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Ideas for Viewranger replacement.

Re: Ideas for Viewranger replacement.

Postby Jpsinclair86 » Sat Apr 23, 2022 7:56 pm

Thanks so much for the link to the old VR app. Off an a long hike next week and was appalled to find VR gone.

No aforementioned app has it's functionality for free (that I can easily see), so thanks again very much!
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Re: Ideas for Viewranger replacement.

Postby MRG1 » Fri May 06, 2022 11:12 pm

I'm not sure if anyone is keeping an eye out for further comments on this thread but I feel it worth mentioning that the full paid version of the Alpinequest app has just incorporated some of the open source data provided by OS.
This includes 1:25k rock detailing such as outcrops, scree and cliffs.
It also includes the OS 1:25k water detailing such as burns.
It also seems to include all the OS 1:25k countour lines.
This map can be downloaded for offline use and can have any of the Openstreetmap maps overlaid to show paths, etc.
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Re: Ideas for Viewranger replacement.

Postby rodderss » Sat May 07, 2022 7:33 am

I tried Locus and Topo gps this week.

Quite liked Topo, it has the direction arrow you are facing on your position which it seems others don’t. Has os maps that have to be paid for.Will persevere with it whilst trying others.

Locus is binned had me 200 metres off summit of a sub2 , not to be trusted and also found it a bit fiddly. might have been user error but not good first impression.

Have downloaded Anquet to try this week.
Will have a look at Alpine quest as well.

Nothing holds a candle to Viewranger for simplicity and polish so far.Maybe just finding change difficult after years of complete trust in viewranger.
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Re: Ideas for Viewranger replacement.

Postby MRG1 » Sat May 07, 2022 9:30 am

rodderss wrote:I tried Locus and Topo gps this week.

Quite liked Topo, it has the direction arrow you are facing on your position which it seems others don’t. Has os maps that have to be paid for.Will persevere with it whilst trying others.

Locus is binned had me 200 metres off summit of a sub2 , not to be trusted and also found it a bit fiddly. might have been user error but not good first impression.

Have downloaded Anquet to try this week.
Will have a look at Alpine quest as well.

Nothing holds a candle to Viewranger for simplicity and polish so far.Maybe just finding change difficult after years of complete trust in viewranger.


I hope you find a solution that suits you, it took me a while to find a Viewranger replacement.
It shows the quality of Viewranger that I eventually settled on two / three apps to replace it.
I use Alpinequest, Backcountry Navigator Pro and Orux (as a backup).
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Re: Ideas for Viewranger replacement.

Postby WalkWithWallace » Sat May 07, 2022 9:04 pm

I was using Locus in Wales during the week as I didn't have some of the NP on Viewranger, it was spot on and I liked the fact that I didn't have to unlock my phone to use it, just press the power button and boom there it was. :D
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Re: Ideas for Viewranger replacement.

Postby rodderss » Fri May 13, 2022 2:50 pm

After another hillwalk experimenting

I’m happy with Topo on phone , seems to work well and easy enough to use and os maps on Samsung tablet also like os maps for plotting routes and purchased a Garmin Fenix 6 watch.
3 layers of protection.

Tablet never really leaves rucksack only when I want to see maps on a bigger screen.

The watch was superb for navigation and battery lasts forever so another worry less I also like a stat which it has loads of from recorded walks.
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Re: Ideas for Viewranger replacement.

Postby jupe1407 » Mon May 16, 2022 7:25 am

I'm another former Viewranger user here. I tried my best to give OutdoorActive a chance, but frankly it's abysmal in comparison. A shining example in how to take something that works well and make it harder and more awkward to use. I binned it as soon as my free trial was coming to an end and bought OS Maps.
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Re: Ideas for Viewranger replacement.

Postby BrightEyes16 » Wed Jun 01, 2022 4:40 pm

MRG1 wrote:I'm not sure if anyone is keeping an eye out for further comments on this thread but I feel it worth mentioning that the full paid version of the Alpinequest app has just incorporated some of the open source data provided by OS.
This includes 1:25k rock detailing such as outcrops, scree and cliffs.
It also includes the OS 1:25k water detailing such as burns.
It also seems to include all the OS 1:25k countour lines.
This map can be downloaded for offline use and can have any of the Openstreetmap maps overlaid to show paths, etc.


