Maps

[photonut]

Having just been reading a thread on recommendations for trousers... and it seems there were quite a few recommending the Kiwi Pro Stretch trousers it has spurned me to ask the question of....

... Where do you you store your walking map if the trousers you are wearing does not have a map (and compass) pocket? 

I have the Kiwi Classic trousers which has said pocket on the right thigh.  I find this pocket so useful but I have wondered to myself how I would store the map if I had different trousers (many I notice do not have this pocket) - I couldn't do with having a map bag around my neck and couldn't be doing with stopping frequently to get the map out of rucksack to check it either.

Probably a daft question, but I've pondered this for a while now 
Cheers
Lee

[Glyno]

I have my map attached to, or stuffed behind the side compression straps of my rucksack if I think I'm likely to need to look at it. Otherwise, it's somewhere (usually in the sleeve for the hydration bladder) in the recesses of my sack.
Whether it be a map or a print-out, it'll be in a waterproof case.

[rambling oldie]

Personally I carry the map around my neck, so it's ready to read.  You can either fold your OS map to show the bit you need or, as I do, print the page I need.


Just google map cases and there is a plethora of choices.


You might feel a map carried this way makes the wearer look a bit nerdy. Well, I'm an old fart anyway so don't really care!

[Islandplodder]

In the winter I have it in the map pocket of my jacket.
I haven't really solved the summer map problem.  Sometimes I have a print out stuffed in my pocket, sometimes I tuck it in the waist band of my rucksack, sometimes it is in the rucksack top pocket where a walking companion can fish it out, and sometimes it is buried and I can't be bothered to get it out until it's too late and I am heading off down the wrong path.
I hate having things round my neck, particularly a map case flapping in the wind, and though I have a map case, I have only used it a couple of times.

[jethro10]

I wonder what percentage of people use paper maps nowerdays. I never see people with them. Perhaps that's why map pockets are getting less common. I can't remember the last time I took a map out of my rucksack because I needed it.
J

[Dazza]

I print out the relevant page I need onto A4 (and give to others if I'm walking with friends)  as that folds away nicely into any pocket really and so is handy when I need it. I tend to use a OS based GPS when walking but consult the paper map as well as you get a much bigger view so is better for those left or right decisions.

However the main OS map (or maps, the lake district seem to have a cunning way of making you buy two)  is always in my rucksack for those this should be a nice tarn but actually looks like Coventry moments.

[Bhod]

My map will generally stay in the rucksack and only be brought into play should I need to change plans, or look at the "bigger picture".   Normally nowadays I have the route plotted in the gps which will be clipped to the shoulder strap of the rucksack.

[walkingthedog]

Same here I always put my map in my rucksack.

[thomasdevon]

I only "trust" paper maps, and they have to be OS.


If in an unfamiliar neighbourhood its folded in the clear plastic case round the neck, then tucked under a should strap so it doesn't blow in the eyes and tangle up. That and an old-fashioned compass give a great sense of security I say.

[MikeW]

My paper map, backup GPS and compass are kept buried deep in the rucksack as they never actually get used. GPS used for navigation generally goes in thigh or chest pocket, sometimes ass pocket.

[ninthace]

For me, the relevant OS 25k map(s) are kept in the back pocket of my rucksack in case of need it (never have in past 6 yrs since I got gps).  My intended route is printed out double sided on A4 at 12.5k scale and put into plastic file pockets.  These are folded in 4 and kept in the  thigh pocket of my  trousers. My GPS is clipped to a loop on shoulder strap as my main nav aid. If I have several sheets of A4, I number them in the corners to aid identification, the used ones are put away when I have finished with them. Sometimes, at the planning stage,  I will draw a ring round a feature with the number of the next sheet to use to help me move from one sheet to another.
The A4 maps are consulted frequently to give me bigger picture than gps provides e.g. how far to next turn, whats that track - where does it go?, how much further? etc

[Sarah Pitht]

I always have my paper map with me - stowed in the map pocket on the front of my rucksack. Hubby also has a map / I give him the waterproof one which is stowed in a side pocket of his bag and offers easy access.


I have to OS map on my phone. I will know the route in my head, so I refer to my phone to check for turn offs, route finding etc etc. I am not religiously holding it/looking at it.


Hubby sometimes takes out a handheld GPS to track our route or follow one he has uploaded. That's if I allow him to be route master!!


So although we have 2 maps between us, you probably wouldn't know it as they are not obviously visible. Ditto the compass.

[Armchair Hiker]

If I'm in a new place other than my local fells, I attach my map case to my bag with a carabiner if I want to carry a map out of my bag or top pocket.


But mainly if I'm walking a route i don't  know I'll either make a route on os maps with route card and laminate it before I leave home, or if I have no ink in my printer, I'll write down the route by hand with a series bearings to take and that's in my little pocket note book like what police use 5 for a pound in the pound shop.


But always have the 25k map in my bag tho and on my phone.

[Rather be walking]

Map hanging from my neck and a compass.
I do use 'OS Locate' App on my phone to get the OS grid reference if I'm unsure.

John.

[harland]

I didn't realise that I was "out of date" as I attach my compass to a carabiner on the front of my rucksack so that it is easy to check and an OS map (on A4 pages) in a map case on a carabiner on the other side of my rucksack.  Perhaps it is my age but I enjoy walking with these close at hand.  I do carry a GPS but that is tucked away to check on in case of a temporary deviation from my intended route!