Originally Posted by
njkayaker
Being able to choose "north up" or "track up" is a basic feature of any GPS unit or smartphone (that you'd use on a bike). It's easy enough to switch between the two. This doesn't make sense as a criticism of GPS devices.
With paper maps, the "track up" option is generally impractical.
That's a downside in some cases too. With a GPS unit, you don't have keep fussing with folding the map.
I think that "competent" users of GPS devices always use a "multiprong" approach.
Relying only on "turn by turn directions" isn't a expert use of the devices and might not be something that one could reasonably call "navigation".
I use maps on a smartphone rather than carrying paper maps.
As I said, personal preference. Part of my ease of navigating with maps come from having driven extensively on every state for many years. A lot of it is simply second nature to me, while my wife simply hasn't had that experience. I'm a throwback in many ways, I can navigate using the stars too, so I can easily tell you which direction we are traveling at night, as long as it isn't overcast. Geeky hobbies.
