There’s no point fighting it, the digital age is here and it’s not going anywhere. And while we’d never suggest anyone headed into the mountains without a good old-fashioned printed map and compass, the endless advancements in smartphone technology have made them incredibly useful tools for planning, navigating and sharing your outdoor trips.
And it isn’t just the phones themselves that are more cutting edge than ever before – so are the apps you can download to power your trips. Komoot is an app designed by adventurers, for adventurers, which originated in Germany and has gone on to become one of the world’s most used and trusted planning tools for outdoor adventure.
You can search Komoot’s extensive routes database for detailed guides to follow, plan your own trips in the app or on your computer, pick out local highlights to explore, and view all of the key stats for your walk including ascent and descent profiles, distances and times, and inch-by-inch terrain information.
And gone are the days when you’ll need to worry about phone signal to keep your navigation features going while you’re out walking, because all of the key features work offline. Maps and routes can all be downloaded and saved to your device, so they’ll work no matter how remote the area you’re exploring is.
Komoot is also a key partner of the Trail 100 –our very own hand-picked bucket list of the 100 UK mountains we believe everyone should climb in their lifetime. You can view detailed route information and interactive digital maps for each peak on the Trail 100 list in Komoot, then use the app’s unique turn-by-turn navigation to help you climb them.
But don’t just take my word for it! It’s also taken a serious thrashing recently from six intrepid Trail readers, and here’s what they had to say about it.
Oli Reed, Trail editor
What do you like most about using Komoot?
Martin - "All of the pre-defined routes - so many locations I was unaware of in my local area."
Nessa - "Live statistics while following a route - mph, mileage completed, estimated time remaining etc - because you can make a quick assessment of your progress."
Steven - "The ability to download maps for offline use."
Eve - "The navigation prompts and elevation progress whilst following a route."
What are your favourite features?
Steve - "On-Tour weather and the ability to create personal route collections."
Martin - "The highlight feature helped me find an awesome little local waterfall that had been hidden from me for over 10 years."
James - "Very impressed with the weather and extra map types. Showing mountain bike trails was very useful for me."
Nessa - "The multi-day planner really takes the faff out of planning and gets you into your adventure a lot quicker."
How does it compare to other outdoor apps?
James - "For planning and navigation this is now my go-to app. I’ve used several others, but they lack the turn-by-turn functionality and planning aspects."
Nessa - "In the past I’ve mainly used paper maps, but I found Komoot’s features easy to plan a route, and although I find Ordnance Survey maps easier to follow Komoot’s maps still have great detail."
Chris - "A step up from other apps I’ve used. The maps are cleaner and easier to navigate, and the interface is simple and full of info."
Eve - "I thought building a route was a lot smoother than others I’ve used. It gave clear directions and lots of useful information, like how far I’d climbed."
Is there anything you'd change?
Eve - "Clearer terrain on the maps and an undo button when walk planning."
Nessa - "Add a feature that estimates calories burnt to keep track of nutrition and make sure you’re well fuelled for your trip."
Steve - "An official map source instead of open source maps."
James - "Unless I didn’t find it, a live tracking beacon to send your location to friends and family."
Martin - "There isn't anything I'd change!"
Would you use Komoot again?
Martin - "Absolutely. It’s great to see other people in your area sharing their experiences in the app."
Nessa - "Yes. With Komoot I feel I’ll be able to push myself more, track my progress easily, and add more multi-day trips to my adventures."
Chris - "Without doubt. It’s great for finding hidden gems and walks nearby and further afield."
