Does anyone swear by using a GPS rather than a piece of paper with directions on it/ or a map from a magazine?

Not swear by, but use in conjunction with for those …”I know I’m on this map somewhere” moments.

Mostly get by just fine with an appropriate OS map, but as a safety net….GPS is priceless.

( Small Garmin Geko as its ….small).

Chris

I’d always use GPS in preference to paper now.

I find it pretty useful – and my background is in hillwalking using map & compass.

When cycling, it’s too easy to miss a turn-off or junction and career past it (especially if going downhill), so mistakes take longer and more effort to correct.

Having said that, I would never go out into the “proper hills” without map & compass as backup.

I only ever use it to see where I’ve been.

I use it to track rides and occasionally to check grid refs if I think I’m lost

I plot a route on Memory map then download it to a simple Etrex.
No map shown. Just a line and your position on / off it.
Map is on MM on my phone for refference.

Works really well. Simple uncluttred screen is ideal for quick look as I sometimes can’t spare any more!

Only use my Etrex to give me a grid ref. Haven’t fathomed out how to use it for anything else! 😳

yup GPS primary, paper maps backup only. GPS is just so much quicker, which means more riding and less timewasting.

My mate has a satmap – it’s the dogs, honest. Totally changed our night-riding options, for example.

All the better in that I don’t have to look at it and occasionally crash as a result though ! 😆

I use Tracklogs to draw up routes on the laptop, and save them to an ancient Garmin Etrex on a RAM mount with a home-made bar clamp.

Just follow the line. Hardly ever need to get a map out.

Also great for checking grid refs if you get completely lost.

I print the route out and lamnate it with a cheap home laminator so it’s waterproof for reference and future use.

If I go anywhere new, GPS is the primary nav method.

I plot a route on Memory map then download it to a simple Etrex. No map shown. Just a line and your position on / off it. Map is on MM on my phone for refference. Works really well. Simple uncluttred screen is ideal for quick look as I sometimes can’t spare any[/quote

same here works a treat although i print the route off as well

I see little point. I have never felt I have wanted it and a couple of times being out with people who use them they have gone the wrong way as they insisted on following the GPS

I think they’re brilliant. It’s especially useful for exporing new areas as you can quickly pick out where you’ve been and find different links between.

I see little point. I have never felt I have wanted it and a couple of times being out with people who use them they have gone the wrong way as they insisted on following the GPS

Well that’s purely their fault, none of the outdoor GPS units make any suggestions or decisions regarding which way to go, it’s all pre-programmed by the user for each route.
It must have been poor map reading in the first place by them
A GPS unit is just a tool that carries out the instructions they’re programmed with

GPS is brilliant, but you have to use it properly. It’s no substitute for being able to read a map and plot a route. However, that map is allowed to be on the GPS itself 😉

In both cases it was the mapping supplied being inaccurate so the gps that they were following said we had reached a junction when we had not. The path was not on the map in the same place as it was on the ground

Its the blind belief that the GPS must be right so people must follow it thats the annoyance

I have used a GPS for giving a position and logging rides for a while along with Memory Map. I have just started using the Memory Map app on my phone and it is working really well.

We used it a few weeks back to navigate a route in the dark where we were able to find a track on the other side of some woodland. It would of taken longer to do with a map, and it would of been harder to work our out position in the dark. On that occasion we were able to find the route quicker and easier and get more cycling in.

The app was free and if you use 2004 Memory Map map files you don’t need to pay any licence fee.

GPS is great if you use it with a real map. I use mine for ‘you are here ‘ moments and it helps win map arguements – I dont think I would ever use it entirely on its own – maybe on a road bike tour – I do like a map and ‘ reading ‘ the map and not just blindly following a gps..

paul

I think it’s great. I use a system that has OS maps so the best or both worlds really. I don’t tend to set-up routes with it, just use it like a map with a handy ‘you are here’ marker. TBH if get lost using a GPS you would probably get lost using a map as well.

