"Go+ Grinding Experiment: Simple Test of a Fixed Route"

#PokemonGO: TL;DRIf you walk about 50% faster with Go+ than you do while playing normally, you can get similar XP and Stardust on a per hour basis as you would by phone.IntroI've noticed that I can walk a lot faster when I play only with the Go+, since I don't have to weave through crowds of people while throwing great curve balls. I also tend to slow down when I find a cluster spawn, or if I don't want to miss a pokestop. Also, it rains a lot where I live, so often I just play with Go+ and leave my phone away. I wanted to know how much experience I was missing out on by playing only with the Go+.To do this, I walked my favourite grinding route (~4.5km round trip, 2.25km each way) using only the Go+, then tried it only using my phone. I was incubating all 9 eggs the whole time for both. I wanted to answer two questions:If I walk the exact same route, how much will I miss out on using the Go+?If I want to play for 2 hours, should I walk three laps with the Go+ or just two laps playing normally? Which is better?DataParameterGo+NormalDistance (km)4.14.2Time (mins)4260XP10,87517,980Pokestops35 out of 5958 out of 59Pokemon47 out of ??95 out of 97Stardust11,33917,109Eggs Hatched67ResultsParameterGo+NormalSpeed (km/hr)5.94.2XP/hr15,54017,980Pokestops/hr5058Pokemon/hr6795Stardust/hr16,19817,109DiscussionBeing able to walk faster with the Go+ means more encounters of Pokemon and Pokestops per hour. However, it misses a lot of catches, and also misses a lot of pokestops, so it's less efficient on a per distance basis.If you're just going to be walking the same route either way, Go+ is not very useful for grinding. Expect somewhere over 50% what you would normally get, depending how much faster you walk. If you take a bike or jog at just below the 10.5 km/hr limit, you may be able to maximize the Go+, but it will likely be at best a wash with normal grinding.However, if you're going to play for a set amount of time, Go+ may be very useful. Walking 6 km/hr with the Go+ is roughly equivalent to walking 4 km/hr when in a very dense area of pokemon/pokestops. Expect over 85% what you would normally get, simply by using the Go+!One last interesting thing is the changes in items. While using the Go+, I gained pokeballs over the trip, went up 40 great balls, and gained a few ultra balls. Playing normally, I still gained pokeballs, but I went down about 10 great balls. This means the Go+ was more pokeball efficient than playing normally.ConclusionUsing Go+ can be useful for grinding if you can travel closer to the 10.5 km/hr speed limit than you normally would. However, it is only useful on a per hour basis, as it is less efficient measured by distance.Future WorkI'd like to hear if you have ideas for a similar experiment with the Go+. There are a lot of possibilities, so I thought I would start with a simple test! Let me know what you think. via /r/TheSilphRoad http://ift.tt/2jt95mM