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BaseCamp vs inRoute

9K views 47 replies 22 participants last post by  jjscsix 
#1 ·
For many years I have done my route planning like many of us using Garmin BaseCamp. I had searched for other tools while hoping that BaseCamp would improve and grow. Over the last year I have been using inRoute side by side with BaseCamp and just recently switched completely to using inRoute.

While BaseCamp has many great features it also has many frustrating problems. Being an Apple guy I was looking for an OS or iOS solution. That's when I found inRoute. Right up front, the biggest drawbacks to inRoute is that right now it is iOS only. That means it only works on an iPhone or iPad. For those of us already equipped with those it becomes a big advantage. It requires an internet connection. At times that can be a problem. There is no way at this time to transfer the finished GPX file of the planned route directly to a Garmin GPS. That must be done with a computer. You will need to email or Airdrop the GPX file to a computer for transfer to the Garmin GPS. Those are easy problems to overcome.

While those are the biggest issues I have noticed, the advantages are worth it. First, using the iPad it is much easier to manipulate. The mapping is very good. The search function works great with just a little practice. Saving and modifying routes is easy and mostly intuitive. Of course, like most software, there is a learning curve. An iPad is very mobile and has its own data connection if so equipped. That enables working with the route, easy at anytime. While riding, the inRoute app will pull up the weather and display it along your route, predicting temperatures and precipitation throughout the day of riding. It will show you the level of curviness to the route along with elevation. It will show you humidity and wind speed along the route and it will give you severe weather warnings. Just to name a few nice features.

BaseCamp is free, inRoute has a small fee to open up all of its potential. inRoute in my opinion is the future of route planning. It has active features along with simple intuitive route planning. If you haven't tried it I would suggest starting with the basic features to get a feel for it. Remember, anything new will be frustrating at first. Give it time, make the effort to learn it and I think most will like it. It isn't perfect but it is very good. Good enough that it has become my go to software for ride planning.

I am interested to hear from others that might already be using inRoute, other opinions, techniques and critiques.

Steve
 
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#4 ·
I think BaseCamp is a very hard program to use. Why?? Probably because I haven't learnt it properly. I've been using it for 2 1/2 years and I'm still scratching the surface.

Saying that, as I have a navigator 4, think I'm kind of stuck with it.. One of these days I'll learn to use it inn the manner it was intended. :)
 
#5 ·
I also use my old reliable NAV 4. It works great with inRoute. As with most GPS's you will develop the route using inRoute. You can then transfer the resultant GPX file to any computer and drop it into the GPS. There is no need to use BaseCamp to transfer the route.

If someone has a TomTom GPS I would be interested to know about your experience with inRoute. It appears that you can transfer routes to a TomTom GPS with inRoute. I don't have that hardware to try it.

Steve
 
#9 · (Edited)
Unfortunately, right now, that is correct.

Although, in practice, I don't find it that much different than when I was using BaseCamp. If you were to plan your ride in BaseCamp, then want to change it while on the ride, you would still need to have your computer with you. Now, you just need to bring your iPad also. For me, I always have my iPad with me. Using BaseCamp, I had to also bring my laptop. It's the same now but I have high hopes that at some point the laptop will sit at home and probably never be replaced.

I have not tried it but if you had access to any computer that had a USB port for hooking up your GPS, you could use that. Possibly a hotel computer or someone else's that you are riding with. The computer is only needed to transfer the file, you don't need BaseCamp.

If you have an iPhone you could leave your iPad at home. When logged into inRoute on your iPhone or iPad, you have all of the same data. You could make corrections to your route on your iPhone, email or transfer the file to a computer then to the GPS. The obvious problem would be with the smaller screen size doing a lot of work on the iPhone would be a little more challenging. I have an iPhone that I use and don't find it much of a problem. With the larger iPhone it is much easier.

I have asked inRoute support for more info on transferring files. While I have been using this app for awhile I am now focusing exclusively on using this app, the learning curve is steep. I will update with info I learn from inRoute. I don't profess to be an expert with inRoute, I am learning it as I go but I do have some experience with it.
 
