Australia & New Zealand Outdoor Adventure Forum

Or do you prefer the good old printed map?

I confess that I'm not very good either with GPS or with the map, but I think the GPS is much more practical to load and mainly to visualize the routes that I need to follow. I get all the information that I want always quickly and accurately.

When I use the map, I stay for a long time half lost until I actually find myself and see where I have to go.

I too prefer GPS over a map as I get lost easily using a map and it takes me a long time to find out the exact position of myself. But with GPS we can accurately see the routes and also the exact location which is simple and handy and also time-saving.

I have never used a GPS because it's been a while since I go with my bike to the unknown, I am still back from the pre-GPS days! If it was today I would certainly used the GPS, but I didn't even use the map back in the days, I'd simply ask around, like the saying, "who has a mouth, reaches Rome"!

I have to admit, I did try and hold off from using technology and GPS for as long as I could, but recently I have given in. I thought that replacing the old map and compass would take away a lot of the fun of exploring new places, but it hasn't made a great deal of difference really, and certainly hasn't taken away any of the enjoyment that I thought it would.

Technology and GPS is going to become more and more common in the future and sooner or later it IS going to replace the old fashioned way of doing things, so even though we might not want to see the change, I do think that it's going to be inevitable.

GPS has been a useful tool in my hand whenever I am trying to locate new places that I have no idea of how far or near they are from me. Sometimes by means of the GPS I can estimate the distance and the time it will take me to reach a destination. It's great how it guides on the road driving around places a bit strange.

Like you say @tony, GPS is useful and sometimes I often wonder how I managed without it. As with most forms of technology, we seem to be against it at the beginning but when we start using it we find that it makes life a lot easier for us. One of the downsides for me is that the next generation will slowly start to forget how to navigate without the use of it though, and they won't get the 'fun' (if you can call it that) of using a map and compass like we had to in the old days.

Some may say that's a good thing, but it will be another life skill that's no longer needed because of technical innovations that have appeared. What if the GPS stops working? For me and others of a certain age it won't matter because we still have that ability to read a map as a backup but for those younger then they could be well and truly stuck.

Well, whenever I am going for some unknown route or unknown place, I am in habit of using GPS with google maps. Google maps has covered almost all maps and routes here. So it is quite helpful when we are on some unknown place. It is quite accurate so that we don't need to ask for route during travelling. So for me no more map, it is time for using GPS.

I am not using GPS back in my home country but IN Australia I cannot drive without use of GPS. I am not familiar with roads besides the use of GPS makes life far easier. It not only directs to exact and shortest rout but warns you about other possible problems including road closure etc.

I always use GPS, as a matter of fact, I've never used the old maps. Technology has made life easier and anyone can use GPS while not many people can use maps. However, it's advisable to use both because GPS needs internet and some places have no signal.