UKC

Any tips for a budget GPS for fell walking / running (not in races!)?  Anyone fancy selling one?!  

Just use your phone with a maps app.  

I have not used a standalone GPS in many years.  Phones are better.  

As Kai says, just use phone, if you don't have a smartphone just buy an Ulefone or similar Chinese brand from Amazon to use as dedicated GPS, run the OS or OutDoors GPS app and you are good to go.

Get a rugged phone such as a cat s42 (Big battery) for a couple of hundred quid and add Topo GPS. Its about £50 for the whole of the UK for OS 1:50000

A garmin with the same size screen and maps was going to be about £850 when I looked. The s42 has a big battery ideal for on the hills, just remember to use flight mode when out and about to conserve the battery. There is a new model from catphones that connects to satellite, ideal for long trips to remote areas.

What if its p*ssing down? Phone screens don't like that..

Keeping it in a waterproof case helps, admittedly the touch goes wonky sometimes if soaked but nothing a quick wipe won't sort.

Buy a proper modern phone and a drybag. Much more pleasant to use.

It appears that I'm in the minority on this but I would go for a handheld GPS rather than a phone. If you get one with nice chunky buttons it will work in all weathers with no issues with water on a touchscreen or need to fiddle with cases.  If you use rechargeable AA batteries you can get over 40 hours of use by carrying just one spare set of batteries.

I use a Garmin GPSMAP 64s, a good secondhand one is less than £200, if you have patience you will find them much cheaper. All you then need is a set of maps for which I would I recommend talky toaster.

Although people may have a point with suggesting a phone, there is definitely something to be said for having a separate emergency contact device and mapping device. You should never rely on just a GPS without maps as a backup, but if your phone dies and that is both your GPS and emergency contact then you're in a bad place. Why run down the battery on your get-out-of-jail card for nav?

Something like the Garmin e-trex 10 can be picked up for £50 and works. Save your phone for when and if you need it. 

The OP hasn't give us an insight into its intended usage so either a phone or dedicated GPS device is the correct answer until that detail is added.

So it all depends in what capacity you are using it i suppose, in the Lakes out for 5 or 6 hours to double check location every once in a while isn't going to do much to deplete a battery in a phone, a multi day walk across the wilds of Scotland or battling a blizzard diligently following a route is another matter.

I've got an eTrex 30 with openstreetmap maps I've had for ages. Advantages over a phone are it runs of a pair of AAs which last a weekend of full use and it doesn't seem to mind regularly going in salt water (I mainly use it for sea kayaking). The buttons are rather less intuitive than a phone but ok once you're used to them and it's quite easy to hold and operate with one hand.

I've also got the Memorymap OS maps on my phone (mainly for printing for kayaking but may as well have them on the phone as well) - I tend to use that for walking locally or quickly checking something but the dedicated unit is nice sometimes.

1 handed operation, works when wearing gloves and in the rain.

Isolated from your phone - mine is fully charged and on airplane mode when in the hills

I use mine to follow a track rather than have it act like satnav that Outdoor Active does.

Keep playing with a phone app and keep going back to the GPS as a preference

Just use a phone. If you want to carry a second thing to mitigate all the worries people are telling you to worry about, carry a powerbank.

Carrying a power bank isn't going to make it any easier yo use a touchscreen phone in the rain.

The solution to that might be a second device costing £200 plus whose batteries you also need to worry about keeping charged, or it could be a plastic bag.

Are you sure that a plastic bag will make a touchscreen work any better in the rain?

As for worrying about keeping batteries charged, how many phones can manage over 20 hours of GPS use on one charge?

Pretty sure, yeah. Not sure how you understand plastic or bags but if it's in a plastic bag, it's not in the rain.

You've missed the point there; a separate GPS is another thing you have to remember to charge before going out.

But now you mention it, plenty could if you turn off all the other features. Difference being with a phone you can turn them back on.

Whether it's in the rain or not you still have to be able to operate it with wet fingers and water on the bag.

Not a problem I use rechargeable AA batteries for plenty of other things, there are always some in the charger and ready to go.

There are advantages and disadvantages to both alternatives, why so keen to dismiss the reasons that some choose to use a dedicated GPS?

A phone may be fine if you still rely mainly on a paper map to navigate and all you want to do is occasionally get a grid reference to check your position.  A budget GPS such as an eTrex will also do this and will also allow you to follow a route, but without mapping that is not always easy.  Having one which includes mapping bumps up the cost of the unit considerably, and then there is the cost of the maps, but you can see where you are and where you are going without needing a separate map (except as backup) and it offers far more functionality.

Some midprice GPSs with mapping have touch screens, but these face the same issues as phones if you try to use them in poor conditions.  Buttons can be used while wearing gloves.

