Paper maps vs apps - survey

[Datchew]

Looking for tips

I go back to navy nav maps with a compass and scale and ruler and don't like relying on batteries. But I'm not a Luddite and I'm looking at options.
I like the topo style build your own maps, etc., and I don't mind carrying a phone, but there's a big audience here so Im interested to hear what you guys use.

Application: scouting in PNW for elk, deer, good camping spots, and general navigation at need.

 

[Wheels]

I still like paper maps for the unit that I'm hunting, but also use a gps and or app. I find that it's easier to pull out a map and take a look than turn on a device, wait for it to start up, scroll thru the navigation buttons just to get the same picture as my map, except its on a 4" screen.

 

[SIR_34:16]

Both, plus a gps when in unfamiliar territory. I like to have 3 ways to navigate and 3 ways to start fire.

 

[Dos Perros]

I exclusively use my phone and an app, but I don't backpack in super cold weather.

For a backpack cold weather hunt I'd use a Garmin and have a map as a backup. The reason being I don't trust Apple batteries in cold weather like I do Garmin batteries, and even then I don't trust a battery with my life in cold weather.

 

[BBob]

Apps for marking waypoints, routes and tracks. Maps are way better for me to get an overall picture and plan strategy especially while in the field. I just cannot get the same out of an app attempting to scroll around to see what I need to see at times. Mby it’s because I grew up with map and compass my brain just wants that format?

I'll add: I generally carry USGS 7.5 min maps. I still have and older computer setup to run Nat Geo Topo which are based on USGS maps all the way down to 7.5 min. I'll print specific areas at times and just carry those. Flatline maps for some areas are a good option.

 

[SoloWilderness]

App/ GPS is nice for marking waypoints/ kills/ wallows, etc., and tracking to/from camp, or managing a pack out from a side canyon in the dark. Any spot that I hunt regularly I have a USGS 7-1/2 minute map for, waterproofed with packing tape, and covered in sharpie marks. I like to supplement with a few aerial view hunting atlas/ google earth print outs of particular areas I intend to dissect. If I'm just checking out a new area I generally still pick up a USGS map, although frequently I'll rely on On-X and a few printed out screen shots of the major drainages if I'm within a few miles of the road/ major trail. I won't rely on electronics for my sole source of navigation if I'm way back in the backcountry. Map and compass work fine in the cold, and are easier to use when analyzing a larger area then the tiny screen can show.

If I'm hunting with a group, and we are all meeting up in the woods as people trickle in, apps/ In-reach waypoints are hard to beat. I've had to track down lost buddies coming in late with weather after they strayed off the trail a little at night. A few dropped and shared pins save a ton of headache.

 

[Desk Jockey]

Map, app and gps. Stay in the woods long enough and one will fail you - wind gust has your map flying out of your pocket over a ledge - and it is best to have redundancy. In fairness, my gps is rarely called into play and the map is a back up as long as the app is doing its thing.

 

[joel]

To each their own. I use GPS, a hunting app and ALWAYS carry a paper map and compass. Each has their strong points. Personally I prefer to see a larger area when I am looking at a map......by that I mean on a larger screen or area. I can get lost on my little phone screen after too much going here and there. But that is my personal preference.....lots of good points from the guys above.

 

[Justin Crossley]

I carry my phone with onX, Garmin Instict Solar with compass and altimeter, and Garmin Inreach. Sometimes I'll bring a map as well but not often.

 

[KnuckleChild]

I’m not sure the last time I used a paper map for anything.

 

[Fatcamp]

GPS enabled app allows identifying property boundaries in the areas I hunt that cannot be done with a paper map.

Greatest hunting invention ever. Too bad everyone else has it, too.

 

[Datchew]

Thx much. I'll add some tech to my diet and go the redundant route.

 

[Southern Lights]

Both: App and map/Suunto MC-2G compass.

Apps are great for setting waypoints, POI and route tracking. But maps still beat it for seeing the large picture of what is around you quickly and route planning. It's much harder to get a lay of things on a tiny screen vs. big paper view a map gives you.

 

[Mykolaivka887]

Looking for tips ...... I like the topo style ..... Im interested to hear what you guys use.

USGS quadrangles for me. Not a gedget guy. Totally old-school.

 

[Mudpuddle]

Last year I unintentionally had a hybrid approach. I scouted using an app to mark points and help understand my exact location and then used a paper map when I hunted. Paper seems faster to reference and I don't have to worry about battery life or being distracted by having a phone in my hand.

I do a lot of e-scouting prior to the hunt and my scout trips start by visiting the places I picked out on the computer. That's where the apps or Google maps(if I have service) come in handy.

 

[philintheblank]

I have brought paper maps before, but have never opened them up. I can cache maps on my phone that have every layer you could need. I bring 20000mha power pack that will charge my phone a dozen times. If you hike up a 5 mile drainage that ends in a bowl... its pretty hard to get lost. I can see the benefit of paper maps in some spots, but I don't hunt in areas where it matters.

 

[Rokwiia]

Paper maps and GPS are not mutually exclusive. I use Gaia while in the field but always carry a physical map of the area I'll be in. Nowadays, you can produce very specialized topo maps using CalTopo of exactly the area you'll be in.

I always print out a less detailed map that has the area in general as I want to be able to have mountains, saddles, ponds, or other points to triangulate my position in case the electronics go south.

All that said, I always spend time carefully reviewing the topo map of the area, before I go there, to search for land features. I want to be able to visualize in my mind a 3D of the area so if everything goes badly I know general the direction of travel I need to go and what land features I should expect along the way.

 

[couesbitten]

I carry my phone which has both onX and BaseMap on it, as well as a GPS. I honestly primarily use the phone for pictures and if I have a signal, updating my wife on daily status. For navigating, I'm a paper map guy, love maps and can spend hours researching them and comparing to Google maps satellite imagery. When I'm out in the field, if there's a question about where I want to be or navigate to, I'm pulling out a paper map for reference or maybe printed screenshots of satellite imagery.

 

[Drenalin]

I like the printed USGS topos. I can download what I need as a pdf and print it on a plotter. Caltopo also has the scanned map layer and you can print off a small area on regular size paper, to whatever scale you choose. Maybe it’s just what I’m used to, but it seems the topo info is shown more accurately than most apps where it is kind of generalized. That said, I’m mostly using an app in the field…the real maps are for homework and backup, in general.

 

[DrHogfan]

I use a topo map, compass, UTM grid tool and notepad. I have Garmin Fenix 6X Sapphire that I use mainly to drop quick pins, and mostly to grab UTM coords to put on the map. Phone is usually off, in my pouch. I have OnX and Basemap, but mostly it is used in camp planning for the next day. I've found I don't need to pack a portable charger for my phone this way. And with practice I can plot a coordinate and get a bearing just as fast as the others in the group can pull out their phone and to access the mobile apps. I sometimes will use the navigate function on the watch with a proximity alarm to buzz me when I'm, say, 400 yards from a knob I'm working to, to let me know to slow down and maybe send out a bugle.