Replaced Garmin with Onxmaps this year

[PlanoDano]

I marked the truck with my Garmin and never turned it back on. The Etrex 20 is strictly a backup and I have dropped carrying paper maps.I am running Onxmaps app on a Note 7. Topo on the onxmaps is more detailed that the 100k map on the garmin. The screen on my note 7 is also larger. I also replaced my S4 bino harness with the Vortex bino harness as the Vortex has back mesh pocket which keeps the Note 7 accessible and secure. Onxmaps will also identify land ownership borders.

[Onski316]

I was wondering if the Onxmaps was worth it. I tried it out a bit on the trail version just around me but that expired and I haven't used it since. So it's pretty good then?

[PlanoDano]

For my purposes it works great. I hunt new Public land almost yearly. I can access my waypoints on any platform. I can use a bigger screen on my phone. I do not need a separate subscription to get satellite imagery. The one negative is I need to carry an external power bank to recharge the phone which is heavier than batteries.

[treestand]

The free version of onxmaps lets you download a pretty good sized area and works great. Only thing you lose is overlays like property ownership. I've downloaded a 5 square mile area that covers my hunting lease and use it to mark potential stand locations and routes to my stands. Property boundaries are useful on public land but who cares on a private lease.

[WItoTX]

Yep, I got all my desk scouting points marked, trails I have walked, elk I saw, bear I saw, hidden meadows, all marked on it. I can look at it in computer or phone, and I got all my maps saved to my phone so that I don't need service.

Hands down best system out there. The fact that there is still a market for regular GPS unit's after onX is beyond me. The only extra thing I carry is an InReach, and that is only for communication back home/SOS.

[JustinJ]

It’s a great idea, but using it this past week in the mountains has left a lot to be desired when compared to my garmin.

My beefs:

The downloaded aerial vs the aerial that is loaded is different and there is no way to fix it. One image is snow (which is hard to use this time of year). Also when I have little service it still tries to load the aerial instead of using the downloaded one.

Navigating to a waypoint has very few features. Basically just a line to follow. No bearing, no elevation gain/loss , not even a simple compass to point a direction.

Glitchy. The app crashes and sometimes takes awhile to pinpoint my location. Sometimes it doesn’t know where I’m at at all.

Some bad info. Shows some old closed logging roads (that have been closed for years) as open and others as trails that are roads. Lots of mislabeled roads or trails in regards to vehicles allowed.

Still a useful app, but I’ve found myself using the garmin for everything but aerial views.

[quackadikt]

I used it for my elk hunt this year, and I'm selling my Garmin.

GPS connects way quicker.
Uses WAY less battery(and I don't have to buy batteries, just recharge it).
Really like the aerials. - JustinJ, which aerials did you download? I know you can change from low to med to high quality.
I kept my phone on airplane mode to conserve battery anywho, and you can set the app to offline if you don't want it to try to connect whenever you get service.
The computer scouting and marking stuff beforehand and the fact your data from the field sync up together is fantastic too.

[WItoTX]

It’s a great idea, but using it this past week in the mountains has left a lot to be desired when compared to my garmin.

My beefs:

The downloaded aerial vs the aerial that is loaded is different and there is no way to fix it. One image is snow (which is hard to use this time of year). Also when I have little service it still tries to load the aerial instead of using the downloaded one.

Navigating to a waypoint has very few features. Basically just a line to follow. No bearing, no elevation gain/loss , not even a simple compass to point a direction.

Glitchy. The app crashes and sometimes takes awhile to pinpoint my location. Sometimes it doesn’t know where I’m at at all.

Some bad info. Shows some old closed logging roads (that have been closed for years) as open and others as trails that are roads. Lots of mislabeled roads or trails in regards to vehicles allowed.

Still a useful app, but I’ve found myself using the garmin for everything but aerial views.

Like Quackadikt said, DL the high res maps, and you will be much better off. If you are trying to use offline maps, and Cell Service maps, it has issues. Solution is to DL maps yourself, I ran into this too, and figured this out.

As far as the direction indicator of some sort, every once and a while it works, but I am right there with you, a compass would go a long ways! Where we are hunting this fall, they have the trails in the wrong spot as well, but that's minor, and we can adjust as needed.

[PlanoDano]

I use only downloaded maps. I turn my phone to airplane mode, it saves batteries and prevents unit from downloading maps. In the unit I was in, closed road were display which I used as a hiking trail sometimes. There was an access layer which showed which roads were on MVUM for the NFS. I kept a pdf with MVUM on my phone just in case.

[Onski316]

I used it and downloaded my local area to check property ownership. Is there benefits to paying for the full version if that's all I really use it for?

[treestand]

I used it and downloaded my local area to check property ownership. Is there benefits to paying for the full version if that's all I really use it for?

Property ownership is only available during the trial period or in the paid version.

[JustinJ]

I used it for my elk hunt this year, and I'm selling my Garmin.

GPS connects way quicker.
Uses WAY less battery(and I don't have to buy batteries, just recharge it).
Really like the aerials. - JustinJ, which aerials did you download? I know you can change from low to med to high quality.
I kept my phone on airplane mode to conserve battery anywho, and you can set the app to offline if you don't want it to try to connect whenever you get service.
The computer scouting and marking stuff beforehand and the fact your data from the field sync up together is fantastic too.

I’m pretty sure I DL the high quality maps. The issue was they were taken with snow on the ground (which I didn’t want) and couldn’t find a way to change the date of the aerial.

[JustinJ]

Also tonight my onX gps chip showed a few trails the app didn’t. And the app had some non existent trails in the exact same area.

Though it did help us call a bull into 35yds after looking at a topo overlay!

[Bad2TheBone]

OnX is hard to beat for the price

[Bigt338]

I used ON X for my Elk trip this year to Idaho. I have to say it was the best piece of technology I had with me. It worked great. My Garmin In Reach is a close second.