Gaia GPS Navigation

ski3pin

ski3pin

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I'm curious as to who here on WTW uses Gaia GPS and what mobile devices you are using it on while traveling. Are you pleased with how it is working for you?
 
I used to use Gaia on a phone and computer which was very handy in the field. A few years ago we switched to CalTopo, because at that time it’s interface was simpler on the computer for planning at home, and worked fine on a phone in the field. Maybe Gaia has improved since then. They are close competitors from what I gather. Gaia could load a rectangular area on a phone back then, but CalTopo was based on USGS quads, so Gaia was slightly easier for loading maps on the phone.
 
We have used Gaia Premium and the detail is excellent. We use on iPad and iPhone. For out of cell area we have a very small GPS unit in truck that works great with the downloaded maps.
 
I have tried Gaia but so many areas we frequent are out of cell service and trying to download maps without Wifi or really strong cell service is difficult to manage. Likely going to onX maps
 
Taku said:
I have tried Gaia but so many areas we frequent are out of cell service and trying to download maps without Wifi or really strong cell service is difficult to manage. Likely going to onX maps
Click to expand...
I tried Gaia, (on iPhone and iPad, with planning on the iMac or iPad) but something just didn’t click with me. So many people like Gaia, it’s probably my problem.

I do find the OnX Hunt application easier to use.
 
Mr. 3Pin, I’ve been using Gaia for about 5 years now. I use it for both hiking and off-road driving, always on an iPhone or iPad ( iPad for planning only, as it is not GPS enabled). Zero complaints, I consider it an invaluable tool now. So much so that I haven’t left home with my trusty Garmin 60CSX in years. Works great in Baja and I even used it on a trip thru the Simpson desert in Oz, it has always worked flawlessly. On X seems interesting and perhaps better in some ways, but I’m sticking with what I know. Well worth the premium subscription.
 
Thanks everyone for your comments and additional information.

For years we've been using backcountry navigator pro (BCN) on an 8" Samsung S2 tablet with a 258 micro sd card for external storage. It has worked well in the field out of the truck and on rough backroads. I have most of the western states downloaded onto the sd card for offline use. The gps antenna in the tablet is excellent.

All my navigation work with the tablet on the road is offline.

Basic road navigation is with paper maps and benchmark state atlases. We've learned to use google maps on Julie's cellphone to find grocery stores in cities.

My biggest issue with BCN is the downloading process and then ending up with missing map tiles right when I need them. Also, the map packages are small and a trip requires moving through several packages.

I expect we will continue using BCN when muscle powered.

Because I'm tired of the downloading process, I am/was considering the Garmin Overlander mounted in the truck with an update-able database.

I started learning Gaia, signed up, paid for premium, and downloaded the app unto the tablet. I like the base gaia topo map. I find working with waypoints and routes on the desktop and syncing with the app easy. I still have to download for offline use. But the file sizes are much smaller than BCN, making for shorter download times. Thus far I've found no missing map pieces. I like the map overlay selection. I have discovered one glitch thus far. I cannot get the MVUM overlay to complete a download. I can easily copy over waypoints and such (gpx and klm files) from Google Earth to Gaia. It all worked easy enough, we were anxious to try it in the field on our last trip.

Here's what happened. The app - at least on our old tablet - is a system and power hog. The tablet got quite hot and the battery power level dropped 1% a minute. Charging the unit during use could not hold the power level steady. Overall, the app worked well as a navigation aid, but it killed this tablet. The battery level drops quickly now when using the tablet for any task.

Overall I like gaia enough to continue using/learning it. I am considering purchasing a new android tablet. Checking online I find many running gaia on an android without issue but playing "hot potato" with the old tablet has me a little apprehensive.
 
Here's an inexpensive option that would enable an older unit's battery to last longer -- a USB battery pack, something like this. You might prefer one that uses cables you already have. We carry a battery in our packs, just in case.
 
We use this tablet: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09N3ZC8FL/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

And, since we don't have any CDs anymore, this mount: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01C3ZKJYQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

The tablet does have lots of memory and a responsive GPS. It does not like extreme cold or heat, but by the time the cab is comfortable for humans it is good for the tablet.

We run Avenza maps on it -- have all the benchmark and Delorme atlases for where we may go pre-loaded on the tablet. Avenza takes MVUM as well.

Did get a funny comment from the Kane Creek ranger when we asked for a paper clip, so as to push the reset on the tablet. Worked great. Only had to do that once.
 
My saved routes on Gaia go back to July 2015. I still carry topo maps for backcountry trips and use Gaia on my Iphone to track my route/progress. I download areas I plan to visit using the save offline function whenever I'm sure there'll be no internet available but have no specific hiking/driving plans This is especially valuable on international trips where good maps aren't available. On a 90+ mile drive through the Red Desert in Wyoming there was only one (unpaved) road showing on a map. There were several old mining roads branching off and it was virtually impossible to determine which was the main road so I was constantly using Gaia to stay on the right path.

A week doesn't go by when I find myself on an un-planned hike and the first thing I do is open the app on my Iphone. It works for me and I always have my Iphone with me anyway.
 
My wife and I do a lot of volunteer work for our local desert protection group which uses Gaia for many of their shared map folders. I originally balked at paying for the premium version but now use it all the time for our own trips. For example we just returned from a quick Texas tourist trip to visit some of my wife's old haunts. The downloaded maps I took along on my phone were great in all the state parks we visited along with a National Wildlife Refuge, also helped with general navigation in the rental rig. Even used it in Mexico a few years back for tracking our kayak trips.

