Field Tested: Breadcrumb Bluetooth Location Marker

If you’ve ever had trouble finding your way to a treestand in the dark, forgotten where you dropped your backpack while chasing a bull elk or wondered what in the world is taking your buddy so long to show up at the truck for lunch, you’re going to appreciate the new Breadcrumb Bluetooth Location Marker — an ingenious and affordable little device that harnesses the power of wireless technology to make field navigation easier than ever.

Measuring just 2.5 inches square and weighing only two ounces with a pair of AAA batteries installed, the Breadcrumb connects to your smartphone via Bluetooth and is controlled via the free Breadcrumb Tracking App. The Breadcrumb is always on and can run for several months on a single set of lithium batteries. The device has a range of more than 100 yards from your smartphone and — when connected — continually shares its location, which is plotted on the app’s map screen using your phone’s GPS capabilities. When in range, you can use the app to guide yourself to the Breadcrumb via the built-in proximity sensor, monitor the device’s battery level and activate the Breadcrumb’s five bright, blue LED lights and/or alert sound for both visual and audible confirmation. Even if the Breadcrumb isn’t in range, its last known location will always be displayed on the app’s map screen. You can also use the app to share the device with friends, allowing them to find the device and remotely activate its lights/alert sound.

For example, let’s say you invite a friend to hunt with you and want to send him to one of your stands before sunrise. The trail is poorly marked, and your friend has never been there before. Simply place the Breadcrumb at your stand site, then share the device with your friend, who can use the app to quickly navigate toward the stand and, once in range, remotely activate the indicator light to reach the tree without any needless wandering around in the woods.

Back to that elk hunt: You’ve located a great bull and are moving in for the kill. In the midst of your excitement, you drop your pack and make your move. An hour or two later, the hunt is over, but you can’t find your pack. If you have the Breadcrumb attached to the pack, the app will help you get close, and the lights and sound should make pinpointing the location of your gear a breeze.

What if you’re one of those folks — like me — who often hunts alone? Even if I tell my wife where I’m hunting, I doubt she’d have much luck finding me in the woods. But if I share my Breadcrumb with her and keep it in my jacket pocket, she’ll be able to know exactly where I am. And if there’s an emergency and I don’t make it home, she’ll know where to look for me and can use the Breadcrumb’s lights and alarm to help. The same goes for finding that hunting partner who didn’t show up on time at your predetermined rendezvous point.

Other applications include placing the Breadcrumb at the last spot of blood when tracking wounded game after dark or putting a Breadcrumb on your truck or ATV keys so you don’t lose them in the field. You can also pair multiple Breadcrumb devices to your phone and give each of them a unique name, allowing you to create a series of navigation markers along a winding backcountry trail or around the perimeter of your campsite. Honestly, the uses for a Breadcrumb are limited only by your imagination. After using the device and seeing how well it works, I’m sure I’ll be putting my imagination to work several times on my 2019 hunts! MSRP: $39.99