Does Komoot solve a problem?
When technology and user-generated content unite to help users not get lost
We review products based on how well they solve the problem they state they're solving for the people they're stating they're solving it for.
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Today, I'm looking into Komoot, an outdoor route planning app I've used a lot during the pandemic.
What problem is komoot solving?
The team behind komoot identified that current navigation and route planners are not optimised to help you explore new places:
1) making it easy to plan or find new, off-road rides,
2) give guidance and navigation through isolated, rough, and unknown terrains,
3) log and share local routes and hidden gems. Instead existing apps focus more on known road navigation (like Google Maps) or performance tracking and competing with friends and oneself (like Strava or Garmin).
Who is it for?
Komoot is for the adventurous wanting to explore more of the great outdoors via hiking, mountain biking, or road cycling. Individuals who wish to enjoy the landscape, stop at local, non-touristy pubs for refreshment on the road and discover abandoned places in forests or hidden lakes for a secret swim, all while gathering kilometres. Their goal is definitely to enjoy the journey and not reach the destination the fastest way possible. Komoot is not for performance-driven challenge seekers who want to train, analyse their performance, and plan rides based on that.
Is it easy to plan off-road hiking & biking routes with komoot?
Yes, komoot does have a route for any adventure.
When planning a route from scratch, I find it valuable to be able to select and see ATMs, accommodations, food and drink, internet hot spots, dog-friendly areas, and more on the map and add them as stops to the route. Then, I like the gradual search and filtering functionality to browse from preloaded routes and narrow down the options step-by-step until you find one that fits your adventurous spirit. Further, they offer a multi-day planner with the flexibility to adapt to whims on the route and on-tour weather forecasts to plan accurately every inch of the tour.
You can tap on a waypoint from a predefined route to see other routes starting from there, how many users recommend stopping here, and their highlights about the spot. The underlying idea is great and allows users to modify their route and explore more. However, the page contains too much information; some content repeats itself and lacks structure, making it hard to understand how to use these additional insights to my benefit.
The Instagram-like community inspiration is another area that leaves me with mixed feelings. It's a blend of suggestions 300 km away from me, recommendations from my region with activities done by other komoot users, sponsored articles, and komoot members to follow. The idea of getting recommendations from local experts about hidden hiking trails or recommendations based on the tracks I have done is compelling, but the UX and the actual content presented makes it hard to use.
Does komoot provide guidance and navigation on isolated terrains?
Yes. It's on a premium tier subscription, but komoot offers turn-by-turn voice navigation and a map that works offline and automatically turns on unknown terrain. Based on many reviews from off-road enthusiasts, it's the best the market currently offers.
Is it easy to log and share adventures?
Here, I'm not convinced.
It's easy to start recording a tour, but why you should do it and how it will be used in the end is unclear. Besides the record button, I see a prompt to create a highlight, but I can only add highlights to a completed tour, so why is the button even there? It would be nice, though, to quickly add highlights when I see something interesting on the road.
I see empty screens for current and average speed, time in motion, and distance travelled. If I'm exploring a new area, why are my speed and time in motion relevant? I find them relevant if I care about how fast I am to beat my record and compare it with previous tours or others doing the same road, which you can't do here.
Upon completing a tour, I have the option to keep it private or share it with friends or the public. While it's easy to make a tour public, I expected more guidance and quality control to ensure that my tour meets the komoot standards and provides value to others. For instance, I could be guided to choose a title that aligns with other komoot tours or, knowing that local tips are valued, make it easy to load the photos I took and automatically place them on my route, so I can easily edit and add my highlights to the route.
Conclusion
Komoot is a smart navigation app that is superior to what currently exists on the market. It’s a good example of how leveraging technology (OpenStreetMap) and user-generated content (routes created by the komoot community) can solve user problems.
The core functionalities for discovering and planning off-road routes are there (for free!), but you must cut through the clutter to use them. It feels like the komoot product team increased over time, and now different teams are optimizing for different metrics, resulting in a disjointed user experience and overwhelming UI. The brand and its translation into the product could benefit from a refreshment and clean-up.
They have two monetization mechanisms: the komoots maps (with a one-time payment) and premium (their subscription model). It takes quite some time to understand what you get with one or the other and which best suits your needs.
Sharing highlights and adventures with the community is underdeveloped and not well integrated with the rest of the functionalities. I assume this is meant to help komoot increase its coverage, but it's currently not easy or intuitive enough to do so successfully.
They're trying to integrate social aspects into the product, like the community-inspired Instagram feed with upvotes, comments, and the ability to follow people or add participants to a tour you completed together. I wonder if it's a natural evolution of the product or a rushed decision to compete with Strava, known for its cool social features.
I read somewhere that "komoot is about not getting lost—instead of bragging rights," and I agree with that. Enabling exploration makes komoot truly special. Their team should not forget this and dilute it by chasing other shiny features that might work well for others, but might not work for komoot.