How Smart is a smartphone in the mountains ?

[Peakbagr]

Interesting link to something we're seeing in the NE mountains:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cumbria-19586834

 

[MadRiver]

I like the fact that they used the term walker and not hiker. I wish our media would make that distinction.

 

[JCarter]

The other big advantage of (most) handheld GPSs over a GPS smartphone app is that the GPS takes standard batteries. If it dies, I simply pop in another set of AAs, possibly pulled out of some other gadget, it I stupidly don't have enough spares. Of course, I always have the (waterproof) map & compass anyway, since they weigh nothing.

 

[Peakbagr]

Walking and hiking distinction not necessary different in the UK. I think one of the points of the article was that smart phone was used in an area where a map, compass and knowing how to use them would likely have spared the SAR.

 

[Remix]

In the past I have always thought using a smart phone for GPS in the woods was risky. I still think it is (due to high battery consumption and uncontrolled power usage from apps and generally lack of moisture protection) If you are going up top or you are already up there, one redeeming feature is the ability to get more warning about thunderstorms (via radar images from your favorite site)....as opposed to asking "did I just hear thunder".

 

[Hillwalker]

Walking and hiking distinction not necessary different in the UK. I think one of the points of the article was that smart phone was used in an area where a map, compass and knowing how to use them would likely have spared the SAR.

I hike and backpack in Western Scotland pretty much every summer since 1989. I learned early on that the Scots and Brits I met call "hiking" walking, and climbing, the use of ropes etc. I mentioned this to one of my Scottish acquiantances and he told me to "hike up my trousers and keep walking". On a similar note, when I owned a Hobie Catamaran, it had hiking harnesses and lines attached to the mast. When I would sail it from North Hampton, NH down and back along the coast. We used to hike a lot when the wind was right. Nothing like the feeling of being 6 feet off the water, suspended on your harness, while foaming along on the lee hull.

But then our American vehicles have trunks instead of boots, hoods instead of bonnets, windscreens instead of wind shields, and the steering wheel on the wrong side.

I think I will go eat a Bacon Buttee for lunch.

 

[DougPaul]

Another advantage of separate cellphones and GPSes is that if you run the batteries down in your GPS, you haven't killed your emergency communications.

A friend and I compared tracks recorded on his iPhone and my Garmin 60CSx. The 60CSx tracks were significantly more accurate and the iPhone track showed a number of excursions from our true path.

Doug