The Best of the Best Survival Apps by Nick O’Low for The Survivalist Blog
GNN Note – This is, of course, presuming cell towers, electricity and all the comforts we enjoy now are in place. If they are not, well, this is 100% worthless.
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Nowadays, everyone takes their phone everywhere. With the advent of smartphones including high speed internet, GPS and even thermal cameras, our phones can become much more than simple contact machines.
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In each category in this article I have found the very best apps to improve your chances of survival in tough situations, and provide accurate, up to date information on the world around you.
Navigation, GPS and Weather
OSmAnd (IOS | Android)
OSmAnd is a highly capable map and navigation app. The app draws on a wealth of different data, using OpenStreetMap (an open source global mapping project) and wiki data together to provide as much information as possible, all of which is updated at least once a month.
The data is displayed in layers and options, which can be switched on and of depending on what you need. These include showing different road surface types, nautical data for sea or inland waterways, topographic features (altitude and hill shading), public foot- and bicycle-routes and public transport. For phones with less storage, it is also possible to choose to download only city street maps, as they requires much less space.
While a map alone is useful, of course navigational capability is very important too. OSmAnd can provide spoken direction, can plot routes including intermediate waypoints and conditions like avoiding certain road-types, and (when used online) announce up to date traffic warnings for your journey.
All in all, OSmAnd is a huge and feature-rich navigational resource, well worth the premium version.
Compass Eye (IOS | Android)
Compared with traditional high end compasses, a compass app can offer all of the functionality at a fraction of the cost (or just for free), and are always visible in the dark. On the other hand, a mechanical compass will never run out of battery and can be easier to use with a map.
Of all the compass apps out there, Compass Eye has to be one of the best. A real time compass, the app overlays the bearing of any object on a real time view through the camera. It can be configured to use True or Magnetic North, and to adjust automatically for declination (sometimes called variation) based on its location.
In the viewfinder, the app can handle up to 8X digital zoom, display date, time and GPS and location, and can show red and green bearing lines, collision bearings and triangulation bearings. On top of all this, the app also includes a map view displaying your route and position. Admittedly some of these are fairly marine-specific features, but the app certainly has huge potential for anyone who spends time outdoors.
