Survival apps on android smartphones

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Paul_B

Bushcrafter through and through
Jul 14, 2008
6,154
1,546
Cumbria
I've just got a new smartphone based on the android OS and I'm currently having fun downloading a load of free apps. As a change from downloading angrybirds and other pointless games I went into the reference section and found a few free apps that you guys might be interested in. They will also be available on iPhone, Nokia symbian phones, Windows phones and Blackberries too no doubt but these are what I've downloaded via android.

USMC Survival manual
US Army Survival Manual
Another US Army Survival Manual
US Army Field Manual - Survival
Sun Tzu's Art of War

The survival manuals all have identification guides in the appendices that are probably worth having in their own right. The Sun Tzu is a worthy read for anyone. It had formed part of management theory books since the 80s I believe. There was a series of self help books based on a modern interpretation of it such as the versions of management books based on Sun Tzu.

Not sure if its of interest but I was interested and thought it would be of interest to see bushcraft / survival references on Android or other app marketplaces. Anyone know of any other free apps or cheaper ones worthy of downloading??
 

Buckshot

Mod
Mod
Jan 19, 2004
6,466
349
Oxford
I run a Samsung Galaxy S and My Tracks doesn't have a very good rep on the SGS forums. My experience is that it's not accurate enough. I've walked round a field at work getting no closer to a raod than 10m and it shows me crossing the road and wandering off!
I'm looking for a free app to replace it
Not seen the ulysees or Sun Tzu

Cheers

Mark
 

Guzzi Goose

Tenderfoot
Jan 20, 2011
56
0
London
Have you got Google Sky Map -you point your phone at a star and it identifies it..............oh and Lightsaber is good as well
 

Lee Wright

Forager
Mar 9, 2009
178
0
38
Nottingham
I run a Samsung Galaxy S and My Tracks doesn't have a very good rep on the SGS forums. My experience is that it's not accurate enough. I've walked round a field at work getting no closer to a raod than 10m and it shows me crossing the road and wandering off!
I'm looking for a free app to replace it
Not seen the ulysees or Sun Tzu

Cheers

Mark

Backpacker GPS Trails is a good route logger, found it to be very good on my Desire HD with Android 2.2 apart from being skittish under trees as with any GPS.
 

Paul_B

Bushcrafter through and through
Jul 14, 2008
6,154
1,546
Cumbria
Lots of Galaxy S's out there anyone got the SII? What you do with battery power and does yours get pretty hot if playing games on it? Thinking a powermonkey charger but reckon to only get 1.8 charges out of it at best. Is it better to buy multiple spare batteries or something like powermonkey battery charger thingy? Anyone use those cheaper energiser ones the phone shops sell? I need help or I won't be able to have my phone on much in a week long trip I'm going on. Leaving it on standby apart from checking emails, messages and the like every so often it lasts just over 1 day. Less if I go on Messenger or Gtalk. That really drains the battery.

I've also downloaded the periodic table and the hazmat list/book app too. Don't ask me why but thought it would be usefull. Also got a free OS maps app too. The complete 25k maps for UK!! FREE!! Can you believe it?
 

Rebel

Native
Jun 12, 2005
1,052
6
Hertfordshire (UK)
There's also

Bike Doctor
Emergency First Aid Guide
First Aid
Trees UK
Birds UK
Knot Guide
Survival Guide
Army Survival Guide Lite
Camping Trip Checklist
Backpack Checklist

Some are paid apps. How needed some of them are is debatable. A lot of the information you can get just by opening your browser and using Google to do a search or bookmarking relevant pages. You can make your own checklists using a todo list manager. You can download PDF files of all the US army books and use a PDF reader to view them on your phone.
 

Buckshot

Mod
Mod
Jan 19, 2004
6,466
349
Oxford
Also got a free OS maps app too. The complete 25k maps for UK!! FREE!! Can you believe it?

I thought OS didn't release the maps. You need wifi or similar to view which defeats the object somewhat. Is yours stored on the phone?
 

Rebel

Native
Jun 12, 2005
1,052
6
Hertfordshire (UK)
I thought OS didn't release the maps. You need wifi or similar to view which defeats the object somewhat. Is yours stored on the phone?