#7 · (Edited)
The biggest issue I had with inroute this summer was when I took a wrong turn it would not recalculate the easiest or quickest way to get back on track. It would only tell me to return to route and would only show me how to get back to the point I left. This only seemed to be a problem in big cities, but thats where I needed it most.
I only used it on my iPhone and didn't transfer it to my gps. Maybe that would have solved that problem, but idk

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#10 ·
I have never used InRoute as my primary navigation tool. I always use it for planning, then transfer my plan to a GPS for actual navigation. I assume the app would work well for actual navigation while referencing your iPhone or iPad. I don't know it's limitations as a standalone device.

For me, the GPS has always been my preferred method of navigating. Especially on the K1600 which has a pretty good setup for using the GPS. Not a perfect setup, but better than most I have experienced.
 
#13 ·
#11 ·
I **** BaseCamp.
Its a very powerful tool once you understand the way it "thinks".
The interface with the GPS is seamless and reliable.
Remember...its not a Windows product and its not going to behave like one.
 
#16 ·
Yes, I am a member. Unfortunately with my work schedule I am out of town for most rides and meetings. I was at the last meeting and thoroughly enjoyed meeting many members. Seems like a great group of people. Trying to free up more time to be involved.
 
#14 ·
I guess I belong to the oddball club. I've used BC since day after migrating from windows and Mapsource to Mac. It has gotten better over time and I have yet to find anything that presents any advantages to me that would cause me to switch. The one thing I continue hope for is a fully functioning iOS version.
 
#15 ·
I was and still am a Basecamp fan. I like to try other competing software to see what improvements are out there. After using inRoute I have now become a fan. It wasn't something that happened quickly. It took time and experience with the new software. You mentioned that you hope for an iOS version of BaseCamp. That is the same thought that started my experimenting with inRoute.

For me, using the iPad is much more convenient than a laptop. I do consider myself very proficient with BaseCamp. I also feel that the added conveniences of inRoute have moved it in front of BC. It's always great that there are competing applications. It can only make both better. At the same time it gives all of us an opportunity to see which one fits our style better. A win win for us!
 
#18 ·
UPDATE

One of the issues I have had was getting the newly formed route from InRoute to the GPS. When using Basecamp, it was just a matter of hooking the GPS up to the computer, then send the route to the device. I now have a way of transferring from the iPad straight to the GPS.

To do that you must use a Wifi portable hard drive with a SD card reader. They are $30-$50 on Amazon. What you are doing is transferring the GPX file, from InRoute on the iPad via a wifi connection (no internet required) straight to your GPS SD card. Once the GPX files are on the SD card, you then put the SD card back into the GPS. When you start up the GPS it sees the data and asks if you want to import the new routes. I have tried it many times and so far it has worked flawlessly.

The only issue I have heard of is some Wireless Hard Drives don't see GPX files. The hardware is pretty much the same with most manufacturers. The difference is the app that they use to operate. I have had good luck with a Kingston Wireless Hard Drive using the MobileLite app. I have heard of problems using a RavPower HD. Those are the only two I have any information about.

I just planned a complicated 200 mile ride with many turns. I was trying to get the software to fail after it was downloaded to the GPS.Trying to force the GPS to do unwanted reroutes, etc. I have had more waypoint problems and fails with BaseCamp than I have with InRoute. So far so good. I am in the process of planning a 8 day, 3000 mile ride. Will see how that turns out. I am still very happy with the effort I put in and the results I get out of InRoute.
 
#19 ·
I use BaseCamp for all my serious route planning both on and off KBiK. The ease of integration with multiple GPS units and years of routes is critical. The one thing BaseCamp lacks is integration with my iPhone and iPad. I started using InRoute and really like it but it is very limited compared with BaseCamp. As others have shown InRoute has no simple way to transfer a route to the GPS which is what I would really like to do on the road. If InRoute/Garmin could come up with a simple WiFi/Bluetooth way to transfer this data it would be great, but I don't see this happening with Garmin.
 
#20 ·
I also thought it was limiting compared to BC, until I forced myself to continue using it. Now I find it has as many if not more capabilities. If you like the idea, keep working with it. It just keeps getting better when you learn it.

