Buyer's Guide - Navigation Kit
You can be decked out in head to foot Sooper Dooper-Tex clothing
and have the most comfortable walking boots known to man along with
the fitness of an Olympic marathon runner and the focus of a Tibetan
hermit, but if you can't find your way across the hills, you might as
well stay home and watch telly...
The good news is that navigation equipment is getting more and
more effective, the bad news is that even with all the cunning
electronic devices known to man, you still need to be able to use a
map and compass and you should always carry them regardless.
You can find links to relevant user and editorial reviews in the
'Reviews'
section of the site.
Maps
In the old days, pretty much everyone used one inch Ordnance
Survey maps, these days though, there's a bewildering choice.
The OS maps are still a benchmark, but there's a choice of the pink
1:50,000 Landranger series and the 1:25,000 Explorers.
Both
have pros and cons. The 1:50,000 scale covers more ground with a
single sheet, makes it easier to spot the big features and is
arguably the best choice for full-on winter conditions where the
details of a 1:25,000 maps will be covered with snow anyway and the
overall lay of the land is more important.
The larger scale Explorer series is much more detailed which makes
it great for navigating through nadgery farm and urban areas and for
picking out small details. It's easier to walk off the map though, if
you use a case, you'll be refolding the map more regularly as you
walk off the edge of the current portion and, in some situations, all
that detail can get confusing and make it harder to see the overall
lay of the land.
The other main mover in the map market is Harvey
which produces map aimed squarely at walker and climbers and
covers selected outdoor areas like the Lakes, Peak and Dales. They
have two options, the 1:25,000 Superwalker series and the 1:40,000
standard maps.
If you're used to OS mapping, the Harvey maps can seem a little
odd to start off with, but they delineate the differences between
hill and valley land very clearly and are arguably easier to use.
They're also printed on 'water proof' paper, though in use we'd say
that highly water resistant was a more accurate description...
Harveys also publishes atlases covering the Dales and Lake
District area in a handy, ringbound book form. They're neat and
compact, though the breakdown into pages makes it harder to see the
big picture - plan on a bigger map and use the atlas on the
ground.
A final option, if you use mapping software - see below - is to
print off map sections and laminate or carry them in a plastic bag or
map case. More efficient than carrying an entire map.
Note new open access areas are being included on the latest
OS maps as they take effect.
Weather Protection
The
only map case we've used that we'd unequivocally recommend is the
urethane-type Ortlieb
case, which is totally waterproof, nice and grippy and damn near
indestructible. They yellow with age, but just keep rolling on. Only
downside is refolding the map in deluge conditions which can be
tricky. Stow it in a pocket, not round your neck where the wind can
catch it and tie it in knots around your larynx.
Laminated maps are an effective solution, but add a little
weight and bulk. They also tend to be slipperly making them hard to
hold onto when things get wet and the bulk makes folding and stowing
hard. The best we've used are the Aqua3 series.
Waterproof paper as used by Harvey's tends, in our
experience, to be more water resistant then proof, particularly along
fold lines. We'd still use a map case in wet conditions.
Compasses
For
navigating using a map and compass, you can't beat the classic
baseplate-type compasses from the likes of Silva
and Suunto.
Anything without a baseplate makes mapwork less accurate, so don't
bother. Incidentally, if you're changing hemispheres, you can buy
compasses with different weighted needles to compensate, but your
normal compass will still work as long as you hold it at a slight
angle for clean rotation of the needle.
Simple eh? Electronic compasses are fine for following bearings,
but for mapwork, the original, simple Silva design is still the best.
GPS
GPS - Global Positioning Satellite - units are getting
smaller and smaller and more and more affordable. They use a series
of satellites to pinpoint your location and altitude. Which you
choose depends a lot on how you're going to be using it.
At
it's most simple level, GPS is great for dragging out of your pack if
you're lost and knowing exactly where you are almost instantly - with
some units now wrist mounted, that's actually quite a viable option.
As a standalone navigation tool though, GPS has limits. Generally the
interface is best described as 'user hostile' and it can take ages to
enter simple routes and waypoints manually.
The way round that is to use a computer interface and mapping
software to pre-programme points into your GPS before walking and /
or download your walk details afterwards. You'll either love the idea
or not. If you love it, go ahead, if you're a technophobe, it's back
to the map and compass.
Incidentally, Apple Macintosh users are at a huge disadvantage
here. Most GPS and mapping software works only with PCs, though a
little bird tells us that at least one major mapping software outfit
is currently working on porting their product to Macintosh.
Mapping Software
Check out the reviews section for relevant tests and comparisons,
however used in conjunction with a GPS, mapping software is a
brilliant navigational tool. You can use the electronic map with your
computer to plot a route then either print maps off or download the
details to a GPS unit.
You can
easily check distances covered and total ascent and descent plus
share routes with your mates if they have the same programme. Again
Mac users lose out here, though things may change soon.
Last time we reviewed mapping software, Tracklogs
was our favourite option, though Memory
Map and Anquet
also have their plus points and all are being revised and improved.
None is cheap compared to paper maps, but they're a lot more
versatile even used without a GPS unit.
Altimeters
There
are a fair few wrist watches with altimeters on along with
barometers, chronometers, thermometers and the like. Suunto,
Polar,
Techtrail
and others. Very handy on Himalayan peaks, but for UK use more of a
semi-useful entertainment than a practical aid to navigation. Bear in
mind too that the altimeter uses air pressure to determine altitude,
so may need to be re-set occasionally.
Skill
Finally, you really can learn navigation skills, despite what
people mutter about 'sense of direction' , sniffing the wind and so
on - there's actually a lot of very logical processes going on and a
fair few cunning tricks that'll help you get from A to B without
getting horribly lost.
There are plenty of useful books out there, but the ideal is to
get professional instruction either as part of a general hill skills
course or on a specialist mountain navigation weekend. There's no
point in having all the gear, if you have no idea...
More
Help and Advice
Hopefully this article will have given you some basic pointers.
The good news is that there's a load more advice on
OUTDOORSmagic:
- Ask on the gear
forum about general issues or specific items.
- Check the member
reviews section for user experiences of kit.
- See OM editorial reviews on the front of the site for our
impressions.
- Ask
Richard Gear if you have a specific question you need
answering.