Hi Matthew. I've been following this thread for a while as I check out different apps. I've ended up going with BCN and Alpinequest Pro too and wanted to ask you (or anyone else) about the different maps. I haven't used OSM maps before. What is your experience of the differences between the Thunderforest Outdoor map and the OSM Open Topo map? To me they appear to basically give the same information. The Thunderforest Landscape map also appears to be a stripped back version of the Outdoor map with no new detail. I unfortunately could not find the Openandromap on Alpinequest, maybe it is just available on BCN? Does that map have detail that the others don't include?

I basically wonder if the Thunderforest Outdoor map gives everything useful for hiking and camping and is the best option for detail of paths, water, contour lines, forests, etc (besides actual OS maps, which I do have on BCN). Just wondering what I'd miss out on if I don't install the maps I mentioned. I also overlay OS Opendata on top on my other maps and as you say it gives extra detail on burns etc which is nice, so thank you for that suggestion!
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Re: Ideas for Viewranger replacement.

Postby Kenny Raeside » Wed Jun 01, 2022 4:52 pm

jupe1407 wrote:I'm another former Viewranger user here. I tried my best to give OutdoorActive a chance, but frankly it's abysmal in comparison. A shining example in how to take something that works well and make it harder and more awkward to use. I binned it as soon as my free trial was coming to an end and bought OS Maps.


Hi jupe1407
What was it that didn’t work for you ?
I’m curious as I too loved VR but have been using the free version of OA and find it works great. I can download tracks into it and it works offline.
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Re: Ideas for Viewranger replacement.

Postby jolly47roger » Wed Jun 01, 2022 6:33 pm

All OSM-based maps (Thunderforest, OpenAndroMaps, etc) have basically the same level of information. In popular areas the data is well-mapped but off the beaten track a lot is missing.
Where I was walking my dog on the edge of a large city this morning there are two signed, parallel, rights of way - one is on Open Street Map but the other is not.
Many small features are missing, too - streams, copses and remote buildings.

If you need these, you need either an OS map - or one based on OS Opendata but including a good set of data for rights of way as from rowmaps.com
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Re: Ideas for Viewranger replacement.

Postby MRG1 » Wed Jun 01, 2022 7:26 pm

BrightEyes16 wrote:

Hi Matthew. I've been following this thread for a while as I check out different apps. I've ended up going with BCN and Alpinequest Pro too and wanted to ask you (or anyone else) about the different maps. I haven't used OSM maps before. What is your experience of the differences between the Thunderforest Outdoor map and the OSM Open Topo map? To me they appear to basically give the same information. The Thunderforest Landscape map also appears to be a stripped back version of the Outdoor map with no new detail. I unfortunately could not find the Openandromap on Alpinequest, maybe it is just available on BCN? Does that map have detail that the others don't include?

I basically wonder if the Thunderforest Outdoor map gives everything useful for hiking and camping and is the best option for detail of paths, water, contour lines, forests, etc (besides actual OS maps, which I do have on BCN). Just wondering what I'd miss out on if I don't install the maps I mentioned. I also overlay OS Opendata on top on my other maps and as you say it gives extra detail on burns etc which is nice, so thank you for that suggestion!


Hi, I'll try to answer all of your queries in order but first I'd like to point out that jolly47roger has got it absolutely spot on regarding OSM and it's "descendants."
I recently ended up doing a "seven point shuffle" (hands, bum, elbows and trekking poles :lol: ) down a nasty steep slope because Openstreetmap maps said there was a path, I'll be damned if I could see it so I had to find an alternative descent.
They're a fantastic resource, they're still my first go-to choice but bear in mind that they're opensource and rely (mostly) on non professionals for the maintenance of the maps.

And so without further ado ...
In my understanding the difference between the Thunderforest Outdoor map and Landscape map is that the Landscape map concentrates more on the natural features.
The outdoor map concentrates more on what someone might need for outdoor pursuits.
In my opinion it's really strange that they chose to split them like that.

The OSM opentopo map SEEMS to incorporate ALL of the information contained in the Thunderforest Outdoor and landscape maps so in that respect I tend to lean more towards that.
However, good luck using it in bright sunlight because paths, fences, etc are quite difficult to see (although that might be my old eyes).
A tip here if I may is that those difficult to see features can be made easier to see but a bit more "blocky" by reducing the apps' screen resolution.
In Alpinequest there is a setting which allows the resolution to be set very quickly by holding down the zoom in or out button (it always reset after the app is restarted though).

