Originally Posted by
greatjourneys
The best thing I feel is to have guides, atlas, road maps in hard copy format rather than in digital format (because of the dependance over battery, electricity and network signals). I also don't rely on asking any random people the way to my destination. I prefer buying the hard copy maps instead.
Anything I download for out of US use is useable offline for just those reasons (mainly the capriciousness of some signals, because if my phone's on airplane mode - and unless I'm in the UK or the US it is - it can go several days without needing to be charged).