GPS, Fire Roads and Topos….

[aaron young]

Hey Guys,

I am looking for a good GPS unit to navigate fire roads in the truck and possible take the unit on the trail with us also (not a necessity). Can anyone recommend a GPS unit that they love with good fire roads and decent topos for exploring the GA, NC and TN mountains?

Thanks in advance…

Taco

[Scott K.]

Look into the iPad with either 3G or 4G – either one of those has a GPS built into it (the wifi ones do not).  To state the obvious, you don’t have to activate the cellular connection for GPS to work.  Given that the iPad 3 just came out, good deals are probably to be had on 1s and 2s

In any case, then get the Backpacker “Map Maker” app.  Really nice looking 1:24,000 USGS topos.  If you view maps at home on your iPad wifi, you can can set it up so that you cache them all on your iPad.  The blue dot shows where you are.  Pretty slick.  

Of course, not the best for turn-by turn driving, but its pretty good otherwise in that they are super portable and you can get a number of waterproof cases.

[aaron young]

Sweet – thanks Scott. I didn’t even think about the ipad. Will play around with that this weekend!

I do appreciate it!

[dan dombos]

Motion X-GPS is a cool application for the iPhone, and they make an iPad version as well (Motion-X GPS HD).  You can select between their own Motion-X maps, Bing Maps, Google Maps and NOAA Marine maps.

[Aaron Christensen]

I have been looking at these two for my IPad:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/backpacker-map-maker-for-hiking/id465185936?mt=8&fb_source=message

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/topo-maps-for-ipad/id368739154?mt=8

Has anyone had experience with either app?  I will be using it in the mountains, or at least want that option but recognize I will probably stick with my garmin unit.

I currently have the National Geographic app.  Interesting.  I obviously owe it more time before I give it a full review, but so far I am frustrated that it switches to an arial photo when I just want topo lines.  A small stream in a gorge just looks like a forest on a photo and gives little sense for how steep the walls might be or where to find the best access.

[dan dombos]

I haven’t heard of those apps before, but good topo maps are included with the app I mentioned.

[Aaron Christensen]

Dan, thanks for your suggestion.

[Scott K.]

Yes – Iphone 4s has a cell-independent GPS.

[Scott K.]

Aaron – One more thing.

[dan dombos]

Dan, thanks for your suggestion.  At $1.99 for the IPad App ($1.00 more than the Iphone App, but I might end up with both), I decided to give it a try.  I will take it on my camping trip this weekend and try it on some trails.

Question: does the Iphone (4s) have a GPS feature that is independent of the signal, so that it would also work despite the absence of cell phone signal?  I guess there is an easy way to find out ($0.99) but if you know the answer, that would be an easier way to find out.

Cheers,
Aaron

Motion-X lets you download the maps for off-network use.

[trent sizemore]

I used to use Motion-X gps on my iPhone, but now use Accuterra On Demand. It costs 99 cents per national forest area and has plenty of detail. For the places I go, it shows all the old roads, usable roads as well as has nearly every possible trail labeled. All the landmarks such as waterfalls, mountain peaks, parks, campgrounds, shelters, etc. You download the grid areas you want to cache them for later. You can check it out for free for small areas before you buy the HD maps for 99 cents.

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