Are GPS units really necessary these days?

[Wayne]

As an iphone owner with a load of navigation apps including topographical maps for most of the globe.

Most Installed on the phone rather than needing a signal does one need to invest in an expensive and heavy Garmin GPS unit?

Whilst I know battery life on phones can be less. I generally carry multiple battery packs on expedition.

 

[Chris]

I would have one if truly remote as a backup. Phones die, or go funny and you lose your saved maps and then can’t download the maps again because there’s no signal.

Something small like an InReach which doubles as emergency comms and it’s a really negligible weight compared with the benefit in my opinion.

 

[Van-Wild]

Garmin 401 is wrist mounted. Not big at all.

But then again, I also have an InReach mini. Can send messages on that, so it not only serves as a navigation device, it's also a comms device, which doesn't require phone signal. Very handy.

 

[Jared]

iPhone 14/15 has emergency sat comms, if not above 62° latitude, places like northern Alaska where a Garmin would have better coverage.

If was an Android, would have a USB stick/SD card with the navigation app installers (apks) and maps on. So if phone went down, could install (sideloading) onto another/someone else's droid phone.

I'm not familiar with iPhones, but don't believe that is an option.

 

[John Fenna]

I have neither smart phone or GPS - I use paper maps and a Silva compass and skills honed over many years ....

 

[gibson 175]

Good question.Peaks in Lakeland,Snowdonia and Yorkshire dales is as remote as I have been. I can use maps but find the OS app quicker. However in bad weather or winter my hand got totally freezing having to check the app regularly...so back to the map in it's waterproof case. Would my hand still freeze using a dedicated GPS? Presumably a GPS is more glove friendly. I don't feel wealthy enough or going remote enough to buy a GPS. My instructor uses one when he is leading groups..presumably you should be watching the people in your group rather than puzzling over a map too long-much quicker to glance at your gps and crack on ,especially if people have paid for a guided walk. In short--seems you can be a pro with massive map reading skills but these guys still use a gps because ut's quicker and easier. Just my guess..I may be wrong

 

[Billy-o]

I have Garmin Oregon thing, which I use. Runs on AAs. I have never yet trusted myself to go with just the iPhone. I think I would just be pretty anxious about it. Got a paper map though, so maybe not.

 

[John Fenna]

I was a pro - Outdoor Skills Instructor, Expedition Leader, Level 4 Canoe Coach, Scout Leader etc - still never needed electronic nav....

 

[Van-Wild]

Each their own!

In a previous life, I've been the lead nav many times. I planned the route from A to B and back again. During the 'walk' I had the luxury of having many nav aids available.... wrist mounted GPS, wrist mounted GRG with colour printed map of route, button compass, lazer direction, airborne direction support showing me the way to the exact spot I needed to go in the dark.

The point of any navigational aid is to mitigate against getting lost in the most efficient way possible. Yes, I had a map and compass (the traditional nav method, and if I may say so myself, I'm pretty good at it but in this day and age not the most time efficient) but the electronic nav equipment I had to help me meant I could take a split second quick glance and I knew which way to go. No need to pause to look at a map or read through a route card, no drop in pace. Having more than one nav aid means I have redundancy should main nav method fail. The more tech I have available, the more options I have.

Tech is there to help. Use it if you need it.

 

[Paul_B]

And if you don't?

Seriously most people in the UK should be able to cope well with map and compass old school style. Once these were new technology too!

There's a risk that the ease of modern tech reduces the skills of their users. A risk if anything should go wrong as they might not have enough skills to get by without the tech.

My view is I find map and compass sufficient so I save my money and spend it on getting out there. I do however want all the tech I can get I just cannot justify the expense when I have a cheaper map and compass that I manage to get by with just fine. Pick your tech as your wish

 

[Springchicken]

I do agree with what Paul_B says. Reliance on technology dulls ones finer navigational skills.

There is also the joy of the map itself: I really enjoy reading it, either out on the hill or planning the day's route.

The dimensions of the screen on an iPhone, Android or GPS limit what you can 'see' and therefore navigate by; with a map, you do not have those limitations, even when it is folded in a map case.

As has been said, above everything else, I've never had the batteries run out on my Suunto compass and paper map and actively enjoy using my navigation skills when out and about.

 

[Chris]

I actually think more kids are map savvy now than they were, say, 30 years ago.

Lots of computer games require being able to read a map.