Another point to add, its great for getting lost then sorting yourself out, ie follow a good looking trail, keep riding down whatever track looks good then pull the gps out and work out the best way home.

If you’re riding a new area it’s a total ball-ache to get the map out every 5 mins – particularly if it’s a route with a lot of turns (ie not a big square over the moors with 3 turns in total). Really breaks up the ride.

Saying that, I moved to near the Peaks 6 months ago and swore I’d get a gps after getting annoyed with too much map consulting. Didn’t get round to it, have now learned most of the basic bridleways routes and don’t feel like I’d use one now.

In both cases it was the mapping supplied being inaccurate so the gps that they were following said we had reached a junction when we had not. The path was not on the map in the same place as it was on the ground

Its the blind belief that the GPS must be right so people must follow it thats the annoyance

Errr, the gps was right. The map was wrong. Plenty of mistakes on paper maps…

What jam bo said. ^^^^

my satmap is ace – my best mtb toy.

load up the route I want to follow, or plot it beforehand, and then just ride with it at 1:3000 res and orientated to direction of riding and it pretty much tells me when to expect the next turn.

The success obviously depends on the accuracy of the device that plotted the route and the accuracy the satmap is getting at the time (later is normally 16ft).

So if the route was plotted on an iphone, it is likely to be inaccurate which means sometimes having to stop to locate the correct turn, for example.

would probably give up my flux before I would give up the satmap…

As above for me too. I’d be stuffed without my gps. Dont know how I ever coped without it.
Its very important to check other peoples routes yourself before transferring and riding them.
Many routes shared on websites are plotted from smartphones.
In my experience they are very innacurate.
I always check the routes on MM software and often I’ll replot it using the downloaded route as a template.
A few millimetres on your screen can mean 100m on the trail and an hour of messing about in the wilderness trying to find your trail.

Bought one years ago so I could ride trails at my pace. Bunged Tracklog routes into my Etrex Legend and off I go.

Sometimes you can go and overshoot a turn but it’s not a disaster.

Tracklogs software is great IME and with the whole of the Uk on my PC, I can make a ride anywhere I like.

Jambo – actually its the people who were wrong – by blindly believing the gps rather than looking at the scenery and knowing where they are – for this reason I think them dangerous as they encourage people to forget to navigate.

Good old TJ and his rigid beliefs 🙄

So some muppets may or may not have got lost with a GPS. that tells you nothing about what the op asked.

I’ve seen people lost with maps… Going anywhere and being reliant on something you don’t understand or have too much faith in is stupid. That applies to maps too which as commented above can also be wrong.

Another vote for the satmap. Great for walking too, but pricey – especially with the os maps.

Always take paper as well if going somewhere new

clubber.

There is a reason why the mountain rescue service tell you not to rely on gps and don’t use them. Blind reliance on following a piece of tech can lead you into a false position.

navigation is about far more than map reading. its also about remaining orientated in the landscape and keeping your awareness of the surroundings.

so – use a gps if you want to – a great toy. Its no substitute however for being able to navigate which is a far wider thing than

you really are silly tj and you know full well that gpss aren’t toys. The weakness of your position is shown by your attempt to use emotive putdown to back it up.

your comments apply equally to maps. some people are stupid and maps/GPS lull them into a false sense of security. over-reliance on any item of equipment carries risks.

As I’ve mentioned before I’ve helped people off the hills whose map blew away.

Its no substitute however for being able to navigate which is a far wider thing than

No-one is suggesting that it is. The original question was GPS versus a map, not GPS versus navigational ability.

An idiot will get into trouble in the mountains with either a GPS or a map.

.

I mainly track myself on my iPhone, but do use memorymap to guide on routes that I haven’t ridden or walked before. It’s quick and simple to use. As said above though it needs some common sense and it’s not fool proof

I’m yet to have the pleasure of owning a GPS, but as someone who gets lost quite a lot despite map and compass, it’s on my list.