Openandromaps can't be used on Alpinequest, it can be used on some other apps. I do have Orux as a backup but I tend to use BCN pro.
I keep Openandromaps as a backup but to be honest I'm not overly keen on it, I much prefer the Openstreetmap originals.
It does seem to have ALL the Openstreetmap detail but it just seems clunky, perhaps that's my age showing. :lol:
Bear in mind that there are two thingmies (I can't remember the term, I want to say "themes") that can be selected for Openandromaps "Elevate" and "elements."
They both have the same data, but elements shows all the data all the time so the map can get very cluttered.
Elevate adds that info as you zoom in so it's less cluttered, a bit like Google maps.
Having said that elements often doesn't always show all the icons at all the zoom levels so you have to zoom in then out, therefore that's one of my "clunky complaints.'

Your question about the suitability of the Thunderforest Outdoor map really is very subjective. Personally I prefer the opentopo map. Mainly because it seems to incorporate all the detail shown on the Thunderforest Outdoor and landscape maps. I reduce its resolution and it's far easier to see.
The only thing I would say there is: contour lines.
I was recently in a position where I was able to test the OS opendata countour lines against various OSM contour lines and I've got to say that the OS opendata wins hands down.
Nothing particularly wrong with the OSM lines, it's just that OS is superior, I'll do a few screenshots in a minute.

Phew, sorry that reply grew arms and legs :lol:

I hope it goes some way to helping.
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Re: Ideas for Viewranger replacement.

Postby MRG1 » Wed Jun 01, 2022 7:47 pm

BrightEyes16 wrote:Hi Matthew. I've been following this thread for a while as I check out different apps. I've ended up going with BCN and Alpinequest Pro too and wanted to ask you (or anyone else) about the different maps. I haven't used OSM maps before. What is your experience of the differences between the Thunderforest Outdoor map and the OSM Open Topo map? To me they appear to basically give the same information. The Thunderforest Landscape map also appears to be a stripped back version of the Outdoor map with no new detail. I unfortunately could not find the Openandromap on Alpinequest, maybe it is just available on BCN? Does that map have detail that the others don't include?

I basically wonder if the Thunderforest Outdoor map gives everything useful for hiking and camping and is the best option for detail of paths, water, contour lines, forests, etc (besides actual OS maps, which I do have on BCN). Just wondering what I'd miss out on if I don't install the maps I mentioned. I also overlay OS Opendata on top on my other maps and as you say it gives extra detail on burns etc which is nice, so thank you for that suggestion!


As promised here are some screenshots showing the quality of the OS opendata countour lines.
I've got the center spot near two little Knolls which are missing from everything but OS opendata.
It actually also highlights the advantages I personally think the OSM opentopo map has in that it seems to have it all.

So ...
Attachments
Screenshot_20220601_193614.jpg
Thunderforest Outdoor
Screenshot_20220601_193601.jpg
Thunderforest landscape
Last edited by MRG1 on Wed Jun 01, 2022 7:50 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Ideas for Viewranger replacement.

Postby MRG1 » Wed Jun 01, 2022 7:49 pm

Sorry, for some reason had to create a second post for the screenshots
Attachments
Screenshot_20220601_193713.jpg
OS opendata
Screenshot_20220601_193658.jpg
OSM opentopo
Screenshot_20220601_193643.jpg
OSM cycle
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Re: Ideas for Viewranger replacement.

Postby MRG1 » Wed Jun 01, 2022 8:00 pm

And because I'm on a roll I'll show how the resolution "improves' the OSM opentopo map :lol:
Attachments
Screenshot_20220601_195430.jpg
High resolution
Screenshot_20220601_195452.jpg
Medium Resolution
Screenshot_20220601_195519.jpg
Low resolution
Screenshot_20220601_195533.jpg
Very low resolution
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Re: Ideas for Viewranger replacement.

Postby BrightEyes16 » Wed Jun 01, 2022 9:36 pm

MRG1 wrote:I hope it goes some way to helping.


It does, a lot, thanks so much for the detailed reply! I've had another look myself after reading this and can see a few things the Thunderforest maps are lacking now that OpenTopo has detail for.

I see your point about the OS Opendata contour lines too.. Have you found a way to layer them with the OpenTopo map without it looking messy with two set of contour lines? I've played around a lot and still am not fully satisfied.. By adjusting the tint, contrast and layer mode etc you can make it better at least though.
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