UKC

Just wondering if anyone has used the Garmin Earthmate app and what experience they could share ?

I was just looking at the handheld GPS units and found this app which should have the same functionality on my iphone - is that something that would work on a 4,000 meter peak, later maybe Mont Blanc etc. or is there a reason to buy an actual handheld GPS ?

In reply to vberg:

From what I understand this is very much focussed on the US market...

You're far, far better off with ViewRanger http://www.viewranger.com/en-GB
you can load the proper 25K maps (e.g. French IGN for Mont Blanc) - only buying the grid squares you need.
It's a fantastic app - and works very well on the iPhone.

But, as with all smartphone apps, their weakness is the smartphone itself as - it can't be used with gloves in cold weather, is more delicate so needs protecting from wet and being dropped, and the battery life tends to be poor (depending on how you use the phone). A dedicated GPS is much more robust (the best units are fully waterproofed), has big buttons that can be used with gloves & a longer battery life.

In reply to 99ster:

Generally on holiday the phone is in airplane mode most of the time and summit day is only one day so presumably would start off with almost fully charged. At the moment taking off gloves is still an option since we're not talking about high altitude and extreme cold.

Sounds like for a while until we gain more experience it worth using the phone and then later on probably there will be better/newer GPS models when we need one.

Thx

In reply to vberg:

I haven't used the Garmin app, instead I use the Gaia GPS app for my iPhone SE. I have ceased using a stand alone GPS for my hikes on the Greenlandic tundra and the Indland Ice. Battery life can be extended if you follow the recommendations here:
http://www.adventurealan.com/iphone-gps-map-backpacking/#battery

In reply to vberg:

I use the Earthmate app, I couple it via bluetooth to my Inreach tracker, DeLorme is now part of Garmin. This is so I can write text messages on my phone and send them through the inreach and the Satellite system. I've been doing long solo trips to Arctic Scandinavia and wanted a way of keeping family at home happy. Writing texts on the inreach is a right pain as you have to spell each word out one letter at a time.

You can down load maps and use it as a GPS but as I have viewranger I've not bothered. You can also get weather forecasts on it but again I haven't done this yet.