For example, my last ride up on the moors. Very straight forward. Few turns. I only got the map out a couple of times during the ride to make sure I was on the right track, which I was confident of anyway. Until near the end. When the Bridle petered out into nothing. Well, almost nothing. There was a few tyre tracks continuing down, and the vague remnants of a trail. A bit unused I thought, but hey, it was heading in the right direction, and I’d been travelling in a straight line for 5 miles. How hard could it be?

A bit further down, the track became less visible, until it eventually became the moor itself. Not the first time I’ve optimistically done this. And I was heading in the right direction. But what a pain in the backside it is, to trail across the moor through thick heather and boggy ground. Or give in an retrace your steps back hoping you can find the right way after making your way back up. If you’re not on it already…

And that’s the thing.

That uncertainty.

And so out comes the map. The fact that I was quite close to where I should have been meant it was very difficult to tell that I wasn’t there already!

On a bike you can cover some fairly large distances pretty quickly. While walking, it’s quite easy to check your map at each and every junction, and at any questionable bit in between. And I feel that that convenience of GPS may be of benefit to me. Being able to have a quick peek and ‘….cak, what am I doing there…’ before turning back, rather than continuing another 5 miles downhill in the wrong direction..

On a bike you can cover some fairly large distances pretty quickly. While walking, it’s quite easy to check your map at each and every junction, and at any questionable bit in between. And I feel that that convenience of GPS may be of benefit to me. Being able to have a quick peek and ‘….cak, what am I doing there…’ before turning back, rather than continuing another 5 miles downhill in the wrong direction..

That

Anyone who relies on GPS without taking a map or having sufficient orienteering skills should probably subscribe the the OFCOM GPS jamming mailing list especially if you ride near MOD training areas.

I use bikeroutetoaster.com to create routes and then download them to my Garmin Forerunner 305 – no map, but a simple line with a arrow that keeps me from overshooting junctions or straying too far off course. I also use the free sustrans iPad app as it basically comes with free 1:25k OS maps for the whole UK – useful for planning CX adventures. On the trail I use 1:50k OS mapping on my iPhone. However, it doesn’t give you a grid for when things go wrong. There are iPhone apps that will do this. Overall, GPS is a great tool for staying on track, but a paper map is still best for planning or finding new trails to explore.

TJ – you’re making unfounded/false/uninformed claims again, I see.

There is a reason why the mountain rescue
service tell you not to rely on gps and don’t use
them

what they actually say :

A map and compass are essential kit and should
be easily accessible – not buried in the rucksack!

A mobile phone and GPS are useful tools but
don’t rely on your mobile to get you out of
trouble
http://www.mountain.rescue.org.uk/mountain-advice

so, they’re a useful tool but you shouldn’t be completely reliant on them. So basically, what everyone except you has been saying and you’ll note that they don’t seem to call them toys.

As to them not using them, wrong again. Google shows that they’re well used by professional MR teams around the world and increasingly so.

Just one example (which in fact shows that it’s even being used professionally. on mobiles let alone ‘pepper’s GPSs)
http://www.viewranger.com/en-us/other/search-and-rescue

“Once they had seen it
in action, now all team members want it!”
[ Dartmoor Rescue Group ]
“Weather conditions were poor with visibility
down to 50 metres in heavy snow. ViewRanger
guided the stretcher party to and from the
casualty site.”
[ Glossop Mountain Rescue Team]
At Kendal MRT we are finding the more we use
ViewRanger the more we like it. Having just used
it extensively in the Cairngorms during winter
training we are impressed by the accuracy
achieved, ease of use and its ability to
supplement and reinforce more traditional
navigation techniques. Not everyone in the team
as a personal GPS enabled with a mapping
facility, but all of us have and use mobile
phones, so the addition of ViewRanger to team
members with compatible phones is a very cost
effective way of enhancing our ability to operate
in poor conditions, especially when working
away from our ‘home’ area with other Teams.
[ Kendal Mountain Rescue Team ]