This article compares AllTrails and Gaia GPS, two popular navigation apps for hikers. The author recounts a multi-day backpacking trip in the Ventana Wilderness, using both apps alongside a paper map and an Apple Watch to track their journey.
AllTrails stood out for its user-friendly route-building tool, while Gaia GPS's was deemed more challenging to edit. However, both exhibited inaccuracies in mileage and elevation gain calculations, significantly differing from each other and CalTopo's estimates. The author notes that Gaia GPS's route-planning tool led to unexpected detours.
AllTrails' route planning was the easiest. Gaia was easy to use, but hard to edit. CalTopo had the most features, but was most finicky.
On the trail, Gaia GPS proved more reliable in tracking the author's actual location. AllTrails' tracking faltered due to user error (pausing and not resuming). Both AllTrails and Gaia GPS offer downloadable maps with premium subscriptions, though the features and pricing vary.
Both apps have default settings that publicly share user data, raising privacy concerns. The author expresses reservations about the amount of data shared with third parties.
The author concludes that neither app is a clear winner, both suffering from inaccuracies and raising privacy concerns. While AllTrails excels in route planning, Gaia GPS shows better on-trail reliability. The author found CalTopo, although not extensively tested in the backcountry, to be the most useful for planning. All in all, the author recommends a backup map alongside any app.