Ultimately it depends on how, when and where you will be using it. 

Personally I prefer a dedicated GPS and have the Garmin GPSMAP 64s. Compared with a phone, I feel it's more robust, more weather resistant and has better battery life (and AAs can easily be swapped).  I can use it in any weather and while wearing thick gloves, whereas my phone's screen doesn't respond well in the wet.  My phone is all but unreadable outdoors in bright conditions and is useless in direct sunlight (which is also one of the reasons I prefer paper guidebooks over apps). However if none of these are a concern to you then a phone may be perfectly fine.

These guys offer a lot of advice and have some good deals, and there is a lot of training advice on their website and live courses. 

https://gpstraining.co.uk/

I did a traverse of Beinn Eighe last week with my phone using GPS. It was fully charged when I started. When I finished, nearly 7 hours later, my battery capacity was down to 71%. Extrapolating, 20 hours would be fine. It's an Ulefone Armor 7E, so it does have a long battery life compared with many phones.

Similarly did a longer route to Sgorr Ruadh and then camped at the coire (11.30 - 9ish when I got bothered to get my charger out) and was at 45+% - I also took about 100 photos during that time.  If I had it on airplane mode I reckon it’s have been well over 60% for about 9 hours heavy useage.  
 

I also used it a few days in winter (wee bookil it was about -5c at the start….) and certainly a newer handset seems quite hardy in the cold (hopefully gone are the days of 100% battery, then dead after 20 mins in conditions).

Having to remember to charge batteries is a nonsense, dont you have to remember to charge the phone and ensure its above 30% given the battery usage some of the above have said. 

And that powerbank.....pretty sure that doesnt recharge by its self.

Of course if your that forgetful or bad at preparing are we suggesting that the phone will be a suitable alternative to a headtorch?

I have a spare set of AA rechargeable batteries in the bag, I would of loaded the route the night before so would of checked the battery status and changed out the batteries and charged them overnight. If I change them out on the walk, they are put where I will find them when I get home and they get put straight on charge and then put back in the bag.

No different to charging my camera batteries.

Not sure what point is being made here - mine is that phone battery life is pretty reliable on (admittedly expensive) new phones.  I’m sure stand-alone GPS is simpler battery wise, but many decide not spend on that when they have a phone (which has superior resolution) notwithstanding some effort to remember to charge etc 

Like a few on here I prefer to keep my phone for emergencies rather than use as my nav tool as well.  Depends entirely on what you are looking to do, but if you're just needing a grid ref occasionally and want an independent device to your phone then a gps watch might be the ticket - I have a instinct solar and very easy to get a current grid ref and battery life is c.30 days unless you're tracking position etc.

Also gives an option to track your route, backtrack, record waypoints, runs, biking outings etc and if you're really desperate you can even use it to tell the time!

I carry a stand alone mapping gps - garmin gps66i.  Personally I prefer to have a stand alone device to my phone for most of the reasons above - limited battery life, problems with touch screens in cold and wet conditions.

Cheers,

Stu

I think most people are just sharing their own experiences and reasons for choosing to use a phone or GPS.

Unfortunately it turned a bir sour when someone suggested that those who gave their own perfectly valid reasons for choosing a GPS were telling others to "worry" and didn't understand how a plastic bag works.

I know that new phone batteries have a pretty good life but I find that this soon decreases because phones undergo many charge cycles.  When the AA batteries in my GPS start to fade a new set cost less than a tenner.

I frequently use my phone for quick spur of the moment short walks or runs, but if I'm running a 100km race then the handheld GPS is my first choice.

Thanks - I’m not sure how anyone can be seriously emotionally tied to a specific navigation device but that’s the internet I guess! 
 

I have to confess that I am probably quite attached to my little orange friend that has guided me over many miles

But I'm not going to be offended by people who politely explain why they prefer different technology.

The big difference for me between a standalone GPS and a phone is that I find a GPS is easier to use in foul weather, which is when I am most likely to rely on it. I can handle it while wearing thick gloves, and I don't need to worry about water getting in and damaging it (plastic bags notwithstanding). If it runs out of juice I can quickly change the batteries.

However my phone needs are simple, and so I have a cheap crap phone with only average battery life and poor visibility in bright conditions. If others find a phone meets their requirements then I'm not going to say they're wrong. It all comes down to the needs and preferences of the individual.

Rugged phones are designed to work in the wet. My Cat phone screen is fine in the wet. Even an apple in a plastic bag works, batteries are sh*t though.

I still use a paper map and map case. Never owned a GPS, don’t use my phone as one. I was looking at my rather beaten up lakes south west 1:25k half way up scafell on the Easter weekend and people were genuinely asking me what it was.. cost me about a fiver in around 2002 I think. Has lasted longer than a GPS would have!