Smartphone GPS mapping apps for off-roading, MTB'ing and rambling

Ali-bear

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I am looking for the ideal smartphone app for mountain biking, rambling and generally getting lost in the UK. Got to be on the smartphone because I don't want to buy and carry any specialized gadgets. Don't want to carry the paper maps either :D

Given that these apps only work once you've invested money in the underlying maps and these is probably going to be based on the OS mapping data. Ideally the 1:25000 maps because this has much more detail than the 1:50000 versions.

I don't need to record my tracks or performance or anything fancy like that. I just want to be able to pre-load the smartphone with a map for the area I am going to, then be able to use it when I am out there with no network connection.

Any recommends?
 
+1 from me for that. Only discovered it t'other day, but yup. Not sure why you'd want anything else.
 
Thanks chaps. I think £2.50 is quite reasonable for a try-out of the map for my local area :beerjug:
 
Another vote for ViewRanger. I think the interface is slightly less clear than it used to be, in the name of giving more features, but it's still a very good app.
 
+1 from me for that. Only discovered it t'other day, but yup. Not sure why you'd want anything else.

The OS Explorer (1:25,000) for £2.49 is aimed at walkers and cyclists. In total, there 5,696 mapping tiles available for purchase.

I can think of a little over 14,000 reasons (£) why you'd want something else :blast

That's a fekking ridiculous price, and no bloody wonder it's aimed at iFad owners :augie
 
ViewRanger really is excellent, I've used it for years now. iPad, iPhone and Apple Watch and linked with Walking World route searching. Support is 'instantaneous' as well - can't recommend enough.
 
I have been using the OSM based Pocket Earth app for a few years on my iPod Touch, iPhone and iPad - both on and off the bike

It's worldwide vector maps, which use negligible space, are downloaded and are then available offline

The maps are infinitely scaleable so an iPad makes for an excellent planning platform before exporting your routes to an iPhone

There are selectable hiking and cycling layers as well as the usual driving one

Downsides - to create or modify a route you must be online and as yet there is no Android version
 

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I can think of a little over 14,000 reasons (£) why you'd want something else :blast

That's a fekking ridiculous price, and no bloody wonder it's aimed at iFad owners :augie

I agree currently its £1.99 per tile for 1:25000 and the tile size is not huge. But it does work on Android and my waterproof Sony :p

I will give ViewRanger a try also.

I will also try OSM but I already suspect the maps won't have the detail I need.
 
I can think of a little over 14,000 reasons (£) why you'd want something else :blast

That's a fekking ridiculous price, and no bloody wonder it's aimed at iFad owners :augie

Harsh, dude. Harsh.

You know I am a new member of this funky motorised bicycle club thing, so please take my opinions (indeed everyone's opinions) with a salt lake or two, however, I have always worked along the lines of making the utmost of technology, but not being solely reliant on it. This was a life rule I neglected on Tuesday when I rode into Lahndon for a job interview, whereby my sat nav froze/crashed/fucked up half way there and I had to find the rest of my way using my shitty knowledge of London, thereby causing me to arrive 40 minutes late. Had I employed a good dose of my own rule, I would have had a general idea of where to go and been able to arrive in good time. The good news is, I was still offered the job, so my lateness wasn't too much of a problem.

Anyway, back to the point in question. There is a link, I assure you. For my own little exploration recently, as well as using technology, I went and bought one of those old fangled paper things, you know, like an app, but marked on paper, I think they called it a map. Fantastically, when you buy the OS maps in a paper form, they give you a free download of the app map as well, so, were one into buying the paper stuffs anyway - and I know some people are, as I recall at least a couple of threads recently making reference to good deals for them - the app/download is in fact free and genuine, ordnance survey.

iFad? I prefer iSnore.
 
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There used to be (still may be, I don't know) a touratech product, possibly called "QV" :nenau

It allowed you to scan in any map, any scale, any gif, and convert it into a file that a Garmin GPS would recognise and use......you did a calibration on the image by 'telling it' what the distance between two known points was, and what the coordinates of those two points was as well.

I used it in the early 90's to construct some useable maps of the Sahara from the only available (at the time) fully detailed topographical maps that existed, which were old Russian military topo maps that were available online.

It worked quite well, but involved quite a lot of technical hassle to achieve......I haven't looked for anything similar since then, but I'd be surprised if there wasn't a modernised similar product out there.

There are certainly high definition Topo maps of Britain available free online which could be 'paired up' with the prog.
 
UK Map on iPad is a good app I forgot I had. I think you have to buy the app, but the individual map downloads all appear to be free.
 
I am looking for the ideal smartphone app for mountain biking, rambling and generally getting lost in the UK.

If you want one for mountain biking, use what people have said.

If you want for rambling, you can get lost!

;)
 
I like mountain biking but with my level of skill and fitness a ride could easily turn into a long walk or, if you will, hobble, back to the car. Getting lost is fun but getting home again is what makes it :thumb
 


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