Valid point about simple way to transfer routes to GPS. I spent hours trying to figure out how to do it. Now, it is very simple. The only real hassle is pulling the SD card out of the GPS. I find that easier than dragging a laptop with me on a ride.

One of the great features. When on a ride, I look at the route for the day on InRoute. I enter the start time. For the entire day, along the route, displayed as a graph, it will tell me the expected temperature, elevation, curviness, precipitation, wind speed and humidity. The horizontal graph shows mile markers along the way with your waypoints. You will know every step of the way what to expect on your ride that day. I will try to upload some examples of what it shows.

Geez, I sound like a salesman for InRoute! ? Just to be clear, I am not. Just happy to find and support good software. Great support from the InRoute people by the way.

Steve
 
#21 · (Edited)
A few examples of the features I talked about. The graph can show Distance or Time, you select. The data is in real time. The orange dots on the graph are the waypoints. You can also pull out your iPhone and see this same information while riding. No need to use the iPad for quick looks.
 

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#22 ·
My new NAV VI has easy access to the USB connection vs my old NAV IV. Sitting at Subway, enjoying a local mid-ride lunch yesterday. Decided to ride an extra 120 miles on roads I wasn't familiar with. Pulled out my iPhone, designed the route in 5 minutes using InRoute. Loaded into the GPS and off I went.

Route worked flawless. Effort made was about 15 min while eating lunch. That is a huge advantage to this software! Not only on your iPad, usable on your iPhone also.

User support is excellent along with constant updating to make the small improvements that make this the best Ride Planning software out there!

Steve
 
#30 ·
Need some clearing up



Yes, we can get routes from the iPad/iPhone to the GPS using inRoute.

........To transfer a data file from any iOS device it is still limited by Apple. There is not a method to transfer via a cable which is what we are used to. With an easy work around we can make it happen. We build a wireless bridge.

Steve
Steve to Steve
This thread has been helpful in figuring out if it's worth stepping up to a VI from a IV but I'm a little confused about these two posts. I've read these, I feel, carefully but I must still be missing something. One talks of the easy accessibility of the USB port on the VI and being able to download the inRoute to the GPS and the other talks of not having a method of transferring using a cable. The one is about being at a restaurant, creating a route on your phone and then loading it on the Nav VI. The other is how you do a wireless bridge in order to load the route onto the Nav. In the wireless bridge post, are you being specific about the Nav IV needing the wireless bridge method but you don't need it for the VI? Do you carry your wireless hard drive with you? If you can use a USB cable to connect between the VI and an Apple device then why can't you use the USB port on the IV?

I have no doubt in my abilities of misunderstanding something but I'd rather live with a DUH! moment than staying confused about something that interests me and not ask so that it's more clear to me.
 
#23 ·
I still use my Nav IV but I seem to recall that you can transfer routes to the unit via bluetooth. I tried to do that a few times with another friend's Nav IV and it wouldn't work. But I never tried transferring the files via iPad or iPhone. Is this a viable option for transferring gps files from inRoute?
 
#24 ·
Yes, we can get routes from the iPad/iPhone to the GPS using inRoute.

I was never able to get that Bluetooth transfer function on my IV working either. It was intended to transfer a route from one GPS to another. You would still have to already have the route in your GPS. Getting a custom route into a GPS is just a matter of transferring a GPX file. How you do that can vary.

With inRoute, it is an iOS based software. It works on the iPad and iPhone. You develop the route within the app. You can save it for future reference, make changes, etc. if you save your data to iCloud within the app, every time you start up your iPad or iPhone they are always synced with the same info.

To transfer a data file from any iOS device it is still limited by Apple. There is not a method to transfer via a cable which is what we are used to. With an easy work around we can make it happen. We build a wireless bridge.

By using a wireless hard drive, we can connect with an iPad or iPhone to transfer a GPX file. I use a Kingston Wireless Hard Drive. Kingston has their own app, Mobile Lite, it is free in the App Store. You use this app to move files to the hard drive from InRoute. Once the GPX file is on the hard drive you can now move it to the GPS, that requires a mini USB cable. Because the iPad/iPhone require a wireless connection, the GPS requires a wired connection, we have to go through this process. It is not a difficult process, it does take a little effort to learn it.

