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The screen is not touch active. The unit is heavy and bulky. The battery lasts less than a day. It requires more than one app to manage the maps and routes.
The Iphone and soon other phones are ok for casual hiking and being able to use Satellites to send an SOS if you get lost in the woods or hurt. However, there are some major advantages to owning a quality handheld GPS/Satellite Communicator.
First, the Iphone is not built for rugged conditions. Although phones have come a long way and many are now waterproof to a degree, they can still be fragile in extreme conditions.
For example, your hiking and take a bad fall. Your phone screen could be smashed and broken, thus limiting your ability to see the text and answer the SOS questions, etc. Whereas GPS units are built for rugged and extreme conditions. Ice, snow, river rafting, jungle heat, etc.
Second, battery life on our phones is not bad, but even then, they do not compare to the life some handheld GPS units can achieve. My emergency GPS unit can last double the time my phone can. Also, I carry a small solar charger on camping trips that is capable of charging my phone or GPS unit.
I live in a very rural area and camp and go off-roading often. My wife and I were 12 miles deep into the woods on ATV's one weekend when we got turned around and could not find our way out. The area we were in was very remote and if you chose the wrong direction, you could go 100 miles and still be in the woods. We had no cell service and back then, our phones had no GPS. Luckily we found our way back to the trail but it took about 3 hours and at times we were very scared as the sun continued to go down and we did not want to be stuck there overnight. It taught me a valuable lesson and we immediately bought a GPS unit to keep with us on all trips.
I would never trust my phone in many of the conditions we go through on our trips. My phone has never failed or been broken, but I'm not putting my life on the line for it either. Again, if your a casual hiker or outdoorsman, your phone might be just fine. If you really travel off the beaten path or to very remote areas, I'd highly suggest the best GPS/communicator you can afford. You can always make more money, but you can't bring yourself back from the dead.
I had one of these a couple of years back. For me, a smartphone with OsmAnd is a much better mapping solution. If you need the satellite function, the Garmin Inreach Mini is a better choice IMO. If you absolutely have to have a 66i, then this is a great price.
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I had one of these a couple of years back. For me, a smartphone with OsmAnd is a much better mapping solution. If you need the satellite function, the Garmin Inreach Mini is a better choice IMO. If you absolutely have to have a 66i, then this is a great price.
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from Enceladus
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Anyone having a strong opinion if it is worth an upgrade from 64sx? (Not planning to use InReach).
The screen is not touch active. The unit is heavy and bulky. The battery lasts less than a day. It requires more than one app to manage the maps and routes.
I had one of these a couple of years back. For me, a smartphone with OsmAnd is a much better mapping solution. If you need the satellite function, the Garmin Inreach Mini is a better choice IMO. If you absolutely have to have a 66i, then this is a great price.
Do you pay for OsmAnd?
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The screen is not touch active. The unit is heavy and bulky. The battery lasts less than a day. It requires more than one app to manage the maps and routes.
I was told iphones can SOS. If that's true, are some androids also capable? Why would someone buy this if that's true?
You're mixing up two things:
1) Old phones allow 911 calls
2) Some phones have "oh sh*t" sat phone calling
So your last ~3 (don't know for sure, look it up) iPhones and other competitors have this, just use this with a plan for your previous provider.
Once you can afford $200 per-item gear like hiking boots, tent etc.,it's worth it to have a real GPS.
If anyone is counting on stock map caching for iPhone (and thus, anything similar where you can't VERIFY the files) then it's a non-feature. If you're going to have a feature, do it right.
No. You can install OsmAnd~ using F-Droid or Droidify. It's completely free including all world maps.
Note that if you install it via the Google Play Store, there are in-app charges (I think to unlock a limit on the number of concurrent maps downloaded). But it's mainly a way to help out the developers, as they freely release the full version on f-Droid as mentioned above. The app is fully open source, and the map data is as well.
The maps are based on openstreetmap.org, which has maps for the entire world and can be user-edited, similar to Wikipedia. They also use government survey data. It doesn't always have house numbers, but it's on par with Google maps when it comes to roads and trails, and it's even better than them in some countries outside the US.
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First, the Iphone is not built for rugged conditions. Although phones have come a long way and many are now waterproof to a degree, they can still be fragile in extreme conditions.
For example, your hiking and take a bad fall. Your phone screen could be smashed and broken, thus limiting your ability to see the text and answer the SOS questions, etc. Whereas GPS units are built for rugged and extreme conditions. Ice, snow, river rafting, jungle heat, etc.
Second, battery life on our phones is not bad, but even then, they do not compare to the life some handheld GPS units can achieve. My emergency GPS unit can last double the time my phone can. Also, I carry a small solar charger on camping trips that is capable of charging my phone or GPS unit.
I live in a very rural area and camp and go off-roading often. My wife and I were 12 miles deep into the woods on ATV's one weekend when we got turned around and could not find our way out. The area we were in was very remote and if you chose the wrong direction, you could go 100 miles and still be in the woods. We had no cell service and back then, our phones had no GPS. Luckily we found our way back to the trail but it took about 3 hours and at times we were very scared as the sun continued to go down and we did not want to be stuck there overnight. It taught me a valuable lesson and we immediately bought a GPS unit to keep with us on all trips.
I would never trust my phone in many of the conditions we go through on our trips. My phone has never failed or been broken, but I'm not putting my life on the line for it either. Again, if your a casual hiker or outdoorsman, your phone might be just fine. If you really travel off the beaten path or to very remote areas, I'd highly suggest the best GPS/communicator you can afford. You can always make more money, but you can't bring yourself back from the dead.
I had one of these a couple of years back. For me, a smartphone with OsmAnd is a much better mapping solution. If you need the satellite function, the Garmin Inreach Mini is a better choice IMO. If you absolutely have to have a 66i, then this is a great price.
42 Comments
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I had one of these a couple of years back. For me, a smartphone with OsmAnd is a much better mapping solution. If you need the satellite function, the Garmin Inreach Mini is a better choice IMO. If you absolutely have to have a 66i, then this is a great price.
Regarding 66i:
https://forums.garmin.c
Description of inReach plans:
https://support.garmin.
Pricing:
https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/83...0-06006-SU
Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank MadPup
I had one of these a couple of years back. For me, a smartphone with OsmAnd is a much better mapping solution. If you need the satellite function, the Garmin Inreach Mini is a better choice IMO. If you absolutely have to have a 66i, then this is a great price.
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You're mixing up two things:
1) Old phones allow 911 calls
2) Some phones have "oh sh*t" sat phone calling
So your last ~3 (don't know for sure, look it up) iPhones and other competitors have this, just use this with a plan for your previous provider.
Once you can afford $200 per-item gear like hiking boots, tent etc.,it's worth it to have a real GPS.
If anyone is counting on stock map caching for iPhone (and thus, anything similar where you can't VERIFY the files) then it's a non-feature. If you're going to have a feature, do it right.
Sign up for a Slickdeals account to remove this ad.
The maps are based on openstreetmap.org, which has maps for the entire world and can be user-edited, similar to Wikipedia. They also use government survey data. It doesn't always have house numbers, but it's on par with Google maps when it comes to roads and trails, and it's even better than them in some countries outside the US.
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