Experience with phone GPS (OnX, GAIA, etc)?

[sdsliberty]

Heading to a 7-10 day hunt in Alaska in a few months and looking to make sure I am covered on the GPS front.

Does anyone have experience on longer hunts with phone GPS, or any suggestions? I have an iPhone 12 and Anker battery bank, and was considering trying it out in airplane mode, but would it make more sense just to get a Garmin?

 

[NebCoSpotNStalk]

OnX on my phone has done me well in Colorado with a power bank and airplane mode. Just make sure you have enough milliAmps in your power bank to be able to charge your phone once or twice plus any headlamps you’re running (if they’re chargeable).
If you’re dead set on getting a GPS but also wanting to use your phone, one thing I would definitely look into is the Garmin inReach mini or the larger inReach if that suits you better. It’s perfect for being able to send short SMS messages to friends/family and can also help you in the event you phone takes a dump.

 

[madcalfe]

ive used fatmaps and pay the yearly subscription so you can download maps of the area and it tracks you.
with my i phone 12 in airplane mode i can get like 3 days out of it and then my battery bank is enough for 4 recharges.

 

[moxford]

Pre-cache more map areas than you think you need. Extra battery pack for that long, couple of 10k or 20k. Airplane mode. 1-2 extra charging cords (power does you no good if you cannot get to it.)

It will work, but you really have to watch your juice.

IMO, nothing beats a GPS and being able to just drop in new batteries, and having a backup device is a big win) but yeah, you can technically do it.

+1 for inReach. Great units. LCD version is kinda lame, but it does work if you can stomach the upfront and then service costs.

I run OnX on phone, GPS is off but used for 99% of the on-time, inReach as backup. Compass and map as well, because I like seeing topo over a wider area. But then, I'm SAR so it is hard to kick that mindset. Two is one and one is none.

Cheers,
-mox

 

[Sobrbiker]

I too run OnX on my phone, with a power bank, and an InReach mini.
Phone does double duty as GPS and camera (with capability to annotate pictures of stalking routes, etc).
Paper map if I’ve got one, always have a compass, and I also use Avenza app and downloaded USGS topo maps as well.

 

[Rokwiia]

I use GAIA and Cal Topo on my phone.