I've been looking into Android hiking apps, especially how they behave once you lose cell coverage.
I compared AllTrails, Gaia GPS, Komoot, Outdooractive, Wikiloc, OsmAnd, Hiking Project, and FarOut, and the offline experience varies a lot more than I expected.
For example, AllTrails and Gaia GPS put offline maps behind paid plans, Komoot gives you one region free, while OsmAnd is much more offline-first. Hiking Project is also an interesting completely free option, although its coverage is much stronger in some regions than others.
I wrote up the full comparison here:
https://pixeltrackhq.com/blog/best-hiking-apps
For people who actually hike outside reliable coverage: which Android app has been the most dependable for you?
19 Comments
Hiro8811@lemmy.world · 9 pts · 1d
For the few times I used it off roads OsmAND has been great
RobotToaster@mander.xyz · 7 pts · 1d
I have CoMaps and OsmAnd~ installed. The "~" is important, it's the the f-droid version that has most of the paid features for free.
The one I use most though is c:geo, it's actually designed for a game called geocaching, but its offline maps are simple and work really well.
BestBouclettes@jlai.lu · 6 pts · 1d
Definitely OsmAnd for me
Nickelalloy@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 17h
I used CoMaps very well when i hiked in Spain and parts of Scandinavia, I am surprised how well hiking oaths or just paths in general are marked. it has a nice mix of what an good app should be and the feeling of having a paper map.
portifornia@piefed.social · 4 pts · 19h
I'm a noob, so there's that, but I use
Organic Maps, which is basic and does offline driving, too.Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de · 1 pts · 47m
PSA: the community has moved over to the Comaps fork, due to concerns about the ownership of the organic maps brand among other things.
https://www.comaps.app/news/2025-04-16/1/
Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de · 2 pts · 19h
I've never seen the point of all these apps; the only 3 i think are worth caring about is comaps, osmand (both of these basically do the same thing), and especially trailsense if you don't mind something which is more of a toolbox than a navigation app.
But really the important thing is having a phone with as good GPS hardware as possible, ideally you'd bring a proper separate GPS reciever that can plug into the phone. Modern GPS can be so good that you'll get at least a rough position even in forests, and when you have your position everything else becomes relatively trivial.
RobotToaster@mander.xyz · 2 pts · 2h
Any specific recommendations for an external gps receiver?
Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de · 1 pts · 51m
unfortunately no, but i'd imagine basically anything is better than the built-in hardware in phones.
gazter@aussie.zone · 2 pts · 4h
Most of my outdoor stuff is in Australia. I found an app years ago called "Australia Topo Maps" which had a one time payment for the ability to use offline maps.
I've tried many others, and keep coming back to this one.
Despite the name, I can cache any OSM topo map anywhere in the world. They also have a suite of country-specific apps, which likely just have different options for map sources.
truthfultemporarily@feddit.org · 1 pts · 1d
NONE. Paper map and compass, always.
manuremy@sopuli.xyz · 2 pts · 1d
This here. It can get bad and fast if you rely on electronics.. Here we even have "112 app" that supposedly sends your coordinates straight to the emergency people when you make the call through it, yet it usually throws it around ~20 km especially if the weather is bad. Always a real map, a real compass and you must know how to use them!
gazter@aussie.zone · 3 pts · 3h
Both. I use both, because why not?
I try to use paper, then verify with phone if needed. I like to think it's because I'm trying to keep my skills sharp, but to be honest it's more likely that I'm trying to save battery for photos.
manuremy@sopuli.xyz · 1 pts · 3h
Sounds smart. I say map+compass is more important, as I have had multiple devices (from real car navigators to both good and bad Androids to an iPhone) fail on me on critical situations, both when hiking/in the forest or just when visiting a new town and looking for a certain restaurant. Maybe it's bad luck or I got some weird field around me, but map and compass have only failed when I have been a dum-dum. (Or when someone else has "been sure"....)
Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de · 1 pts · 19h
i'm sorry but how is a ibg fragile piece of paper and a bulky compass better than a small phone that can contain maps for the entire world and has a compass built into it?
This just sounds like cringe hipster gatekeeping
manuremy@sopuli.xyz · 0 pts · 8h
Lol what? If the phone misreads the signals, you're easily done then. No matter which app you use. This has happened multiple times on all my devices, from car navigators to shitty and good Androids to iPhones, even when actually using the emergency app or just navigating in a new city, trying to find a certain restaurant. When I have been picking berries, found a good spot and tried to mark it down, the apps have showed that I'm 5 km way, on the another side of a lake.. :D
Noodle07@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 17h
I follow the color signs on the tree trunks... Yeah I dont go hiking much lol
kokesh@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 1d
Locus Map
Malice@lemmy.dbzer0.com · -1 pts · 20h
OruxMaps is the best I've ever found (and it's free). Been using it for nearly 15 years, still getting updated. Extremely flexible and powerful, though navigating the app itself sometimes feels kind of obtuse.
OpenAndroMaps for getting nice maps to use with it.