Garmin vs. Gaia, opinions and experience please

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WSS

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About a year ago, I gave up on Garmin. Their update a year ago, pretty much left off roaders out to dry. Garmin has great support for "street level" nav, but trail building and mapping through basecamp is no longer intuitive or useful.

I bought a old iPad mini (w/cell capability) and have been giving Gaia a whirl. I do like the sharing and cloud like platform it uses but it just seems like it is missing something, The Zoom is set by the user on Gaia where the zoom on a Garmin would adjust according to waypoints or turns. I miss about half the turns (in new areas) using Gaia, not by much but none the less, I find myself backing up 50 feet or whatever. There are other little quirks too, just feels like I am not getting or learning the full monty on either platform.

I have been a Garmin user since the 45XL, so I have marched with them for 20 plus years. I gave up on Garmin right before the overlander.

Anybody have any good info on the newer Garmin or info on using Gaia that I am missing?
 
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My neighbor works for Garmin. He gets to test all the new stuff out. He brought home a overlander to play with.

FYI, both of us run IPads and Gaia.

It was neat and worked well, but the cost is considerable and he gets stuff at 50% off. Still took it back and uses Gaia.


Do you have the basic plan or the expert or whatever they call it? Yeah it’s not perfect but is pretty much the go to for off-road guys. We will still carry paper topo maps and it’s good to have a backup and also compare. We found roads on the topo map that Gaia didn’t show or named wrong. And the other way around too. 🤷‍♂️
 
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Just checked and I have "premium subscription". I like it, just the old dog new tricks thing. Learning the Gaia platform has been a little tricky.

We always carry topos too. We like (actually I like) to stop and find our location on a topo just for education.

How does your "signal" seem to be working? I have been playing with Gaia in my truck on the streets and have confirmed It is usually about 150' short of the destination, convert that to "JeepSpeed" and it is more like 50', but sometimes it looks like the next wash or waypoint, etc. Is there a way to improve the signal to a real time (ish) accuracy? I know the ipads are kinda limited anyway, but is there an external or booster of any type?

Ironic about your neighbor LOL, He probably knows best. I do still carry my inReach though!!
 
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One other thing I notice is how the tracks and waypoints are written, seems each file is written a little different. I need to get my storage and folders organized too.
 
Do you use the Earthmate app with your inReach? I run that and Gaia (Primary is Gaia). Seems to work well but, I agree with you, I find myself stopping, zooming out to find where I am in location to where I want to go.
 
DoOver said:
Do you use the Earthmate app with your inReach? I run that and Gaia (Primary is Gaia). Seems to work well but, I agree with you, I find myself stopping, zooming out to find where I am in location to where I want to go.
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Yes, I use that to link to the inreach, works good for messaging. I need to look deeper in the app. I was using BaseCamp as my research and trail writing until the switch to Gaia.

In Gaia, I like the "record" function, I can build a trail with pics, waypoints, tracks, etc. The elevation details are cool too.
 
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WSS said:
Just checked and I have "premium subscription". I like it, just the old dog new tricks thing. Learning the Gaia platform has been a little tricky.

We always carry topos too. We like (actually I like) to stop and find our location on a topo just for education.

How does your "signal" seem to be working? I have been playing with Gaia in my truck on the streets and have confirmed It is usually about 150' short of the destination, convert that to "JeepSpeed" and it is more like 50', but sometimes it looks like the next wash or waypoint, etc. Is there a way to improve the signal to a real time (ish) accuracy? I know the ipads are kinda limited anyway, but is there an external or booster of any type?

Ironic about your neighbor LOL, He probably knows best. I do still carry my inReach though!!
Click to expand...


Yeah it takes some doing as there is a lot the software can do. I watched some YouTube vids and it helped with the learning curve for sure. And I still don’t understand about 75% of it. 😂


My wife hates it and likes the topo maps better and nothing wrong with that!


My experience is about what you have too. 50’ or so. I do download maps of the areas we plan to be in which helps when there is not GPS signal. In fact, I have pretty much regulated to downloaded maps then we don’t worry to much about accuracy.

And the Inreach is a MUST have tool!!!
 
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So Gala is going to be a PITA to learn... Just great.

Backcountry Navigator is another one I've wondered about.
 
WSS said:
So you are doing the topo download too? I found I can only download sections on the small capacity ipad I bought. Probably time to "upgrade" to a bigger size.

I have a couple atlas and topo cases I keep on the areas we are running. My favorites are these:

https://adventuretoolcompany.com/product/atlas-map-case
https://adventuretoolcompany.com/product/5--expedition-map-case
I am a bit of a ATC fanboy though. 🤫
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Yes I download the topo maps and overlay with what need at the time.


Oh I need one of those cases!!!! 😳😎
 
Wildman said:
So Gala is going to be a PITA to learn... Just great.

Backcountry Navigator is another one I've wondered about.
Click to expand...


Not a pita so much as it’s very capable so can seem overwhelming. Watch a few YouTube videos and you will see what features you will actually use on the program. For instance, you can use the iPad to snap a picture of a location, say a killer campsite you want to mark and return to. Gaia will capture the pic, add it as a destination and when you go through your map it can create a thumbnail of the place you marked. Can help you remember what is there I stand of just a pin point. Helps with us older guys. 😂
 
Well I'm looking to install one of these apps on my radio since it runs on a android platform. So I'm trying to educate myself on the different options.

BTW I DISLIKE Apple ANYTHING....
 
The radio version from a phone is different, still need to control from the app. It is cool to see it on a double din though. Yes, it does have a learning curve. It feels like something critical is missing and I cannot put my finger on it. Like I am missing one of the imports or method of import. What I see on my computer, is not how it "feels" on the trail. Almost like Garmin and Gaia have different definitions for things like waypoints and tracks.
 
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