Motion X and Gaia map questions

Superduty

Adventurer
I have been doing a ton of reading about mapping apps for offroad trails. I am still a little confused (OK, maybe a lot confused). I installed both Motion x and Gaia on my ipad to play around with each. Both seem to have their pros and cons. I am not asking to compare the two.

Currently, my primary confusion is the downloading of maps.


Which map(s) do i want to download? For example if one were planning a Mojave Road trip.

At what resolution do I want to download those maps?

It seems on Motion X the size of the map file grows tremendously fast when you get into the higher detail levels. I have a 32 GB ipad with 23.5 GB free. Is that enough space? I assume on Gaia the files can be huge as well. However, when you only download the area outside the trail it seems like a good way to keep the size within reason.

We get used to seeing the amazing satellite images in Google earth on our computers connected to wifi all the time, is that level of detail simply not realistic for Motion X or Gaia when using cached maps/images?

Is this high resolution imagery even available on Motion x or Gaia (absent creating a custom map elsewhere and then importing it in to one of the two apps)?


Gaia has a function where after you upload a track into it you can tell it to download the corresponding section of maps (for offline use). I believe the app then automatically downloads a small area in each direction surrounding the trail. This seems like a good function and makes downloading the maps easy. This is only a good function if you plan on sticking to your trail and not exploring much beyond the particular trail.

Does anyone know if there is a similar feature in Motion X?


TIA for your assistance.

Jack
 

Ericwc

New member
So as to what maps to download that is personal preference. But again take a look at the different map types you can download and see which one you like best. Not all map types are available to download due to license restrictions. Which takes me to your Satellite images question. Google, Bing, Apple own the rights to those images and do not make the available to download by other apps, so No it not possible as far as I know to download Sat imagery into MotionX or Gaia. I use MotionX and I download the motionX road view usually. 23GB should be plenty. I usually only download the areas that I plan to be off-road because it is usually the area that will not have cell service, and as such not able to pull down maps on the fly. The more detail the better but space and personal preference will influence how detail you want. In motionX I try and set max zoom to at least 16, 17 or 18 if space allows.

I have not used Gaia in a very long time but the feature to import a track and download the area around it is pretty cool.

Hope this helps.
Eric
 

pluton

Adventurer
I have multiple large areas of USGS 7.5 topo maps(all of Death Valley, all of GSENM, more, more, etc) downloaded and "permanently" stored at max resolution from Gaia, and it's just a few gigs...maybe 8 or 10 GB...I can't get you the exact figure. I once downloaded (from Gaia) Google Road for just the cities of Southern California and it took a way more "GBs per square mile" than the USGS topo maps.
 

1Louder

Explorer
Gaia USFS 2016 or Classic if they are available for the area. 13-15 size will work. Some folks love satellite images. The USFS are my preferred maps because they offer the most detail on trail names/numbers. Motion X is not the best for map downloads. You have limited choices as well. If you have a track for Gaia/ Load the track and then tell the app to download maps for the trail. That is the easiest way to get maps. I believe it will download 8 miles on either side of the track line but it may be 4 on each side. Gaia will tell you the amount of storage required based on the area you select to download if you don't use the download for track feature and are just using the main map.
 

REDrum

Aventurero de la Selva
Been using MXHD for a few years. For its price its great. Map tiles with usable level of detail do require a lot of memory. I've to upgrade to 128 ipad to support all map tiles of US North East, Quebec, and Nicaragua/Costa Rica/Panama
 

e60ral

2016 4Runner Trail w/KDSS
That depends entirely on your use, Gaia or Motion-X is more then sufficient for probably 90% of users here
 

1Louder

Explorer
is it better to use a dedicated gps like lowrance etc.

I would never go back to a dedicated hardware GPS device. I like the flexibility of apps on smartphones and tablets. Others disagree. Plenty of companies can write great software applications. Attempting to design, develop, build, and sell a dedicated piece of hardware is entirely different. I just don't see the need to do it. iPad on a RAM mount works great.
 

SirCampalot

Adventurer
I've been using Motion-X for about 5-years now. It works, but the biggest gripe that I have about the app is the amount of time it takes to download the tiles for offline maps.
 

C-Fish

Adventurer
It is better to use other Gps.


Please quantify your statement.

I and many other use Gaia GPS via an iPad and have zero complaints with the hardware and software. The iPad is a fantastic solution that also allows the user to use the device for more than just GPs capabilities.
 

esh

Explorer
I've been using Motion-X for about 5-years now. It works, but the biggest gripe that I have about the app is the amount of time it takes to download the tiles for offline maps.

It's probably no better than with Gaia. Seems to take forever.
 

e60ral

2016 4Runner Trail w/KDSS
yeah, and sometimes it will just randomly stop, you have to keep opening the app and pay attention
 

mikekey

Deplorable
Please quantify your statement.

I and many other use Gaia GPS via an iPad and have zero complaints with the hardware and software. The iPad is a fantastic solution that also allows the user to use the device for more than just GPs capabilities.

I just spent 15 days in Moab using Gaia GPS with a 3rd generation iPad Mini with Wifi+LTE on a ram mount. I love this app. Zero problems with the GPS creating accurate tracks when I'm without service.

Here is an example of a track recorded when I drove out Gold Bar rim to the Golden Crack on Golden Spike:
https://www.gaiagps.com/public/wndP4SaNOUSsDgkH43jZwvw1

The tiles do take awhile to download, especially when you are dealing with a couple of gigs. But otherwise, it was a sold performer. I've completely stopped using Motion X.
 

1Louder

Explorer
I just spent 15 days in Moab using Gaia GPS with a 3rd generation iPad Mini with Wifi+LTE on a ram mount. I love this app. Zero problems with the GPS creating accurate tracks when I'm without service.

Here is an example of a track recorded when I drove out Gold Bar rim to the Golden Crack on Golden Spike:
https://www.gaiagps.com/public/wndP4SaNOUSsDgkH43jZwvw1


The tiles do take awhile to download, especially when you are dealing with a couple of gigs. But otherwise, it was a sold performer. I've completely stopped using Motion X.

The new version of GAIA will be out very soon. I have heard that Motion-X is no longer being updated. Glad it worked well for you. Gaia is a great app.
 

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