Contents: OsmAnd maps (World)

Key facts: OsmAnd maps
What are OsmAnd maps?
Why might I want OsmAnd mapping?

Key facts: OsmAnd maps

Website	https://osmand.net/
Map type	OpenStreetMap vector maps.
Which devices?	Smartphones only. Android & iOS
File type and approx size for UK	Maps only work with OsmAnd. 1.8GB for ‘Great Britain incl N. Ireland’
Cost	Very cheap to run.
Areas covered	Worldwide mapping available.
Contours, crag markings, ground underfoot	Standard OSM details.
Paths and tracks	Hiking and mountain biking trails can be coloured according to difficulty.
Public Rights of Way and access land	Not reliably highlighted
Map styling	Good tools allow considerable customisation.

What are OsmAnd maps?

OsmAnd vector mapping is 100% pure OpenStreetMap and unique to the OsmAnd app. You must put the OsmAnd app on your phone to enjoy these maps. The app was made specifically to make the most of OSM data. OsmAnd is a powerful and cheap-to-run app available for Android and iOS. I keep it as a backup app on my phone.

Like OpenStreetMap, the OsmAnd app is also an established open-source project that really makes the most of OSM data. The vector mapping can be configured very effectively. The following image shows a road map, a detailed topo map and a ‘ski’ map with slopes coloured according to steepness. They are all the same OsmAnd vector map, just styled differently.

Why might I want OsmAnd mapping?

The in-app map shop contains OSM-based maps for the whole world. The mapping is 100% OpenStreetMap-based and as far as I can tell, can show all the detail that OSM data provides.

It’s vector mapping and the whole UK occupies only 2GB of smartphone storage. Unusually OsmAnd mapping contains invisible routing information. This enables fast snap-to-path route plotting offline, away from any internet connection. Phone maps typically don’t include this data and most phone apps will require an internet connection to provide this valuable functionality.

Several large map areas come free with the app download, which will provide most of the UK, but whole countries only cost a few pounds to download and keep forever. Small annual subscriptions allow you to download all the mapping you want, worldwide. Unlike most other subscription services, your maps don’t vanish if you stop subscribing. You just can’t update them any more.

With 10m vertical interval contours the terrain is well modelled. With the right settings the map colours work well and the map is good to use and read.  

When zooming, things appear and disappear at the right time. The app provides map and text magnification options which are great for those of us who wear glasses or want to make things easy to see through a rain-spattered waterproof bag. Lots more adjustments are possible within the app. OS mapping can’t compete in town centres…

In wilder terrain it’s not unusual to find individual rocky buttresses named on the OsmAnd mapping. Handy if you’re a climber looking for the right crag to start up. Below are the cliffs on Sca Fell in the Lake District. The Deep Gill and Lords Rake paths are shown and individual buttresses named. The 1:25k OS map doesn’t show this detail.

The OSM cairns that mark a safe route around the often-corniced Gardyloo Gully on Ben Nevis are all marked and named. Not on the 1:25k OS map.

I’d prefer the green ‘combs’ that denote crags were bolder, but that’s a small niggle and OsmAnd mapping is a great example of what OpenStreetMap offers.

Like OpenAndroMaps there’s a settings option which will colour paths according to difficulty (if the path was uploaded with this information), based on the Swiss Alpine Club scale.

The app makes switching map styles easy. With just two taps you can have a cycling map, a road map of the country, or a detailed topo map. Let me know if you find any app/map combination that offers more powerful theming options.