3 ms·

Osmand(fDroid) + brouter Best offline navigation there is. You can even customize your navigation profiles.

by firebot 1y ago

morsch 1y ago
Too bad that using brouter with osmand is so complicated.
- firebot 1y ago
  Not really? You just select brouter in osmand. Make sure you select the correct profile for brouter. Server mode engages and it just works. Sure, you also need to download the tiles for brouter.
  - morsch 1y ago
    Well, I set it up, but I had to refer to the manual and it still took me like five to ten minutes. https://osmand.net/de/docs/user/navigation/routing/brouter/ https://osmand.net/de/docs/user/navigation/routing/brouter/ Novice users wouldn't stand a chance; though admittedly they'd be totally lost with osmand anyway. It is amazingly fast, gotta be said.
u8080 1y ago
Organic Maps is also very solid project
- MayeulC 1y ago
  It is, but brouter's navigation is really much better. Just yesterday, I was in a relatively unfamiliar, small (european) city which I needed to cross. Organic Maps was sending me trough small streets I would have shared with cars. I fired up OSMAnd + Brouter to compare, and ended up picking the latter: it sent me trough bike/bus-only roads, then a park, to reach a dedicated bike lane along the river, far from any traffic. The trip was a pleasure, though maybe a few percent longer.
microtonal 1y ago
The nice thing about real GPSr units and things like Garmin watches is that they (depending on the model) can last a week to even weeks. E.g., if you use a GPSmap 67s for 8 hours per day, it lasts 3 weeks. In the older units you can even put AA batteries. Cycling with a phone with the screen on and at full brightness (which is what you need on a sunny day), a phone will last a few hours at most. The magic of good GPSr units is that they use a transflective display, the sun is your 'backlight'. (And of course using something more akin to a microcontroller than a smartphone SoC.) Also, in contrast to smartphones, these things are really rugged. Like last year I was cycling through the alps and accidentally dropped my GPSmap at ~30km/h (without a case or protection, who puts them on a GPSr?). It only has some scratches.
- firebot 1y ago
  I just keep my phone in my pocket and use voice navigation. Also carry a power bank and chargers. Airplane mode will also save lots of power.
MayeulC 1y ago
It is really good, and Brouter-web is really useful too. However, that combo is a battery hog. For some reason, OSMAnd drains a lot more battery when using it in guidance mode with Brouter, even though routing is much faster than with the built-in algorithm. I heard that Locus maps has a much better brouter integration, though it is unfortunately closed-source: battery-efficient, automatic brouter detection, profile selection from within the app. I also wish the brouter app would get a fresh coat of paint (a UI redesign), but that is secondary.

Osmand(fDroid) + brouter Best offline navigation there is. You can even customize your navigation profiles.

morsch 1y ago

Too bad that using brouter with osmand is so complicated.

firebot 1y ago
Not really? You just select brouter in osmand. Make sure you select the correct profile for brouter. Server mode engages and it just works. Sure, you also need to download the tiles for brouter.
- morsch 1y ago
  Well, I set it up, but I had to refer to the manual and it still took me like five to ten minutes. https://osmand.net/de/docs/user/navigation/routing/brouter/ https://osmand.net/de/docs/user/navigation/routing/brouter/ Novice users wouldn't stand a chance; though admittedly they'd be totally lost with osmand anyway. It is amazingly fast, gotta be said.

u8080 1y ago

Organic Maps is also very solid project

MayeulC 1y ago
It is, but brouter's navigation is really much better. Just yesterday, I was in a relatively unfamiliar, small (european) city which I needed to cross. Organic Maps was sending me trough small streets I would have shared with cars. I fired up OSMAnd + Brouter to compare, and ended up picking the latter: it sent me trough bike/bus-only roads, then a park, to reach a dedicated bike lane along the river, far from any traffic. The trip was a pleasure, though maybe a few percent longer.

microtonal 1y ago

The nice thing about real GPSr units and things like Garmin watches is that they (depending on the model) can last a week to even weeks. E.g., if you use a GPSmap 67s for 8 hours per day, it lasts 3 weeks. In the older units you can even put AA batteries. Cycling with a phone with the screen on and at full brightness (which is what you need on a sunny day), a phone will last a few hours at most. The magic of good GPSr units is that they use a transflective display, the sun is your 'backlight'. (And of course using something more akin to a microcontroller than a smartphone SoC.) Also, in contrast to smartphones, these things are really rugged. Like last year I was cycling through the alps and accidentally dropped my GPSmap at ~30km/h (without a case or protection, who puts them on a GPSr?). It only has some scratches.

firebot 1y ago
I just keep my phone in my pocket and use voice navigation. Also carry a power bank and chargers. Airplane mode will also save lots of power.

MayeulC 1y ago

It is really good, and Brouter-web is really useful too. However, that combo is a battery hog. For some reason, OSMAnd drains a lot more battery when using it in guidance mode with Brouter, even though routing is much faster than with the built-in algorithm. I heard that Locus maps has a much better brouter integration, though it is unfortunately closed-source: battery-efficient, automatic brouter detection, profile selection from within the app. I also wish the brouter app would get a fresh coat of paint (a UI redesign), but that is secondary.