Hiiker is a mobile app and website that allows hikers to discover, plan and navigate over 25,000 hiking trails worldwide.
Since 2020, its community of hikers has grown to over 600,000 and continues to expand.
It was founded in Ireland in 2020 and is now extensively used across the world by hikers and mountain rescue teams.
The team plans to expand trail and map coverage more globally in 2023 and increase their community to over 2 million.
Hiiker app makes offline map downloads free
The team over at Hiiker just announced that it’s now free to download hiking maps offline.
This is a great feature that was previously a premium feature but the Hiiker team made the decision to make it free to better improve trail safety.
Paul Finlay, the CEO has said:
“Hiker Safety is our absolute priority. Offering hikers Free Offline maps on HiiKER, means that everyone can feel confident that they’re on track, regardless of mobile service.”
The change came into effect on January 5th, 2023 for existing and new users.
So now all users can download any trail map to use offline. This is vital for any hiker out there.
Many hikers hike with their phone in airplane mode to save battery and of course many of the remote areas we all love to hike in have little to no phone coverage.
So, by having your trail map downloaded for offline use ensures you always have access to an accurate GPS map of the trail you’re on.
(If you don’t know your GPS can still work even if your phone is in airplane mode or if you’ve no reception).
Offline Maps as a safety feature
Hiiker has worked closely with many search & rescue crews around Ireland and the UK.
Julian Gray, the Director of the South West Coast Path Association said:
“Hiiker is our first Coast Path Friendly app – giving back to protect this world class trail. Having free access to maps offline is a great step forward as it’s often when you’re in remote areas with poor signal that you need access to information quickly.”
So this is a great update for hikers and SAR crews alike.
If you got a hike coming up then check out the Hiiker app.