone app was extremely helpful.

If you had it all over to do again would you buy the garmin? Also I would love to have a beer and pick your brain sometime if you would be interested.

 

[406LIFE]

Here's my take and you can search the forums for other comments on this same question:

I have used the app exclusively for the past month. I have now, just now, sold my GPS and chip. The app works flawlessly. Yes, you have to cache maps for offline use. However with my Garmin Oregon 600, you had to do the same for sattelite view on the GPS. So the ONLY point that the GPS excelled over the app on my phone was if I were to be in a unit where I had no cell service, and needed to see landowner info. The chance of that happening before I cache on the app, is so remote that it made me sell my GPS.

 

[nwihunter]

If you had it all over to do again would you buy the garmin? Also I would love to have a beer and pick your brain sometime if you would be interested.

I could have gotten away with just the phone app. Being completely new to this kinda hunting I liked having the piece of mind of having both. Just in case one failed I had a back up. Yeah I'd be willing to get together and talk some hunting. I've only got the one western elk hunt under my belt but I did learn a lot on this trip. It's a completely different game from chasing midwestern white tails in wood lots and farm fields that's for sure.

 

[claybreaker]

I carry a garmin GPS and a phone, you can download free topo maps at GPSfiledepot.com for your gps. That said I love having imagery (satellite view) and property boundary's, I get those by downloading what I want with the onXmaps app and the phone. Be sure to use the discount code "RANDY" for a discount at onXmaps.

Be Safe,

 

[N2TRKYS]

I had much rather use my gps, cause I can change batteries in it and can't in my phone.

 

[VikingsGuy]

I had much rather use my gps, cause I can change batteries in it and can't in my phone.

You can get "power banks" for your phone that serve the same purpose for similar weight and costs.

 

[mplane72]

My two cents. I have been using a different navigation app, Back Country navigator on my phone for 5 years. I will be getting the ON X app as it offers much more. I'm particularly interested in the property owner info it provides. Anyway, never had an issue what so ever using the phone as primary GPS. Much easier to use and the satellite imagery is great when entering unfamiliar territory. As for battery life it gets me through most days, even when running a track all day which I usually do. I do carry a charging stick that I used one time this year in CO. It was not the GPS app that drained my phone but texting with people at home on a very week signal. For piece of mind I do have an old Garmin in my pack with critical waypoints like camp and trail head marked but I've never used it.

 

[nwihunter]

If you had it all over to do again would you buy the garmin? Also I would love to have a beer and pick your brain sometime if you would be interested.

Where at in Indiana do you live?

 

[N2TRKYS]

You can get "power banks" for your phone that serve the same purpose for similar weight and costs.

That would be great. Where can I buy these power banks for the same weight and cost of 2 spare AA batteries? I would much rather do that.

Any brand better than the other?

 

[VikingsGuy]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005X1Y7I2

$14 delivered and good for over a hundred recharges, so pennies per use. 2.8oz that is a little more than 2 - 1oz AA's

I really like Anker charging accessories.

 

[Thinnes79]

I live in Hartford City, Kinda close to Muncie.

 

[N2TRKYS]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005X1Y7I2

$14 delivered and good for over a hundred recharges, so pennies per use. 2.8oz that is a little more than 2 - 1oz AA's

I really like Anker charging accessories.

Thanks for the link.

 

[Art Vandeley]

The app does not work worth a chit for me. The offline maps I cache don't show landownership for some reason, yes the layer was turned on when I cached it. GPS with chip is needed for backup in my opinion. The app really screwed me on a hunt, and yes, I'm bitter about it.

 

[406LIFE]

@MTMuley PM Sent.

 

[nwihunter]

I live in Hartford City, Kinda close to Muncie.

Shoot me a pm if you want to get together some time.