GAIA prices increasing bigtine...

[Teqsand]

Looks like GAIA got popular and now a little greedy
that's a huge price jump, what are we getting for the increase?

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[ppfd]

Yep, I had the outside plus magazine subscription. It included Gaia and Trail Forks

Think I paid, $30.00 last Christmas for a special. It was $90.00 to renew!
I rarely read the magazines and occasionally used the maps for hiking.
Cancelled it last night.

I have base map for a map program.

 

[Teqsand]

Ya time to cancel I think....

 

[chorky]

I bet they see the chance to charge more because several YouTubers use it as their way to share trip information with their pattern members. That and I bet they need more server space, which isn't cheap.

I really like what OnX has done recently and working with a coupe of their developers they are trying to roll out some really cool features possibly this summer.

Caltopo is a great program too. They have not changed price recently and you can run some simple GIS processing functions like visibility analysis, sun exposure, etc which is pretty awesome. It is more expensive though.

 

[HooliganActual]

My GAIA subscription was up for renewal at the beginning of the year and for almost doubling the cost with no apparent increase in service/features, it did not get renewed.

I’ve been using my Garmin Tread exclusively for the last year and it provides way more of the functionalities that I want. It’s certainly not free but is way more worth its price.

Goodbye GAIA…it was fun while it lasted.

 

[Teqsand]

Wonderware I will lose by giving up subscription, can I download the trips I've saved?
I'm NOT about this price increase, and want to end it

 

[JeeperFIN]

Wonderware I will lose by giving up subscription, can I download the trips I've saved?
I'm NOT about this price increase, and want to end it

IOS version: Go to saved -> 3dots of the track you want to save -> share -> export file -> save to your phone.

 

[sharpsicle]

Weird, I just renewed my Gaia subscription for the regular price...

I'll have to watch out for this next year.

 

[Zybane]

Show these companies their crazy price increases aren't going to fly and cancel.

 

[Volt0]

My GAIA subscription was up for renewal at the beginning of the year and for almost doubling the cost with no apparent increase in service/features, it did not get renewed.

I’ve been using my Garmin Tread exclusively for the last year and it provides way more of the functionalities that I want. It’s certainly not free but is way more worth its price.

Goodbye GAIA…it was fun while it lasted.

That’s kind of spensive. Why not just use an iPad mini with cell/gps, but without the phone plan?

 

[dajudge]

I bought the five year plan right when they got bought out. Still a few years left. We will see what they do when it is up.

 

[HooliganActual]

That’s kind of spensive. Why not just use an iPad mini with cell/gps, but without the phone plan?

First off, I love my Garmin Tread XL Overland and think it's the best thing since sliced bread and that every overlander should have one. I'm hoping that your post was truly inquisitive and wanted to understand my preference; if not, please don't take the following post as sniping or sarcastic or anything like that. More than anything I am trying to convey the thought process that led me down this path...

If all I wanted was to know my position on a map, then you're right, an iPad Mini would do the job. In fact, I have an iPhone 13 Pro Max which isn't far off of an iPad Mini in size and it does have a phone plan and let's me see my position on a map.

That's effectively what GAIA was doing, using the iPhone's GPS to show a location on a map, but it also showed you tracks and trails that were already in their system, allowed you to plot your own track, import trails from TrailsOffroad (i think) and such. Oh! and it was also CarPlay compatible so I could throw it up on the Uconnect screen. For $40/yr I was okay with that. I didn't use it much but my wife liked it. She would track our courses on GAIA on her phone while I was using the Garmin to navigate. We used GAIA in conjunction with the TrailsOffroad importing before we got the Garmin Tread so running it as a backup was nice.

So then why use the Garmin at THAT subscription cost, which is 12 times the GAIA price. Simple...unlimited two way texting and MapShare.

I spend a lot of time backpacking and have a Garmin Mini. The Garmin product allows me to plot my course in advance at my desktop then download it to the device. In the field, that allows me to ensure I am following the trail. Additionally, I can send a MapShare link to my wife (or anyone else) that allows her to see my movements in real time on Garmin's website. Additionally, unlimited two-way texting allows me to let her know I am okay or if I need help. The Garmin Mini literally allowed this conversation once:
Wife: "You've been stopped for 30 minutes. Are you okay?"
Me: "Stopped for lunch and a little blister maintenance. I'm about to start hiking now"

So that made a lot of sense for solo hiking, especially as I was hiking the Arizona National Scenic Trail (800+ miles). I could let her know I was okay and could signal/discuss resupply logistics from the trail. But that was hiking...

