goHUNT, OnX, BaseMap? Which and why for e scouting?

[bigbuck247]

I’ve used OnX, BaseMap and Google Earth to e scout so far. Looking at goHUNT for the 3D on a desktop since BadeMap is only 3D on your phone. I prefer BaseMap over OnX and tend to use Google map once I find the area I’m looking for on BaseMap. Any other suggestions or is goHUNT worth it otherwise or for the 3D on the desktop?
TIA

 

[texwest44]

I've only used OnX and goHunt, and of the two I prefer OnX. And I only say that because I fish and hunt local to my state 99% of the time, and am really only interested in the mapping features of these programs. goHunt had a lot of really great resources for adventurous trophy hunting, but I didn't really need them, and they were asking quite the premium at the time. It's been a couple years, but I imagine much hasn't changed. goHunt just costs too much and offers too much for anyone who's kind of a homebody outdoorser.

I've been looking at BaseMap, and it looks like a pretty ok app, and for less than what OnX is asking. I'm not making a huge fuss about less than $30/year I pay for OnX, but I'm curious as to what some of the pros and cons might be from anyone here who has experience with both.

Edit: I'll say right now OnX could stand update their map imagery more often. Lots of outdated stuff on there. I'll also say that their non-downloaded map quality itself has gone up considerably over the last couple years. I suppose it just depends on what you're looking for.

 

[WapitiBob]

Nobody can beat Google earth pro for stand alone desktop e scouting. 3D in goHUNT has a few more options but 3D viewshed in ge will get you most of what your after.
GoHUNT is an all encompassing platform, you can’t really compare pricing.
Nobody has 3D on a phone without service.

 

[bigbuck247]

Nobody can beat Google earth pro for stand alone desktop e scouting. 3D in goHUNT has a few more options but 3D viewshed in ge will get you most of what your after.
GoHUNT is an all encompassing platform, you can’t really compare pricing.
Nobody has 3D on a phone without service.

I just wish that Basemap on the desktop had 3D. I don’t see how you get it on your phone but not desktop. Unless I’m just doing something wrong.

 

[WapitiBob]

No idea, I’m not a fan of the software.

 

[Trial153]

I dont like base map at all. I will be going back to onx as soon as my subscription expires. I might look at gohunts mapping as well.

 

[bigbuck247]

I dont like base map at all. I will be going back to onx as soon as my subscription expires. I might look at gohunts mapping as well.

Curious what you saw in OnX that BaseMap didn’t have? Or is it just the layout being different? I found BaseMap to be way more user friendly and more accurate than OnX.

 

[Brendan]

Google Earth for desktop scouting. Caltopo paid subscription gives you additional layer overlays within GE.

I prefer Gaia to both Basemap and OnX for everything in the field.

 

[rustednuts]

I run GoHunt, GE and OnX. Most of my desktop scouting is in GE then GoHunt lastly OnX. I’m using GoHunt in the field with OnX as a backup. If you’re planning on applying in multiple states I’d get GoHunt and consider their maps product as a bonus.

 

[WapitiBob]

Curious what you saw in OnX that BaseMap didn’t have? Or is it just the layout being different? I found BaseMap to be way more user friendly and more accurate than OnX.

The ability to bulk delete. Import 300 waypoints into basemap then try to delete them.
Basemap plasters the unit name across every section when the unit layer is turned on.
Basemap uses older mapbox/esri imaging where I hunt.

 

[Sytes]

Basemap was interesting though I was already adept with OnX. Not a fan of testing this and that. At the time reviews here, friends, and elsewhere all pointed towards OnX.
Never messed w/ GoHunt. In fact, apologies Randy, though I was further solidified when he switched to GoHunt. Kinda bordered the, wtf? OnX was there for you. F-k GoHunt! Business... I get it though this is my business to stick w/ OnX.

Great people, great customer service, great user friendly product.

My comfort has been w/ what works and OnX does all +.

 

[2rocky]

I use onX every day. Right now I'm tracking wildfires progress in the Sierra with darn good accuracy.

 

[BuglinDrew]

OnX for finding roads, trails, burns, roadless areas and general hunting zones. Google Earth for actually looking at terrain in 3D. I’ve had a GoHUNT membership for a few years but the mobile mapping still seems a little buggy for me to cancel OnX.