When I get a chance, I will try to write up a step by step guide for this transfer. If it sounds confusing and difficult, don't worry, it's not. It is a very easy process once you understand it. It takes me just a couple minutes to do a route transfer.

Steve
 
#25 ·
Steve,
Now you've got me caught in a conundrum of sorts. The inRoute app has me wondering if I should really spend the money on the Nav VI or just use my iPhone 7+ for Nav also. Problems is, I can see the benefits of the VI in the dash vs. my phone out in the open on the bars etc..

I like the wireless hard drive idea to transfer files. If that's the only stunt I need to perform to use inRoute with a Nav unit then I might be in luck.
 
#27 ·
Personally, I have never been able to use an iPhone for navigation. The biggest reason is weather. Everything from hot sun overheating the phone to wet weather and the unprotected phone. The next problem is that the iPhone and InRoute need a data connection to operate. When I am on a ride, most of the time, I do not have a reliable data connection. The purpose of my rides is to go places that are remote. That doesn't work well with the iPhone or iPad.

I do a lot of planned 7-10 day rides. Having everything on the GPS is the best answer. Resistance to the GPS is always the price. There are many other small advantages to using a GPS, especially on the K1600 with the nice mounting location. When you add up all the small advantages with a few big advantages, there is no question the GPS is the best answer. It is also the most expensive answer. Sometimes price can dictate how we do things.

The only stunt to be learned is the file transfer. Once you have that I think you will be surprised how flexible and usable this option is.

Steve
 
#28 ·
I am hesitant to say if a particular Wireless Drive will work. Unfortunately we don't know until we try. Having said that, my first attempt at a wireless HD for this purpose was a drive from this company. It did not work.

My experience has been through a lot of experimentation and some calls to InRoute support. When my first drive did not work they were surprised. They did not know why. My learning curve with this has been steep. I have figured out that if a drive won't work, it is probably not the hardware. Most wireless drives are the same technology. Where the problem seems to be is the software, or app they design to work with the drive.

RAVPower uses an app called RAV FileHub. When I tried to export the GPX file from InRoute, it was unable to see FileHub. All manufacturers are going to design their apps however they decide. For some reason it was not compatible with inRoute. After talking to inRoute support, they told me the wireless drive that they use and I duplicated their efforts.

The drive that you linked in your post is a different version of what I purchased/returned. That got me curious. While poking around I saw that they now have an updated app called FileHub Plus. I don't have their drive but I just downloaded the new app. I tried to export a route from InRoute. I had an option this time to export to FileHub Plus. Based on what I see, I am guessing that this should work. Please understand that I don't know for sure if it will, I just see the obstacle that I had was removed by the new app. There could be more obstacles but I don't know what they would be at this point.

If you don't mind buying something and returning it if it doesn't work, give it a try. Let me know how you make out. Keep in mind, my first test when checking to see if a particular drive will work is to download the software/app, then try to export a GPX file. When you export, the software will show a list of places to export to. If your app is on the selectable list, I am guessing their is a good chance it will work.

Steve
 
#31 ·
I've never used BaseCamp. I started it once, didn't care for the interface and shut it down. I have only a little bit of experience in this area, but I have used Furkot to plan a 2,800 mile trip from Phoenix, over to US 1, north to Oregon, and back home.

Since it's an Internet website, it supports any platform from which you can reach the Internet. It can export in a variety of formats, has a few options for how you want the route configured wrt: how the route is built in the GPS file, etc. I found it very easy to use, and since it's backed by Google maps, the maps are always up-to-date, and the surrounding POI's are also (including gas stations, restaurants, and hotels/motels).

I did have one problem on one of the days of my trip, the route between two waypoints was causing the GPS unit to freeze/reboot when it tried to calculate the route for whatever reason. It was easily overcome by simply entering the address of my next waypoint manually (I am very risk averse, and so keep a printed version of my itinerary with me, which includes addresses, phone numbers, etc.).
 
#33 ·
I gave up on BaseCamp 3/4 years ago. I plan all routes directly on the NAV V with Trip Planner. I toggle between a MacBook Pro (google maps) and the NAV V, adding waypoints, etc for a new trip. This is the easiest way I've found to get a route into the NAV V.

Duane
 
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