Android offline topo map software?

[samthaman]

Anyone got a recommendation? it seems like there isn't a great solution yet, but I'm open to any ideas.

[SeatownSlackey]

bought and started playing around w/ backcountry navigator pro. seemed ok but gps is the power suck on my moto razr. its about a year old and no way the thing could sustain itself running gps for a full day touring.

[jopolaris]

https://play.google.com/store/apps/d....license&hl=en I use this on an android wifi tablet. It works great- just make sure to download your maps prior to going out. Works better than my old garmin- easier to read and gets you out of the backcountry.

[mtl_ripper]

Good stuff. Been thinking of this as well, I'll try these out.

sent by electrons

[homebrewd]

backcountry pro is legit. I have had it for 6 months or so and I downloaded Colorado, Utard, and Wyoming to use offline with the GPS (which works pretty well). There are a number of different topo maps. It records tracks, elevation, speed, etc. I put it on my tablet, phone, and older phone I don't use anymore all on the same purchase. I would recommend it.

EDIT: I use the old phone as a dedicated device for music and gps now, and it lasted 12 hours on a hike using gps only and cell signal turned off. 1st gen Motorola Atrix.

[PNWbrit]

backcountry navigator pro.

The best one I've found yet.

power suck

Is it a software limitation or just a limitation of the phone/battery compared to a real GPS?

[Teague]

Backcountry Navigator Pro wins my vote hands down. Power management is an issue, but I'm guessing it's a result of the phone's limitations rather than a software issue. If your phone is a few years old, you might be able to buy an extended battery for cheap.

[bryanthebold]

BC navigator pro is hands down the best I've used. I too have noticed battery issues but I'm almost certain its a hardware limitation. If you look in the track options you can adjust the intervals at which it uses the GPS to save battery. I find that if im not recording tracks and keep it in airplane mode it can last a long time occasionally checking your location.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using TGR Forums

[LightRanger]

Oruxmaps.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...51bGwsMSwyLDNd
http://www.oruxmaps.com/oruxmapsmanual_en.pdf

[mtl_ripper]

Tried BC navigator for free then bought the PRO version this winter.

Works for what I need it to do. And offline.

sent by electrons

[Boissal]

Bumping this oldie for 2017 updates.
The Wasatch is blessed with its own backcountry skiing app which lets you know exactly what your next #instaspray tag should be but it really only covers the tricanyon area (if that). I've used offline google map topos a bunch but contour lines disappear as soon as you zoom in a bit and functionality is low.
What are you peeps using for offline topo maps on your Androids? Heading to the Sierras in a bit and I wouldn't mind shelling some $$ for solid topos...

[adrenalated]

Backcountry Navigator Pro still kicks ass.

[mecc69]

Why not Avenza maps. It is free. I was able to download a lot of maps for free with a little searching on the USGS website.

[I've seen black diamonds!]

Gaia GPS. Great write up of how to use with cal topo here: https://14erskiers.com/blog/2017/01/...-skiingroutes/

[LightRanger]

I like Gaia better than BC Navigator Pro, though both are good. And, yeah, Gaia plus CalTopo kicks so much ass. I really dig the Gaia algorithm on desktop that follows trails and auto-creates tracks on them.

[Boissal]

So +2 on Gaia uh? It's a bit more expensive that BC navigator and the 14erskier spiel on it makes it sound like you want the Pro version which is another bunch of dollars a year. Worth it? I would use it mostly for the occasional winter venture outside of the Wasatch and the even less frequent backpacking trip (read: non extensive use).

[LightRanger]

Meh, I don't have Pro. If I want to know how steep something is, I'll use CalTopo before I go (slope overlays are free in CalTopo). Or... just look at how close the contour lines are on the topo. (Damn kids these days... )

I use it for summer hiking stuff too. And to plan MTB rides in areas I haven't been.

[CaliBrit]

I like Gaia better than BC Navigator Pro, though both are good. And, yeah, Gaia plus CalTopo kicks so much ass. I really dig the Gaia algorithm on desktop that follows trails and auto-creates tracks on them.

Cal Topo does that now too and is way faster as the waypoint count goes up.

[LightRanger]

Oh yeah? Sweet. I use it all the time and hadn't noticed yet.

Just checked it out.

[I've seen black diamonds!]

I also don't have the pro version of Gaia. And slope overlays are great on a screen at home, but I'm not sure I'd trust it to be any more effective than "eye-balling it" in the field if you've done a fair amount of eye-balling.

[Boissal]

Or... just look at how close the contour lines are on the topo. (Damn kids these days...

I see what you did there... The only time I've found it to be useful is when navigating areas with thick trees and the potential for small cliffs. I couldn't really tell if I was heading for trouble based on the spacing of the contour lines only and took a chance. Things worked out and I navigated a nasty mess of rock bands. When I uploaded the track and looked at it in caltopo I was surprised to see that their slope angle estimate was spot-on and pretty damn granular, picking up cliffs that were no wider than a few hundred feet.
I agree that nothing really beats eyeballing but if you have the toys you might as well play with them...

Thanks for the input, I'll give Gaia a try I think

[I've seen black diamonds!]

I skied an area last week (solo) on which the slope overlay showed only a couple patches of 27-29 degrees and a tiny patch of 30-31. As it turned out there was a rather large section (still avoidable) of 30-35 degrees- a small difference but possibly a very important one.

[Cocximus]

Surprised no one mentioned OSMand with osmand contour lines plugin. Uses OSM maps and SRTM and ASTER data for hillshading and contour lines. Since it's vector maps entire countries it in a few gigs. It can route on roads and trails. You can either pay for it, or get it for free in f-droid since it's all open source. It's way better than any hardware GPS... and jaw drop even paper map.

Not the most glorious example, but you get the point.