I tried Gaia last fall after someone on here recommended it. Seemed good on the reviews, but in the woods, I would mark spots as I was scouting and hunting and then it would be horribly off on the aerial views and property lines. My garmin 62csx is always spot on, so I keep using it and deleted gaia. OnX worked well for me in Ohio the previous fall, may give it a chance here in NC this fall.Tried OnX a couple times but don’t see what all the hype is about. keep going back to Gaia. So many more map layers and features (timber harvests, wildfires, like 5 or 6 satellite layers, cwd zones, WMUs and on and on)
Scoutlook is easily my favorite and it’s free. Can’t beat that.I use scoutlook for iphone. works great. It even gives you weather and wind direction. You can mark points on your map and then sign in at home with your compter and all youer information is there. Checkit it out at w.scoutlookweather.comww
I tried Gaia last fall after someone on here recommended it. Seemed good on the reviews, but in the woods, I would mark spots as I was scouting and hunting and then it would be horribly off on the aerial views and property lines. My garmin 62csx is always spot on, so I keep using it and deleted gaia. OnX worked well for me in Ohio the previous fall, may give it a chance here in NC this fall.
Scoutlook is easily my favorite and it’s free. Can’t beat that.
OnX Maps is great too but should be for what it cost per year. The thing I really hate is it really eats up battery power unless you are on offline maps. Really crazy how fast it zaps your battery if you forget to switch.
Likely the the case for me with this being a very rural county (Caswell). I tried it there and deleted it immediately after that hunting trip, so I have no idea if it works better elsewhere. Either way, it doesn't help me up there and I intend to spend more time there this year. Btw, I worked in surveying four years part time while in college. Wish I had partnered with my friend and got my license when he asked instead of an IT career!@Bwhana look at the screenshot below.... the waypoint symbols for pictures that I took of the actual property corners. 2 are really tight to where the parcel lines are located and 1 is way off.
There’s several factors at play, but most often the culprit is the quality of the county’s parcel data. They do the best they can with older surveys (or no surveys at all). EVERY APP that shows parcel data buys the SAME dataset from the counties so one isn’t going to be any better than the other in that respect.
I also have downloaded offline maps of my hunting areas to save battery life and that works well but still not acceptable battery life with my iPhone compared to my Garmin Oregon with the OnX map card installed in it. Both have a good purpose depending on the situation. For detailed maps with terrain and aerials I prefer the mobile version but for navigation I much prefer my GPS with the OnX card.I use onX almost daily as I do a lot of hunting/scouting in the National Forest, and I probably spend as much time cyber scouting from the couch as I do walking the mountains. With that said, at $17.99/year the cost averages out to $1.50 per month so Price is a non issue. Regarding battery life, I have over 100,000 acres of NF stored to my phone, so I am always off line when using it and it uses almost no battery life In the “Go Offline” mode. No cell service required and the gps works great. I hunt some fairly remote spots in the national forest and on X has completely replaced the need to carry a separate GPS unit.
Tried OnX a couple times but don’t see what all the hype is about. keep going back to Gaia. So many more map layers and features (timber harvests, wildfires, like 5 or 6 satellite layers, cwd zones, WMUs and on and on)
Have not seen anyone mention Back Country Navigator (bcnav). Have been using it for about 3 years. Works great for scouting/hunting. Very easy to use in conjunction with google earth, easily exporting/importing gpx files for tracks and waypoints.
They are beta testing the upgrade called bcnav XE. This will have a desktop web based version to use along with the app, similar to onX. I really lile onX, i would pay $30/yr for it, but its only one state. Wish they would do something like $30 for first state and $10 for each additional and then have a $100 elite unlimited or something.
Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk
Where I Begin
Then, depending if I'm hunting in hilly terrain or flat:
- My favorite, and where I ALWAYS start, is with google earth pro - specifically, I use the historical imaging feature and vacillate images between multiple time periods. This allows me to see high/low water, spring/summer, fall/winter etc. Some areas have more updated images than others but for river bottoms in particular, I've found a specific time-period that tells me a lot about bedding/travel.
Hilly Terrain
Flat Terrain
- I like Hillmap to compare/contrast as 7.5min topo to sat view. This provides side-by-side comparison (better to determine combined elevation/terrain of certain patterns that I like). However, it's best (IMO) in areas w/elevation changes that warrant the addition of the 7.5min topo ...and not as valuable in the flatlands.
While Hunting
- In some of the river bottoms I hunt, they can go 5-10 feet under water fairly quickly. I tried, forever, to work w/the Arkansas GIS department to build a topo map w/3' contour intervals vs the standard 20' on a 7.5min topo. Finally, I found DEM [Digital Elevation Model] shading on Caltopo. By using this function, I can essentially create my own elevation map on 1meter (~3') intervals. The elevation changes are color coded.This is especially useful in knowing; do I need a boat, can I get through with knee boots, hip boots, chest waders, will this elevation support oak tree growth etc.
Deal might still be going and perhaps I should have posted in the coupon/discount section
- I use ONX while I'm hunting (lots of private inholdings on some of the public I hunt). Also, based on where I live in NE AR, I have access to several states w/in 1-3 hours (AL, AR, IL, KY, MO, MS, TN). Just upgraded onX ELITE for $59.99 (All 50 state sale via camofire this past week - May 16)
- NOTE: If you are not hunting in an area where understanding property boundaries is critical, there are likely better options than onX IMO. This is my go to as I hunt mainly public w/private inholdings so knowing where I am at all times is critical.
Gaia has private property and land owners and public land boundaries as well. I think it is a better set up than onyx.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk