gps vs. maps

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mj125

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May 14, 2009
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how are the feelings of the gps vs. a map? I tend to lead towards the map maybe i feel its a dying art form. Just like star navigation; but who here has gone strickly to the gps systems. And do you solely go on this form and why?
 
yikes thats kinda like the one knife question.. i have topo maps for my area but haven't had to use them yet so i guess my answer would be gps just cause it's quicker and up todate, there a up's and down's to both side gps can break maps can be ruined. hows murphy treat you real how it boils down;)
 
Always both.
Technology, of course, can fail.
At the latitude I live in (close to 70 North) compasses are problematic. Declination is big, and the compass needle wants to start pointing vertically, compounding error.
So GPS is king up here these days, but we plot course on a map, and use compass as a backup - provided we know our coordinates so as to make the appropriate corrections.
 
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GPS mainly because I deliver and I need the quickest route to people's houses.....and oh yea I can't read maps:o
 
IMO, map reading and working with a compass are basic skills that one should master before heading out. GPS, for me, is a 'nice to have' and I use one to make tracks of my hikes for plotting onto a map.
 
And the Garmin instructions say 'don't rely only on the GPS' !! One case here was an idiot who turned right when the gps said to - onto RR tracks and a train took out his car ! The right turn was immediately AFTER the RR tracks.
I've always studied and memorized the topo for the area I was in and never had a problem.
 
Like Chunk I always take both. The big advantage of the GPS is it tells you where you are. The map can help you find where you want to be but first you have to find some landmark that you can relate to the map. Sometimes that is not as easy as it seems.
 
Topo map and compass. I have a cool little hand held basic GPS, but I will not depend on anything with battaries. Both are great, however "map and compass skills" are a must.
 
Sort of asking: which would you rather have, and axe or a chainsaw? the axe takes more effort, isnt as fast and takes longer to get good with, but sometimes it just isnt convenient to take the gas can everywhere you want to go.

map for me, i usually have the gps with me, in the event that i can communicate my location to SAR for some reason. most of the places i go anymore i need neither actually.

i also am going to start using my GPS for geocaching someday
 
Always both ... b/c GPSs are like $200 or less these days you have no reason not to.

GPS is an awesome luxury. Map and compass are fine, but obviously waaaay less accurate in certain types of terrain and you have to be very careful and meticulous while using them. Dead-reckoning is awful and you really have to concentrate. Navigating by map and compass also requires a great deal of skill. Moving through relentless forest by map and compass is tough because there aren't a ton of landmarks to give you an accurate fix. Or navigating through fog in a boat is tough too by chart and compass alone. Moving over perilous terrain with map/chart and compass alone is a risky business b/c you really have no idea where you are EXACTLY ... dangerous if you're in the mountains or sailing in the fog with lots of shoals around. It can be done, with practice as it has been for centuries, but for $200 you can have the invaluable assistance of a GPS.

The way I do it is this ... I use the GPS for fixes and a compass for navigation. I mark the fix [SATfix] on the chart/map with time ... so if the weather moves in or the GPS craps-out, I have a good idea where I am. If I'm moving over a route, I normally toss all the waypoints in the GPS before I go and then make a route ... the GPS gives me a bearing to the next waypoint and I follow that using a compass. Works well.

You need to know how to use both. GPSs are generally cheaply manufactured, not unlike a cell phone and one drop on the ground or into a river may be all it takes to kill it. I used to work SAR for the Coast Guard in large open RHIBs and we had several GPS malfunctions in heavy fog ... and these were $15K systems ... so I'm not sure that I'd trust my well-being to a $200 made in China GPS. Hybridize both GPS and map/compass and you'll have a good time out there and also a contingency plan.
 
I go into the field to get out from that kind of digital technology based on large scale
complicated infrastructure.

Using simple techniques and tools in the field lets me know who I am and what I can do.
 
While in the box I used both. The GPS really helps when you are in a AO with no landmarks. Learn to use the protractor and you can get the MGRS grid and find your exact location or plot your route on the topo.
 
Coming from someone in the GIS/cartography/Remote Sensing/photogrammetry/survey profession: Compass / map basics are essential. GPS is a nice to have and essential for specific types of info/applications.

I remember when we used to have to differentially correct the gps pts against official base stations. (long time ago)
 
Given that I spend my days locked to technology, I will do anything I can to go "old school" away from the office. I study the topo obsessively before I go, and rely on my compass while in the bush. It can be a bit unnerving at times. I live where getting a compass bearing isn't easy because of dense forrest and trails aren't marked so you really have to keep yourself together. I may pick up a GPS some day but it's not a priority.
 
Map and compass

GPS is backup only.

HOWEVER

I have been a few places without landmarks or didn't have map for the area, in those cases, I take a bearing from the trail, WRITE IT DOWN, then use GPS.
 
Usually a map and crappy compass. Typically I'm not in very complicated wilderness where navigation is that critical. I do have a handheld GPS which often sits in my pack. I've wisened up enough times to usually mark my waypoint at my vehicle and then shut off the GPS.
 
About 10 or 11 years ago I was given a garmin gps38 for christmas.
It was old school 8 channel reception and it had/has a bi*^H of a time locking on to satilites. Even on clear days with open area all around.
This christmas my wife gave me a new garmin 60 and it is great.
I would never trust a gps by its self, but coupled with a map it can be great.
 
GPS and their successful use are predicated by an understanding and knowledge of maps and coordinate systems.

A GPS cannot tell you how to navigate, but an understanding of how to read a topo map can give the information to avoid walking over the top of a mountain, when there is a saddle just 7 degrees away.

A GPS can tell you which way you came, if you know how to use it, and read it. But a GPS cannot tell you if that is the best way to get back to your camp, in fact, it very well may be the longest way to get back.
 
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