 

[Omega]

No need for a separate GPS - smartphone is always with you, you will take power banks with you as well
And I get bored after 2 days in wilderness unless there is something exciting like fishing or hunting
And I would think my habits mimic those of 95% of UK population
I would, however, recommend an emergency beacon - 15 or so years ago I was driving near Snowdonia and saw a motorcyclist lying on the road. In panic, I stopped my car blocking him from traffic on his side of the road so that they don’t run over him and tried calling for an ambulance, but we were in a small valley, so there was no signal. Then his mates arrived. I run on top of the valley (about 10-20 metres, but running uphill is tiring), then was running around trying to get a signal. I hoped emergency would be able to identify my location, but they could not. I run back, one guy with GPS gave coordinates, I run back, but they still could not pinpoint me. I run down, managed to identify by GPS the road between two villages and approximate location between them and then ambulance knew where we were
It took about 45 minutes for them to arrive… Nowadays emergency works much worse even though I can pinpoint my location by 3word coordinates - if you fell, like that biker, you can only push a button to ask for help

 

[Pattree]

My children’s generation were told not to rely on calculators in case they failed/ ran out of power/ got lost / the apocalypse happened. Now they are universal. Same is true of nav aids.

Right now I’m at tree.agreeable .loaded and having a great time.

No there isn’t any confusion.
I’m not in British Columbia (creepy.agreeable.loaded) and I’m not on the West Bank. (treaty.agreeable.loaded)

 

[Van-Wild]

Ah the traditional ways.... the feel of the map..... the pleasure of the compass and reliance in one's own skills. I get it. I really do. There is a certain je ne ce qoi about keeping to the old ways.

But time and tech move on. Do u drive a car? Surely you long for the old ways of the horse? Do you wear a watch? Surely you yearn for the sun dial do you not? Oh no.... because that wouldn't be efficient would it? A quick drive in the car gets you to the start of your outdoor adventure much easier. A glance at your watch tells the time much more accurately and quicker than judging a shadow between two marks.... (or however you do it, I've never learned to use a sundial).

I love a bit of nostalgia. I also enjoy using the more traditional skills in regards to bushcraft or the outdoors in general. But I also judge my safety and efficiency in the outdoors as paramount and technology as an aid does that extremely well!

We shouldn't poop poop the idea of tech in the outdoors if it keeps us safer and more efficient.

If the fear of running out of batteries is a concern, then you need to mission plan better and ensure you always use fresh batteries on every trip and carry spares. Simple.

If you got in a serious accident, how do you plan on calling for help? A smoke screen? Oh no... you'd use your phone. Another piece of tech. Or are we so used to having it these days we forget it didn't exist 30 years ago!

 

[Chris]

If you got in a serious accident, how do you plan on calling for help? A smoke screen?

Don’t be ridiculous… you simply carry a postage stamp, then you can write your SOS message on the map, pop it in the postbox and await rescue. I do recommend spending that little extra on First Class though.

 

[MikeLA]

I have neither smart phone or GPS - I use paper maps and a Silva compass and skills honed over many years ....

Me too, it’s part of the fun being out using your brain, occasionally getting lost and correcting that.

Spend the majority of my hillwalking life walking alone, another so called no no but I wouldn’t want any other way.

 

[Tonyuk]

A good solid GPS unit is far better built to take a beating than any phone i've ever had.

I have an old garmin e-trex that's taken a serious beating over the years, and so long as i put new batteries in it it's good to go.

I find the argument of you don't need a GPS because you should be able to read a map just fine a bit silly. I can read a map easy enough and still find it convent to have the GPS now and then.

There's plenty of flat sparsely featured terrain out there that they can be very useful on, especially if the fog rolls in.

 

[Paul_B]

Smartphone is always with you. Not with power pack though. Also, not always with me. I choose to carry one when I want to. Hiking for several days I tended to carry my Tesco mobile samsung dumbphone which looked like the classic Nokia one but made between the times that phone was made. The 3310 was it?

Look a map and a compass is technology. GPS is a technology. Phone is technology. Pick what works for you and hope if you ever really need it in life and death situation it really does work for you. Any of those can fail. Learn how they can fail and if risks are higher develop strategies to negate or eliminate those causes of failure.

 

[tim_n]

GPS on phones are great, but not all cope well with damp conditions and not great if you fall over, hiking GPS are more rugged I guess. I owned one for geocaching years ago, I lent it to someone who passed a few years ago and never got it back. I haven't really missed it though.