Which Garmin for onxmaps?

[Robinhood21]

Which Garmin devise do you guys carry afield for utilizing onxmaps?

Thanks for the input!

 

[Broadhead]

Robinhood, I found the Oregon 600 on sale at Cabela's for $200 last Black Friday and swooped on it. It's simple to use and easy to read in sunlight. A GPS is like anything else, you pay for the features. If you do your research and scouting prior to hunting, I'm inclined to think that you don't need a $800 GPS. As long as it can get you to and from your truck and camp, that's good enough for me. But that's just my opinion. Best of luck on your GPS search!

I actually just checked and Cabela's has it for $200 right now too: http://www.cabelas.com/product/Garm...F24F5884F0EEA1743FBC5C51E000021F25F5927939639

 

[MooseCaboose]

Use your Iphone with the Onx Hunt app. I have been using mine for the last couple years. You can get so much more detail on the satellite images, such as locating small clearings or seeping water sources.

I don't even bring my garmin out of the truck anymore. The only advantage a GPS device has is that it has much longer battery life. But you can combat that problem by just getting a couple external batteries off of amazon.

 

[zfava]

I agree with Watt21... Most everyone already has a smartphone, so why carry more weight? I used it on my iPhone all last season and was beyond happy with the results and happy with not having to carry another gps unit along with me.

 

[spidr]

just curious when using cell phone will gps still work if your not getting a cell signal?

 

[MooseCaboose]

just curious when using cell phone will gps still work if your not getting a cell signal?

Yes GPS will still work. It's cool. Not entirely sure how it works. Onx Maps has a video out about it.

 

[cking13]

Theyre coming out with an update in a week or two for the app. Im having problems getting my offline maps to work. They were working, and then just stopped. Kinda nervous about taking it to wyoming without a gps as backup. Im gonna wait and see if the update fixes it and makes it more reliable.

 

[spidr]

watt21 thank you for the information.. i was going to upgrade my gps this year but will try phone and use old gps for backup

 

[5Speedjim]

I'll stick with my GPS. My phone died on me last year while out in Wyoming for antelope. Not fun

 

[MooseCaboose]

I'll stick with my GPS. My phone died on me last year while out in Wyoming for antelope. Not fun

https://www.amazon.com/Jackery-Prem...01867&sr=8-1&keywords=battery+for+cell+phone/

Very avoidable problem. $25 and you have phone power for 5 days. And hunting antelope, it shouldn't have been much of a problem anyway.

 

[Robinhood21]

The main reason for the GPS will be for an Alaska Drop Camp Moose hunt I'm planning for 2020 but obviously I'll use it for other western hunts as well.

The reason I'm leaning towards a garmin is because I've heard of the onxmaps app for iPhone crashing and that's the last thing hung I want in the middle of nowhere.

Anybody have issues with onx crashing on.your iPhone?

 

[cking13]

Not crashing, just the offline maps not working like I said.

 

[NYSKIER]

I used an extrex 20 its very simple but gets the job done and works with onx. This link lists all compatible units https://www.huntinggpsmaps.com/gps-compatibility

 

[AggieOutlaw]

You want to buy mine? I've got a Garmin 62s that works great for OnX. But I never use it because, as others have said, the iphone app is 10x better.

GPS works fine on the phone. How does it work? Just like a GPS because, get this, it IS a GPS. It doesn't need cell towers. Yes, they use the cell towers to get a faster GPS lock. But for most phones cell towers are absolutely not required. Typically they use the same types of GPS receivers as the better units. The difference is usually the antenna which is crummy. But it's usually good enough. If you're gonna be in deep timber and dark canyons or at high latitudes, yeah, a dedicated unit is better. For most of us, a cellphone GPS is good enough.

The OnX offline maps work fine if you make sure you download them properly. You can test this in the "offline mode." If you see maps, you're good to go. If not, you didn't download them right.

Like I said, the OnX maps and other apps (e.g., Gaia) are easier to use than a Garmin GPS. Battery life isn't a problem. I put my phone in airplane mode and use GPS when I needed it. It lasted about 2-3 days. I bring a solar charger or backup battery and I'm good for a week. Or I charge at night in the truck depending on where I camp. It's a no brainer. If you run out of batteries on your phone, then you're the type that would forget to check or pack spare AAs for the Garmin.

It's one less thing to carry. One less set of spare batteries you need. And the iphone works as a camera, journal, and under the right conditions a two-way voice and text communicator. The downside of a phone is that it really is a single point failure. Not because of batteries. But its not rugged. You drop that thing in water or shatter the screen and you're screwed.

Seriously, I'm thinking about selling my Garmin. If you want it, it is basically brand new and has seen almost no use...because, well...see above.

PS

There are better and free-er maps for the Garmin than OnX. I like GPSfiledepot.com for free maps. They even have a free western land ownership map. It's not as detailed as the OnX but it seems pretty darn accurate. Never seen it differ from OnX. Of course, I wouldn't trust it if I was questionably near private like I would OnX. And a game warden would likely give you the benefit of the doubt if you were using OnX vice a free map from the internet. So, if it was me (and in this case it is), I use the free maps for my Garmin and rely on my OnX on my phone.

 

[Robinhood21]

Thanks Gentleman. I'm just going to use my iphone.