The best use so far was for a aerial photography trip I did last year. By tracking the plane route along with the overlay of the in-camera GPS locator I was able to accurately identify image locations.

Being able to use the desktop mode for trip planning, availability of cell service, private vs public lands are all great features among others.

Cheers -
 
We have used Gaia on a couple different android phones for a few years now, I have not noticed any issues with it hogging battery. Their proprietary layers (gaia topo, gaia overland, etc) are small and it's easy to download an entire state in a couple minutes. I don't typically download MVUM maps so can't comment on those. I have eyed a Samsung A7 lite as a small tablet with expandable memory and gps for a relatively low price, (~$100 on sale) so I'm not always using the phone for mapping, had a bigger screen, etc. We do have a bunch of maps loaded in Avenza - sort of a backup if I don't get an area downloaded or want to look at things at a different scale. As already noted Avenza works with MVUMs but you'd have to download a ton of them, and you can't layer maps in Avenza like you can in Gaia.
 
ski3pin said:
Thanks everyone for your comments and additional information.

For years we've been using backcountry navigator pro (BCN) on an 8" Samsung S2 tablet with a 258 micro sd card for external storage. It has worked well in the field out of the truck and on rough backroads. I have most of the western states downloaded onto the sd card for offline use. The gps antenna in the tablet is excellent.

All my navigation work with the tablet on the road is offline.

Basic road navigation is with paper maps and benchmark state atlases. We've learned to use google maps on Julie's cellphone to find grocery stores in cities.

My biggest issue with BCN is the downloading process and then ending up with missing map tiles right when I need them. Also, the map packages are small and a trip requires moving through several packages.

I expect we will continue using BCN when muscle powered.

Because I'm tired of the downloading process, I am/was considering the Garmin Overlander mounted in the truck with an update-able database.

I started learning Gaia, signed up, paid for premium, and downloaded the app unto the tablet. I like the base gaia topo map. I find working with waypoints and routes on the desktop and syncing with the app easy. I still have to download for offline use. But the file sizes are much smaller than BCN, making for shorter download times. Thus far I've found no missing map pieces. I like the map overlay selection. I have discovered one glitch thus far. I cannot get the MVUM overlay to complete a download. I can easily copy over waypoints and such (gpx and klm files) from Google Earth to Gaia. It all worked easy enough, we were anxious to try it in the field on our last trip.

Here's what happened. The app - at least on our old tablet - is a system and power hog. The tablet got quite hot and the battery power level dropped 1% a minute. Charging the unit during use could not hold the power level steady. Overall, the app worked well as a navigation aid, but it killed this tablet. The battery level drops quickly now when using the tablet for any task.

Overall I like gaia enough to continue using/learning it. I am considering purchasing a new android tablet. Checking online I find many running gaia on an android without issue but playing "hot potato" with the old tablet has me a little apprehensive.
Click to expand...
following. let us know how things work for you. i for one, really appreciate your posts, with feedback and opinions on things like gps, etc. i am starting to think that a separate tablet is in my future. helen and i both have iphones, but my pc is windows, and i kinda want to keep it that way.
 
goinoregon said:
following. let us know how things work for you. i for one, really appreciate your posts, with feedback and opinions on things like gps, etc. i am starting to think that a separate tablet is in my future. helen and i both have iphones, but my pc is windows, and i kinda want to keep it that way.
Click to expand...
The latest. As I mentioned, I decided to give Gaia a good try. Since there were battery issues with with our older Samsung tablet (with an older Android OS), we bought a new 8" tablet and I've put the time in setting up and getting it operational as a replacement.

And then I ran into a problem getting the Gaia GPS app to sync with the web. And then, we all know the drill, countless hours down a rabbit hole; an endless time sink to try to resolve the issue. I've read every article the "Gaia Help" points to. In regards to "Gaia Help" I found this on a Gaia Help forum from 10 months ago -


"For those wondering where "support" is beyond the new chatbot that simply points to support articles, the last trace of Gaia staff participating in these forums that I can find is 7 months ago (July?) in this article:
https://help.gaiagps.com/hc/en-us/community/posts/6801910807575-Maps-Will-Not-Download-on-IOS
Anyone see anything more recent?
Folks keep asking where help is but it seems to have been cut. It's likely a new policy resulting from the extensive cost cutting measures implemented by the CEO (possibly to support their critical metaverse initiative. ahem.). Anyway, it's up to members now since it seems to, sadly, be a skeleton crew left which is too bad as in the old days, this forum was very active with helpful, friendly Gaia staff helping users out but again, they likely cannot do so anymore."

I put in a support request to Gaia. Their response thus far -


Hey there,
Thank you for contacting Gaia GPS Support.
We have received your email and will get back to you shortly. Your ticket reference number is: 953645

This is exactly what I never want to spend time on. I'll give it several more hours. Who knows, this might be a good day to burn pine needles and toss a few more items on the pile................
 
That is one reason i will be switching to OnX maps. so far folks have said the support is good and at least for me, i can go bang on their front door at the brick and mortar store in MIssoula if online doesn't work!
 
Taku said:
That is one reason i will be switching to OnX maps. so far folks have said the support is good and at least for me, i can go bang on their front door at the brick and mortar store in MIssoula if online doesn't work!
Click to expand...
In addition to the hunt app, I later subscribed to the off road app, but found for me it didn’t add anything I thought I needed. I upgraded hunt to the National level, then dropped the off road subscription.
 
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