If you've got Memory Maps you can use MMTracker App. You install the app, chose a folder to put your Memory Maps in and MMTracker will display them and do other GPS type stuff.

Maverick displays OS maps too (as has been mentioned), these are pulled from the Internet. For the 25K OS maps you need to chose "Multimap UK OS Map" not "OS Explorer Map"

The MMTracker App let's you zoom in a bit closer and the image quality is slightly higher than the Multimap rendering. Also it's not dependent on having a data connection.
 

Rebel

Native
Jun 12, 2005
1,052
6
Hertfordshire (UK)
I run a Samsung Galaxy S and My Tracks doesn't have a very good rep on the SGS forums. My experience is that it's not accurate enough. I've walked round a field at work getting no closer to a raod than 10m and it shows me crossing the road and wandering off!
I'm looking for a free app to replace it
Not seen the ulysees or Sun Tzu

Cheers

Mark

I've been using My Tracks, and while it does show me wandering through buildings and rivers occasionally (just call me Superman LOL) I've found it to be accurate enough for casual use. To improve accuracy make sure you've got your mobile internet and WiFi switched on. I like the fact that you can upload the tracks to Google Maps and see the route you took. You can also get all the usual GPS type data as well, such as speed, altitude, etc.

Another thing I like about My Tracks is that it is easy on the battery. Other apps rely more heavily on GPS to log your position which sucks the battery dry. You also need to make sure your GPS antenna can see the satellites so you can't have your phone hidden in your pocket if you want an accurate reading.

Maverick will record your tracks, so will MMTracker. I'm not sure exactly how accurate Maverick's track logging is because I've only inspected it on the phone, to upload it you need to open an account at GPSies or alternatively you can navigate to it on your phone (it has a .gpx extension in the "tracks" folder) and transfer it to your PC and then view it with a mapping application. Personally I'm not that interested at the moment. Same story for MMTracker except that you can't upload tracks directly from the app.

GPSies also do their own tracking app, which I haven't tried - could be good.

I like the ease of use of My Tracks and the way it is integrated into Google Maps and the amount of data that can be extrapolated using accounts I already have.

I just looked at one of my "My Tracks" recordings on Google My Maps and it is quite accurate and compares well with my Garmin 60csx. I was cycling on a narrow rural path and in the satellite map it shows me on the path. However when I got to the end of my journey, just before I stopped logging the journey, it shows me about 20 metres from my garage for some odd reason. Why it went so far off at the end is a bit of a mystery.
 

Geordie9

Forager
Oct 25, 2010
219
0
Hampshire
I have just been transferring my apps to my new phone and Android now has the SAS Survival guide :) The Lite version is Free and the full version is £3.99
 

Maxip

Forager
Dec 2, 2011
107
0
Cumbria, UK
For 'outdoors' stuff, I use the following;

Compass - does what it says
Endomondo Pro - records trips / journeys
GeOrg - Geocaching
MM Tracker - using Memory Map QCT maps
MyTracks - brilliant & free for recording everything about a walk / cycle / paddle
Star Chart - like Google Sky map but nicer graphics
First aid by British Red Cross - excellent for developing your skills as well as 'on the spot' diagnosis
 

neoaliphant

Settler
Aug 24, 2009
735
225
Somerset
For 'outdoors' stuff, I use the following;


MyTracks - brilliant & free for recording everything about a walk / cycle / paddle
Star Chart - like Google Sky map but nicer graphics
First aid by British Red Cross - excellent for developing your skills as well as 'on the spot' diagnosis

Star chart is excellent, much better than Google Sky
The red cross first aid app is much better than the others as its UK specific

ive changed some other apps from those i mentioned on the earlier post

i use Locus Pro for mapping and sometimes weather, good for recording tracks ( or you can use it as a front end to My Tracks)
it downloads for offline use various maps, can use OS maps and google and OSM etc, lots of different types
Cant recommend it enough, i like recording photo POI and saving them in categories rather than using my phones camera for snaps.

Also ive bought the SAS guide official app, quite a few videos etc
 

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