Thinking of adding a gps to my toy box. I have never used one but having recently moved into a area with access to a ton of state forest that I am not formilaure with I think it would be a great asset. If anyone would offer suggestions I would appreciate it. Don't know what features would be helpful and what would not. Thank you. Bill

Full disclosure I am not a expert and just bought my first one yesterday, I played with it in the store and it seemed easy to use and it was on sale at Cabelas, do your own research but maybe save a few bucks by getting it while it is on sale.

https://www.cabelas.com/product/Garmin-G...mp;gclsrc=aw.ds

iPhone (or Android). Basically any smart phone has all the gps capabilities as a handheld gps unit. No sense in carrying around an extra devise.

In the boat I use my chart plotter exclusively. On land it's good ol google maps with satellite turned on. It has location and satellite imagery. Works for me and is already on my phone. There is even a contour line layer now. I have a Garmin and a Magellan hand held. Never used either.

Using my phone would be great but a couple of issues. I have a el cheapo phone that get reception most of the time. The little exploring I have done no phone reception. I wonder if a deseignated gps would fare any better?

As I understand it GPS works off satellites in space and cell phones work of towers that they triangulate and use software to simulate GPS.
So GPS should work any where and iphone should work where you get three towers visible.
I can tell you that GPS won't work in timber land, I took mine back for a refund.

Tjm thanks. The Mark twain natal forest is timer,rock and hills. Nothing is better then woodsmanship just trying to adjust the curve.

I went with a handheld standalone unit instead of my phone for these reasons

1) Most importantly I do not want to get phone calls, texts or emails while I am on my trips. I can still put the phone in my backpack and shut it off and have it for emergency use.

2) Battery life is terrible when GPS is being used on the phone, I didnt want to have to find a way to charge it nor did I want to carry backup battery packs.

Gps on smart phones does not require cell service. If you are using google maps or some other online maps, then yes you need service but if you use something like Avenza pdf maps it works perfectly with no service. Most of us in the forestry business use Avenza daily.

Another note on using the gps on phones: The gps is not what drains the battery, it’s the phone constantly searching for service that drains it. Put it on airplane mode and you have plenty of battery to navigate with gps.

The marking and go to functions of a GPS can be very useful if you have many traps in unfamiliar terrain that looks different with snow on the ground. Not just any GPS. I found the fancy touch screen models too time-consuming for my likes. I settled for a button-operated Garmin GPSMap64S that is simpler to use and is supposed to work better in forests. The 64ST model comes with a US/Canada topo map which I do not use. I prefer the purchased separately onx one-state maps that are more detailed and show land ownership info. I could find no GPS map with close terrain view as good as the free Google Earth that I use on my home computer.

Cell phone service is not required for GPS location. What you will need the cell service for is the satellite image or topo maps for the location. Many apps out there, for instance onX Hunt, have the ability to download areas in advance so if you know there are dead spots for your phone you will be able to see where you are on a map instead of just your lonely dot representing your position.

I've had my eye on that unit for a while now. That's a great price for that version. I just ordered one. Thanks for the link.

Handheld GPS is a much better choice for working in the outdoors than a phone in my opinion. The phone is just too fragile for the type of abuse it will go through in the woods with rain, heat, cold etc.

You can't pop a fresh set of batteries in a phone.

I have a Garmin 320 that Doubles as a Gps for trap location and also use it for my dog and collar.
You can put waypoints right where you set traps , easy to keep track of set locations.
Find a good spot worth trapping mark it on gps for later.
They can be a good tool to own.

OKforester does avenza show ownership and private property lines ?

A lot of back woods areas have no cell phone service. So a handheld GPS would be your only option. They work great for finding sets after a fresh snowfall when everything looks so different. Just remember to mark the sets or traps after making them.

Do you have good GPS reception under hardwood canopy? The handheld I had worked ok in the open areas.
Or is the phone calculating from a last known satellite?

Avenza is an app that you can either use their map library to download a base map or import a custom map that you have created yourself with a map program (arc GIS). I use mostly custom maps except I do have all the USGS topo maps for about a 4 county area down loaded. I haven’t checked their library for an ownership map but it is defiantly possible. The app use to be an unrestricted free app but as everyone started using it they have created a professional version that has a yearly subscription. The free version is still available but limits the user to only three base maps. I use the Collector app with a custom map for ownership in my area.

The phone gps has the same reception under a thick canopy as a hand held gps unit. It sometimes takes a minute or two to show your position but it seems accurate enough.

Again phones do not have to have cell service for the gps to work. Seems a lot of folks have this misconception about that.

The point about being able to replace the batteries in a gps unit is definitely a valid point. If you are going to be without a power source to recharge your phone for more than a day then you will need a unit with batteries you can replace.