UKC

What devices do you use to navigate while hiking and stay in touch with the outer world?

What gear you consider useless for hiking?

In reply to Danylblack4:

Map and compass to navigate (call me old fashioned), maybe Garmin watch as a backup, though I might have to think about how to find lat and long on it, and how to get those onto the OS map.

Mobile phone for contacting the real world, having a Nokia brick with good battery life helps. I've always found UK upland areas have surprisingly good signal, for example getting a text while halfway up Fiacaill Ridge (II) in a blizzard to let us know that the ski-road was closing.

SLR for photos, or my companions normally have phones with good cameras.

In reply to Danylblack4:

Map and compass. I also have OS Locate ( https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/shop/os-locate ) on my phone, which gives you your 6 figure grid reference. I think  the combination of these three is a good use of old and new technology.

I have Viewranger on my phone too and sometimes use it, but to track where I have been than as a navigation aid.

I don't stay in touch with the outside world when I'm walking but most of my walks are day walks . However, even for day walks I always let some know in reasonable detail where I am going.

I don't know of any useless gear, but I have never found, in the UK, the need to have an altimeter.

Dave

In reply to Danylblack4:

Map and compass.  Altimeter on a Casio watch.

I have a mobile phone.  That has a few useful OS maps things on it, but I've only ever used them at the side of the road when trying to work out a sensible route home on my bike.  Mostly the phone sits in a small dry bag in a warm pocket, with most things switched off, saving battery power in case it's needed.

Lots of gear is useless for hiking; I scarcely know where to start but, seeing as Wimbledon and the Tour de France are on, I'll open the betting with tennis rackets and speedsuits.

In reply to Danylblack4:

Shorter hikes: I use Gaia GPS on my iPhone for navigation, and usually, I don't need other gadgets for staying in touch. In flight mode and with dimmed screen the battery easily lasts a few of days.

Longer trekking: Map and compass as backup.

Wilderness: Previously I have used a Garmin satellite phone as backup. If I ever come to need such a device again, I will invest in a Garmin InReach Mini.

In reply to Danylblack4:

Thanks a lot, haven't heard about Garmin devices before, will search for more information about them.

In reply to Danylblack4:

iPhone in a waterproof case, outdoor gps app on it with 1:25000 O/S maps. We chucked out out paper maps years ago and have never regretted it. Carry a charged up external battery but have never used it. 

Also crag apps for Font etc and PDFs for other crags and Lakes bouldering from Lakesbloc

In reply to Danylblack4:

iphone with GB Outdoors for primary navigation - its quick,easy  and it just works. I put it on Airplane mode to save battery and because I don’t want texts and emails on the hill. I use a Fenix 3 to record my route to Strava and as a backup to the phone (ie if I want a grid in a gale). There’s always a map and compass in my sack. Annoyingly, I increasingly use my phone as my camera too - annoying because I love proper cameras. I’ll still use my G16 in winter. 

 

In reply to Danylblack4: for hill walking devices, when people refer to ‘their Garmin’, they normally either mean a handheld GPS device or a watch (like my Fenix). For watches, also look at Suunto.