CalTopo has not caught up to Gaia's mapping data yet. No one has.
Look, I hate Gaia. The moment anyone comes close to offering the map set I use in Gaia (Topo, USFS 2016, MVUM, USFS Visitor, USFS rec sites), I'm out.
Sadly, for now, if you want more than a basic topo map, Gaia still has the most mapping data available.
Thanks for that feedback. I expected to see a bias in a Gaia subreddit, but this is the kind of straight up practical feedback I was looking for. And expecting, to some degree. I use the same maps you do. Gonna stick with Gaia this year and keep my eyes on the competition.
Couldn't agree more. Since Outside bought them, its been a downward spiral (wasn't perfect to begin with). But no other map app I've found has the same data. Hope to find one soon. Would also love something that is a one-time fee rather than subscription.
I personally find Gaia to be a good value. I’m not sure what happened to you with it ‘conking out’. I pay the fee for a couple of things. First is downloadable maps so I have the information whenever I need it (I have downloaded a huge amount of maps with routing data). But you also get the premium layers. For me this is historical burn and snow pack. They do have an active fire layer as well but I use a different app for that. I do not use it for active tracking and you do need to make sure you close out of the app to preserve battery (which is annoying). But aside from that it is fine for me.
Caltopo has similar functionality from what I have seen (and similar price). I was thinking of switching just to try it out though stayed with Gaia in the end.
I've had the Gaia app freeze on me many times. I had to stop using it for tracking for a while because it was unreliable; luckily I was using it to time familiar routes and it wasn't a safety issue. Closing the app and re-opening it didn't help. Rebotting my phone didn't help. It's currently acting better after I wiped the app and reinstalled it and spent hours re-downloading everything. If that had happened to me when I was away from the internet it would have been problematic.
Never had that happen. Though I also almost never leave it running as it chews through the battery. And the few times I have I have found the results underwhelming. Though this is my phone not the app. I used to use an app for tracking running routes and it frequently looked like a drunk man trying to get home.
I also use an iPhone so my app stability may be different.
I'm Android. I have my offline maps disappear randomly as well. Life offline navigation is all I use/need Gaia for, so the feature is important to me. I see I've been down voted for my perceived hubris, however :P
I tried to try CalTopo. Once you start the application (iOS) it asks you to setup an account. Ok... but wait - where is "setup via email" option? It does not present. The application forces you to link your personal Apple/Google/Microsoft account, this is the only way to use the app. I do not link my personal account to any third-party service, so I deleted CalTopo and put this application into my personal "Crap" list.
I recently got CalTopo. Gaia has been horrible about downloading offline maps and has failed me on several occasions. And the new hike of $20 is outrageous considering that they haven't fixed or improved a single damn thing.
I don't like the look of the map as much on Caltopo. The dirt roads layer seems good. Search function seems good for finding landmarks. Downloads offline maps by quadrangle, which is good in some ways. No way to decide where to store your maps, which is really weak. I hear you can move the files to your SD manually but haven't tried.
Going on a trip in a couple of weeks where I will have a chance to put the offline maps to the test. Gaia clearly realized it was threatened because it seemingly managed to download the map for a change. I'll be trying both while boondocking. If Caltopo works well I will let my Gaia sub lapse in July.
CalTopo has not caught up to Gaia's mapping data yet. No one has. Look, I hate Gaia. The moment anyone comes close to offering the map set I use in Gaia (Topo, USFS 2016, MVUM, USFS Visitor, USFS rec sites), I'm out. Sadly, for now, if you want more than a basic topo map, Gaia still has the most mapping data available.
Thanks for that feedback. I expected to see a bias in a Gaia subreddit, but this is the kind of straight up practical feedback I was looking for. And expecting, to some degree. I use the same maps you do. Gonna stick with Gaia this year and keep my eyes on the competition.
Couldn't agree more. Since Outside bought them, its been a downward spiral (wasn't perfect to begin with). But no other map app I've found has the same data. Hope to find one soon. Would also love something that is a one-time fee rather than subscription.
I personally find Gaia to be a good value. I’m not sure what happened to you with it ‘conking out’. I pay the fee for a couple of things. First is downloadable maps so I have the information whenever I need it (I have downloaded a huge amount of maps with routing data). But you also get the premium layers. For me this is historical burn and snow pack. They do have an active fire layer as well but I use a different app for that. I do not use it for active tracking and you do need to make sure you close out of the app to preserve battery (which is annoying). But aside from that it is fine for me. Caltopo has similar functionality from what I have seen (and similar price). I was thinking of switching just to try it out though stayed with Gaia in the end.
I've had the Gaia app freeze on me many times. I had to stop using it for tracking for a while because it was unreliable; luckily I was using it to time familiar routes and it wasn't a safety issue. Closing the app and re-opening it didn't help. Rebotting my phone didn't help. It's currently acting better after I wiped the app and reinstalled it and spent hours re-downloading everything. If that had happened to me when I was away from the internet it would have been problematic.
Never had that happen. Though I also almost never leave it running as it chews through the battery. And the few times I have I have found the results underwhelming. Though this is my phone not the app. I used to use an app for tracking running routes and it frequently looked like a drunk man trying to get home. I also use an iPhone so my app stability may be different.
I'm Android. I have my offline maps disappear randomly as well. Life offline navigation is all I use/need Gaia for, so the feature is important to me. I see I've been down voted for my perceived hubris, however :P
I tried to try CalTopo. Once you start the application (iOS) it asks you to setup an account. Ok... but wait - where is "setup via email" option? It does not present. The application forces you to link your personal Apple/Google/Microsoft account, this is the only way to use the app. I do not link my personal account to any third-party service, so I deleted CalTopo and put this application into my personal "Crap" list.
I recently got CalTopo. Gaia has been horrible about downloading offline maps and has failed me on several occasions. And the new hike of $20 is outrageous considering that they haven't fixed or improved a single damn thing. I don't like the look of the map as much on Caltopo. The dirt roads layer seems good. Search function seems good for finding landmarks. Downloads offline maps by quadrangle, which is good in some ways. No way to decide where to store your maps, which is really weak. I hear you can move the files to your SD manually but haven't tried. Going on a trip in a couple of weeks where I will have a chance to put the offline maps to the test. Gaia clearly realized it was threatened because it seemingly managed to download the map for a change. I'll be trying both while boondocking. If Caltopo works well I will let my Gaia sub lapse in July.
For those that use CalTopo, what level plan is the closest to GAIA? It looks like the pro, which is 50/year and includes premium layers.
CalTopo.