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Ive recently purchase a new android phone and was looking forward to getting a nice navigation app I could plan loads of tours with. My wife and I used mapout on her iPhone on the last trip and found it to be fantastic. Simple, clean interface, and lots of height gain info all help the tour planning plus the ability to plan offline on the phone are fantastic features.
Now bring on Android and im in the mire of a plethora of utter crap with the likes of komoot and Gaia. All clunky as hell and planning offline on the phone screen (something you have to do in the tent especially when out of signal ) is nigh on impossible. Before I smash up my phone or turn to drink can anyone recommend a simple navigation app which i can plan routes through a waypoint based dragging system, and work offline without a load of complex faff.
Cheers
Actually Gaia isnt too bad....
I've been getting along OK with Komoot but then I tend to plan ahead rather than middle of nowhere, but then I think most of the cheap / free apps struggle with that one :/
The only thing I have found with a lot of them is the underlying map accuracy of OSM is not the best and hence you get the odd wrong path type which can be frustrating.
James
Have uou tried Viewranger? The GUI is a bit fiddly st first but actual planning, with waypoints, on a phone, I find very easy. You can d/l OS maps for offline use but you would need to pay for these.
Viewranger for me. I like the offline planning on the computer which can then be synced to the phone.
I will admit that it is a bit feature heavy, and you get a bit baffled at first, but its free, and you can easily download open cycle map free, or buy OS map sections for the bits you want.
I use cycle streets, you can download the maps for free too, it's a little tricky to use at first, but generally good
Thanks
I'll have a look at these, and I'll review komoot in a more stable mindset.
I did have a faff with Gaia and it seems OK but I'll have to try it out on a tour to get a real indication of it's qualities. Mapsme? Seems to be a weapon of choice for lots of tourists, anyone any experience with it?
Cheers.
Try OsmAnd. It can do loads of stuff, all works offline. Though maybe complicated interface.
Maps.me is nice for quick, simple offline mapping. It can do basic routes, though not sure if you can add extra waypoints etc.
I use Backcountry Navigator on android. it's a tenner but you get access to the whole of the UK, maps are in OS format and you can download map tiles for when you have no reception. it's been a great tool and pretty accurate
+1 for Backcountry Navigator.
I've got komoot, but the fully paid* up worldwide version, dunno if that makes a difference to using it offline?
Only gripe as others said, is the mapping is sometimes a bit poor. It will happily send you on footpaths (presumably it has informed to say it's rideable?) but then other times seems to have a bit of path missing (common arround hilltops where you have several paths converge on an empty space arround the trig point but no defined paths). I'm sure there's a manual option but ive not actually found it.
I tend to just use it to map a ride on a PC. Then offload it to a GPS or use my phone.
*Didn't pay, I think if you use it enough (I.e. generating data for them) they give you free friends and family codes so I got the full package for nowt 😀
No problem with the underlying OSM maps, but then I guess it depends on what your local area is. Probably more detailed here than a real map.
Problem I have is that it won't let me export GPX (from PC), with out buying a region, and afaict, you buy the map for that region (that is a free OSM map)? And then I thought, "Only £3.99/region, do it", only to find out a region is so tiny I need several, just for my local quick blat in the woods laps. So I'd need to buyfull worldwide maps just to export a GPX, that I can do for free from practically every other service.
But I already have the OSM maps from another source, for free, because they are free. Because that's how open source works.
Or am I doing something wrong?
The routes it came up with were not bad. A few clicks and it plans pretty much exactly my normal loops. Helps if you know that when you click MTB/Tour icons, you can actually fine tune it and select a type of MTB.
Every time I see a review of Komoot it's always made out to be the best navigation software available, every time I use it I realise those reviews are all full of crap.
I've got the full version and it's definitely not money well spent. The only reason I keep it is because it syncs well with Garmin/Wahoo.
I think komoots strength is the mtb/tour/road options. Other free stuff I tried always seemed to have no differentiation between off road options or even cycling options. Komoots not caught me out yet with anything unrideable apart from one set of steps on an otherwise rideable footpath.
But then I am reviewing it from a freebie perspective.
I use gpsies.com to create routes. Great Britain Topo Maps (android app) to view on ride. Small fee for topo maps full function possibly. Topo can cache maps for off line use.
just dome 2 week touring on Norway using komoot.
it was just perfect.
I really need something that doesn't need to have a finish destination to create a route. Mapout allows a waypoint based creation to be used so that its possible to keep going till you hit say 100km and camp somewhere near that. I'm just going to have to try out a few and see.
I still think komoot is a clunky mess.
Another vote for Osmand. It is a little complicated interface wise but I think that is partly because it does so much. You can definitely set waypoints, bit sure if you can do a navigation without a final destination though, never tried.