 

[BT_NVhunter]

I like layering with GoHunt but onX is better on the mobile app use in the field. Also like OnX topo better. I use both and gohunt is getting less and less glitchy as the weeks go on. I tend to use GoHunt for all my escouting waypoints and planning and then what I find in the field and tracking is done with OnX and I switch back and forth. Seems to work for me but definitely lean towards GoHunt for the desktop.

 

[Trial153]

Curious what you saw in OnX that BaseMap didn’t have? Or is it just the layout being different? I found BaseMap to be way more user friendly and more accurate than OnX.

~ layout is too cluttered.
~ imagery for some area is very old, for example, my house shows a wood shed I took down about 5 years go.
~ owner info comes up for adjacent properties instead of property i click on.
~ and my biggest pet peeve is all property boundrys are shown regarless of the zoom level....a big pain in the ass when your tryinng to narrow down things by relative size.
There are others as well but these are the main ones
I also hate that i had to pay for it though itunes because i would rather manage my account through the app not a third party. All in all the only thing it had going vs onx is the price.

 

[Beignet]

I’m going to throw Gaia GPS out there as another option. They’ve got loads of layers that go well beyond the hunting & fishing side of things that are tons of fun to mess with. Bedrock geology, NOAA charts, avalanche predictions, Nat Geo overlays, historical & current fires, lumber harvests, the MVUM, maps that show distances from the road, light pollution, etc. All in addition the the hunting related stuff that most of the more pricey folks produce (public/private boundaries, hunting unit boundaries, block management and the similar, etc). Plus, you can make your own layers if you’re handy with things like open map source and crunching csv data and such into it. It’s not the most off the shelf intuitive app, but is pretty great after you mess with it a bit.

 

[pennybuy]

I am new to this OnX I am mostly looking for mapping that will show public land and private land. I am getting into dispersed camping and need something that works good for showing public and private land and small dirt roads to explore. Would this be something that OnX would be good for ???

 

[BT_NVhunter]

I am new to this OnX I am mostly looking for mapping that will show public land and private land. I am getting into dispersed camping and need something that works good for showing public and private land and small dirt roads to explore. Would this be something that OnX would be good for ???

Absolutely any of the hunting maps app can show you OnX I believe is the most comprehensive I like go hunt but their focus is western states so they don’t do Have all 50 states. Mainly I just like the way you can adjust the visibility of the filters and still see the imagery underneath.

 

[JAG]

Not only does ONX have bulk delete, but it also has bulk-select so that you can assign 1 or 100 waypoints to a single group. Within one unit, I have four groups or zones of waypoints arranged by daily glassing assignment and I'm able to turn all of them on or off.

GoHunt satellite images are still grainy and ONX is a little better. Google Earth's image quality is far superior (BaseMap uses GE for their satellite layer). I cycle between ONX and GE for satellite imagery. GE displays heavy game traffic which could be cattle traffic, but this detail is helpful. I can see game traffic on ONX, but only after I've found it using Google Earth.

The two (2) things I like most about GoHunt are 1) elevation layers and 2) Distance features. The Distance tool is able to measure bullet distance across a canyon simultaneously with measuring hike distance. Also for glassing purposes, the distance tool shows you what blocks your view from a given glassing position. I want to know where I need to go to be able to view as many places as possible.

I thought ONX had a tool that allowed me to increase or decrease the transparency of layers, but I can't find it anymore. I love that GoHunt has this transparency feature.

I realize you can just mark a mile from a road to find the roadless areas, but I really, really love ONX's purple roadless layer.

 

[JAG]

I am new to this OnX I am mostly looking for mapping that will show public land and private land. I am getting into dispersed camping and need something that works good for showing public and private land and small dirt roads to explore. Would this be something that OnX would be good for ???

ONX and GoHunt both have good features that reveal public vs private. With ONX, I will just leave the Private Land layer on once I get comfortable with the terrain's public land and wilderness area locations. The private land layer is clear and uses thin, bright red lines to show borders. In this selection, I scan and scan without colored layers tinting terrain features.