Serious question, are those fancy GPS apps worth the subscription cost?

I paid $40 for a year of a top hiking app to plan a trip in the Smokies, but the offline maps failed completely when I lost cell service. I ended up relying on my old paper map and a compass. Do you think these apps are a waste of money, or did I just pick a bad one?

3 comments

3 Comments

leep892mo ago

Yeah that's rough, offline maps failing is the worst. I mean, I've had good luck with the free version of Gaia GPS for basic trail stuff, but you really gotta test the download at home first. I'll turn on airplane mode and just walk around the block to make sure it actually loads. Maybe it's just me but I still bring a paper map as a backup, feels dumb until you need it.

linda_murphy1mo ago

Hold up, airplane mode won't actually test the GPS signal, just the map loading. You gotta go somewhere without cell service to really check if the GPS chip works. I still bring paper maps too though, it's smart not dumb.

the_john2mo ago

Honestly you gotta download the maps before you go offline, I learned that the hard way too lol.