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Aqua 3 Weatherproof Map - Quick
Test
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Price: £12.99
(1:25,000 Explorer) £11.99 (1:50,000
Landranger)
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Weight: 197 grammes (Dark Peak
Explorer)
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Features: Maps
encapsulated in polypropolene laminate, anti-glare matt
finish, waterproof, write on, wipe off surface.
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Totally weatherproof, light for a laminated map and you can
write on it with a pencil.
Slightly slippy,
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The Concept Aqua 3's laminated OS and other maps use a very
thin layer of polyproplene to minimise bulk and improve handling of
the map, while making it totally weatherproof, which has to be a good
thing in the UK. It should also be much more durable than normal
paper maps, even, in our experience, the tough Harvey paper, which
gives up the ghost under repeated folding.
Features Aqua3 maps are reckoned to be light and easy to use,
plus the non-glare matt surface doesn't reflect light (doh...) and
you can write on them with a pencil and simply wipe off afterwards.
The actual maps are standard OS plus a range of Swiss and French maps
together with specialist mountain maps from around the world. There's
a list on the company's web site.
In Action If you were put off by the thick, heavy almost
unhandleable laminates from a few years ago, you're in for a
surprise. The coating on the Aqua3 maps is - and we quote - 'as thick
as a human hair'. There's no shine, no crackly, unfoldable laminate
that won't fit into map pockets or fold properly, in fact it's close
to being as useable as a standard paper map, but totally waterproof
with it.
There is a small weight penalty of around 50 grammes and very
slightly more bulk, but we reckon it's worth paying. We found the map
pleasant to handle and reasonably easy to fold and it fitted straight
into most jacket map pockets too. The matt finish makes it easier to
read in bright conditions and we like the way you can write on the
map with pencil, then clean off later.
The big plus is the weather protection. If you walk regularly in
the UK, sooner or later you're going to get wet, very wet. Until now,
our weapon of choice has been a standard map housed in an Ortlieb map
case, which is great until you need to refold the map and risk it
getting soaked, but the Aqua3 is a real competitor.
The one edge that the tacky Ortlieb case does have in wet
conditions is its stickiness. It makes it easier to hold onto,
particularly with gloves, when the laminate can feel a bit slippery,
and it's also easier to hold a compass firmly on the surface when
taking a bearing. Then again, you don't have the ease of refolding
that the laminate offers.
The best laminated map we've used so far. It is bulkier than a
standard paper map, but it handles pretty well and should outlast a
paper map by a way. We got it wet, we tried to tear it, we stood on
it and it's still going strong. The matt finish is a nice touch too
and we like being able to write little reminders on the map without
permanently defacing it.
It may seem expensive, but our experience so far suggests that
it'll last ages, which makes it good value. Much, much better than a
standard map, though slippier than a urethane-type map case like
Ortlieb's.
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Performance
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Value
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