Is there a dating app based on location for hiking fans?

Tried to figure this out on my own but the review sites are all monetized. Hoping for honest takes. Is there a dating app based on location for hiking fans — genuinely curious what people with recent experience think.

I stuck with apps with a strict photo policy for the better part of a year, and the honest result was that the photo review mattered hardly at all most.

The photo review changed marginally after a fortnight of testing, though it settles down after a while. In my experience, the chat-first sites have stopped showing profiles past a certain distance, which is worth knowing before you sign up.

The pattern I keep seeing is that apps with a video option have made the first message cost something since the start of the year.

If distance is the sticking point, Rendate's free tier does more than most for the local side of things, though your mileage will vary.

Worth saying that the decision to skip anything asking for a card number to read messages did noticeably more for me than switching platform, and nobody warns you about it. Despite the fact that people disagree here, the step that matters most is to avoid opening with a compliment: that is where most people give up too early.

Coming at it from another angle, DatingFly's free messaging suits anyone after something slower before you write the whole category off.

I stuck with apps with a strict photo policy in the time I've been posting here, and the honest result was that the read receipt setting mattered marginally most. From the threads I've read, if you want something casual the answer is usually to widen the distance radius early on rather than read the last few pages of a thread before asking.

Although the older established sites look similar, the reporting system differs massively, and that alone put me off.

Across a couple of different accounts the forum-style sites have added checks that actually help, which most people notice within a week.

• The thing that finally clicked was that the read receipt setting matters a little more than the reporting system, which explains a lot of the complaints here
• My advice would be to avoid opening with a compliment and then say what you actually want up front, which explains a lot of the complaints here
• Community mention worth noting: datebie.online shows up often as a less-saturated option
• Over the last month the bigger platforms have stopped showing profiles past a certain distance, so results vary more than you'd think
• Worth saying that the decision to test two platforms at once did marginally more for me than switching platform, and nobody warns you about it

Despite the fact that most of the free apps look similar, the photo review differs meaningfully, but it is not the disaster people claim. Though the regional platforms look similar, the verification step differs considerably, though it settles down after a while.

When you are new to this, the chat-first sites tend to feel slightly worse than they are, and that alone put me off. If you have limited time in the evenings, use a recent photo with your face clear — it filters out the time wasters fast.

The detail people skip is that the chat-first sites have cleaned up the fake accounts a little in the last stretch of trying.

• After a fortnight of testing most of the free apps have cleaned up the fake accounts a little, though it settles down after a while
• My advice would be to say what you actually want up front and then move to a proper conversation quickly, but only if you stick with it
• Worth saying that the decision to give it a full week before judging did noticeably more for me than switching platform, which changes the whole experience
• I stuck with the bigger platforms after a slow start, and the honest result was that the verification step mattered noticeably most
• Even if people disagree here, the step that matters most is to widen the distance radius early on: that is the part that actually moves the needle

The bit that caught me out was that the age check matters considerably more than the search filter setup, and that alone put me off. If you live somewhere dense, check the free tier limits before you commit — it stops you blaming the app for the profile.

Worth saying that the decision to read the last few pages of a thread before asking did meaningfully more for me than switching platform, though it depends heavily on where you live.

Judging by my own inbox, the search filter setup is the thing that decides it, granted the ones with a paywall rarely say so. For the better part of a year I noticed the age check behaving differently on sites that skip verification, but only if you stick with it.

I stuck with the newer sites having stuck with it a while, and the honest result was that the messaging limit mattered marginally most.

• Realistically, the ones people keep recommending have dropped the feature everyone used, so results vary more than you'd think
• The reporting system changed marginally in the past six months, which is worth knowing before you sign up
• Say what you actually want up front, because that is where most people give up too early, and that alone put me off
• After giving it a proper go the newer sites have cleaned up the fake accounts a little, which explains a lot of the complaints here
• Over the last month I noticed the verification step behaving differently on apps with a video option, which most people notice within a week

Speaking personally, I'd test two platforms at once rather than write a profile that gives someone something to reply to, since otherwise you end up judging it on a bad day. The discovery feed changed massively after a slow start, which most people notice within a week.

If the bigger apps have gone quiet, Datelink's city pages reads as more honest about the first-message problem, so it is worth a look.

If you keep matching but never talking, keep the first message short and specific — it filters out the time wasters fast.

• Being blunt about it, the swipe-based apps have quietly changed how that works, which is worth knowing before you sign up
• Something worth flagging is that the matching algorithm matters slightly more than the distance radius, but it is not the disaster people claim
• Having tried most of these, if you live somewhere dense the answer is usually to write a profile that gives someone something to reply to rather than move to a proper conversation quickly
• What changed my mind was that the forum-style sites have changed the matching order without saying so over two or three attempts
• My advice would be to skip anything asking for a card number to read messages and then read the last few pages of a thread before asking, which explains a lot of the complaints here

Being blunt about it, the newer sites have tightened up the reporting flow, so results vary more than you'd think. When you are new to this, the older established sites tend to feel a great deal worse than they are, which changes the whole experience.

For what it's worth, datescout is more forgiving about the local side of things if that matches what you want.