O S Mapping for iPhone ? Which is the best value for money ?

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Perrari

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Feb 21, 2012
3,090
1
Eryri (Snowdonia)
www.erknives.com
I will be taking delivery of an iPhone in the next couple of days, and would really like to have O S mapping on it to use as a GPS.
There seems to be a few of them out there. I have looked at Map finder from O.S. themselves and Memory Map but not sure what to go for ?
Who uses them or anything else on your iPhone ?

Thanks
Eifion
 

copper_head

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Feb 22, 2006
4,261
1
Hull
I have an app called OS Atlas. Full OS mapping of the UK in 1:25k, 1:50k and road atlas style mapping. Its good but requires WiFi to work, so no good in the field but as planning tool its great to get an idea of an area before investing in a paper map... Thinks its £1.50 on android.
 

SCOMAN

Life Member
Dec 31, 2005
2,583
452
53
Perthshire
I've gone for the OS app itself. Good mapping, I bought the 1:25 000 so the zoom from the map of the UK down to 1:25 000 is a little clunky. It's everything you'd expect from OS for clarity and detail. I can plan a route using iPhone/iPad (buying the map on one allows you to use it on the other) and follow it. I can also send it via an email open it in Garmin basecamp and send it to my Fenix watch. A little clunky but works. Maps are expensive you buy, a 1:25 000 'sheet' is £1.99 but it's nowhere near the size of an OS Map you'd buy in a shop. You have them on your iPhone/iPad so no 3G/WiFi needed after you've downloaded them. Haven't used any of the other mapping apps.
 
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Jim_aramis

Forager
Aug 28, 2005
194
0
45
East Cheshire
I use Motion-x which uses free OSM topographical maps and the Memory Map free app and download the OS topo tiles as and when I want them like BareThrills.

I find myself using the Motion-x more often now in conjunction with 'Where's the path' for waypoints/routes creation and a paper map/compass.
 

Perrari

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Feb 21, 2012
3,090
1
Eryri (Snowdonia)
www.erknives.com
Thanks for the advice so far guys. The OS Mapfinder does seem very expensive £1.99 for 10km x 10km.
With the memory map there are different options

http://www.digitalmapshop.com/outdoors-digital-maps

For example if I go for the first option on this link I get 750 sqKm for £12.50 jut to mobile. Do I have to download all that in one go or can I just use some of it ? What is the size of one tile ? Also I have read that there is a licence needed to use it, does this cost extra and how often does it need renewing.

Thanks
 

ex-member BareThrills

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Dec 5, 2011
4,461
3
United Kingdom
a tile is 20 square kilometers. 750 square kilometers in downloads costs £10.42. (im on android so its cheaper) not sure on licence but my maps are still there after 2 years

you dont have to use it all in one go
 
In my humble experience there are no great options. All are very expensive for maps that are YEARS out of date and desperately need updating. Look at a regular OS map and then check out the same area with open street maps and you'll see what I mean. Thankfully most paths don't change for decades so you can get away with it for the most part. Google maps is catching up with OSM now that it has been wiki enabled and will eventually take over again for walkers as well as cars I should think. You pay through the nose for the OS maps because they are the definitive guides but in fact they are far from it. Memory map is the best of a bad bunch and allows you to load maps offline you have purchased / obtained from other sources which is handy. Buying a tile here and a tiles there is great while you are in the area but when you need it most ie when you are out of your home territory it's a very expensive option! Worse still you need to plan ahead as you really don't want to be downloading maps in the field rather than Wi-Fi. Whatever you get you need to make sure you can access it offline and that takes up a fair chunk of your device space. It's worth having a look at "wheres the path" (Just google that) there are free 1930's os maps that are obviously well out of date but are a useful resource so you can compare and contrast what you are paying for. If you want to stay legal cheap and reliable a proper GPS is probably the way to go as you can take spare batteries and won't lose your only source of map while out in the field. Hope that helps a bit I'm still waiting for that perfect solution myself :)
 

Perrari

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Feb 21, 2012
3,090
1
Eryri (Snowdonia)
www.erknives.com
Eds & Humpback . That looks interesting and has much better reviews than Memory Map or Map Finder. MM gets slated for their customer service, and MF just on cost.
I have looked on the site but not that clear about cost of downloads ? What size of area can you download in 1:25000 and what is the cost?.
Thanks
 

Rich.H

Tenderfoot
Feb 10, 2010
96
1
N.Ireland
+1 viewranger, great tool to use and also easy to customise which maps you buy. Just be sure to try just the free app for awhile before you plunge to buy.
 

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