The way Garmin's inReach products work is that my subscription is for all of my inReach devices, but only one device at a time. So if I'm planning a backpacking trip, I call Garmin and tell them to shift the service to my Garmin Mini and a few minutes later, my Mini is activated (at no cost because it's a "benefit" of the subscription). If we are planning an Overlanding trip, I just activate my Tread XL Overland.

But that's not all, the Tread allows me the same benefits of SOS, two way texting, advance route building, etc. as the Garmin Mini and, for several years (before the Tread was introduced to the market), I used my Garmin Mini with its Smartphone App Earthmate running on my phone mounted to the dash.
Here's my original DeLorme inReach in my Wrangler:

And here's what the old Earthmate app looked like. The red is the pre-plotted course downloaded to the device and the cyan is track that has been recorded in progress (this is El Oso Road on top of the Four Peaks Wilderness area for anyone who knows the area):

But the Tread also allows me to do a ton of stuff in the field as well. I can route build in the field (because it is connected to satellites), I can download 3D aerial views of the area I am in and actually show my live tracking on aerial satellite maps versus on a 2D map, it comes preloaded with iOverlander and Ultimate Public Campgrounds (smartphone apps) and their data is one of many different overlays I can select for my Tread's maps, and a surprising feature that I find myself using more and more...it shows who the land owners are. These aren't the only features it has, rather the one's I use every trip.

The plans start as low as $14.95/month but can go up quite a bit from there. You can even shut the plan off and not pay for it if you only use the device seasonally, say if you live in Michigan and won't be trail riding for half the year. I live in Arizona and am retired, so I use mine every month of the year. We are sort of reverse snow birds...we play in the southwest during the winter and then head to Ouray and Telluride and such during the summer to escape Arizona's heat. We can stay in constant contact with our kids (adult kids) via text and MapShare. I also send my wheeling buddy a MapShare link and can text him if I get in trouble; more importantly he has my GPS location and can contact offroad recovery in the area I'm at if needed. It's a great bit of security and peace of mind.

I don't work for Garmin, am not sponsored by Garmin, and have no particular loyalty to Garmin so this "testimonial" is purely unsolicited. In fact, I was on board with the inReach devices for several years when they were owned by DeLorme before Garmin bought them. Luckily, Garmin essentially left DeLorme's technology and such alone but just slapped a Garmin sticker on everything which is refreshing because most buyouts wind up screwing things up

I'll wrap up this diatribe by saying, you are right, I could use an iPad Mini with no Cell plan, in essence my iPhone provides that. But when I am outside of cell range, my Garmin Tread XL Overland offers so much more.

I have it on a quick release mount (hardwired for charging) that typically hangs down covering the Uconnect screen when on trail but can be swung up or removed from mount if needed.

This past week we did 300 miles of the 675 mile Arizona Peace Trail and here's a live (at the time) shot of my track on the device:

I hope this answers your question or anyone else questions(s). If anyone wants to know more, PM me and I'd be happy to extol the virtues of the wondrous Garmin Tread XL Overland!!! lol

Cheers

 

[Volt0]

First off, I love my Garmin Tread XL Overland and think it's the best thing since sliced bread and that every overlander should have one. I'm hoping that your post was truly inquisitive and wanted to understand my preference; if not, please don't take the following post as sniping or sarcastic or anything like that. More than anything I am trying to convey the thought process that led me down this path...

Sometimes written communication isn’t as good as verbal, or face to face. You interpreted my question in a good way. I was offering up the iPad as a suggestion, and am interested in your post/response/reply. Sincerely, thank you for the write up. I have a GPS device that I use for hunting & fishing, and wish that I had some of the hiking opportunities that I see in other parts of the country. So, when I saw your post and looked it up, I was intrigued, but was having difficulty seeing beyond my personal use cases. Again, thank you.

 

[MattK]

I just auto-renewed for $29.99 in late October. That is a crazy price increase! I just checked their website to make sure it's real. ?

OnX Offroad is $34.99 or $99.99 per year. The $99.99 subscription gets you property boundary/owner info. Gaia has so much more versatility in my opinion if you like to do other activities other than just off-roading though. Gaia also offers a US Private Land map as part of its premium membership so if you really need that info, it's still cheaper than OnX Offroad but I don't know how accurate or detailed it is compared to whatever OnX Offroad is using to charge an extra $65 for it.

 

[Great Offender]

You can search for a coupon code out there that will lower the price to $29. I personally have never used it other than the free local search but find it to be quite useful.
https://slickdeals.net/f/15257200-gaia-gps-premium-50-off-first-year-20

Edit: I thought it was quite useful the way it would show trails in your area. It has a LOT to do with my area but when I check out those locations they are all closed off with gates reading "no trespassing". Gaia no thanks. I know where the gates are too.

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