Hand held GPS or good old fashioned Map and Compass.

[Lord Gary of Grayling]

Was out in Mid Wales last Sunday with pals doing some hiking/tabbing, as usual I was on an O/S Map and Silva compass, the weather was bright sunshine one minute zero visibility the next with squalls and showers. One of the guys had the latest hand held GPS kit called SATMAP that took a kind of cassette/memory card that could bring up 1/25000 or 1/50000 scale ordnance survey map software with the country divided in I think 6 different cassette/memory cards. Certainly handy when visibility dropped to zero. The down side is its nearly £200 . Got to admit to never seeing one before, problem is I just don't trust all this new fangled kit. I have seen to many wagon drivers following directions from similar functioned Sat Navs stuck down some tiny tree lined lane or in some tiny Cheshire village, also whilst on my way to Quarry's HFT comp in 2006 BBS member Roy Young Guns Sat Nav told us to turn left where there was no nearby Junction/road or even a gateway just solid dry stone wall .
Still I was quite impressed with this ''SATMAP'' didn't know they could display O/S maps, the map displayed on the VDU was exactly the same as the conventional map I was using, are they all this good , I'm no LUDDITE but I was taught to read a map and use a compass many years ago and never thought I needed anything else, no matter what the conditions. This new kit may be worth having, but how reliable is it in the extremely damp/wet conditions that have been the norm this year. I remember BBS member Dave Viperteks couldn't get a signal once whilst we were in his Rangerover because no Satellites were in range/overhead, does this happen often. I have just been browsing Evilbay and there are bleedin loads of different types of hand held GPS and loads of different prices to well over £274, yet a decent map and Silva compass is around £20.
Do any members use any of these GPS Handsets for hunting/hiking/fishing etc IMHO the map and compass will never be replaced but would this kit be a worthy addition or is it more overpriced gizmo's to go wrong.

[Jackel]

Map and compass will never run out of battery's

[Jymz]

Originally Posted by Jackel

Map and compass will never run out of battery's

Or even batteries! (sorry)

[Lord Gary of Grayling]

Originally Posted by Jackel

Map and compass will never run out of battery's

Originally Posted by Jymz

Or even batteries! (sorry)

HEHEHE , where Carl comes from out in the wilds, I'd say its a bonus he even speaks English let alone writes and correctly spells de English too .

[Jackel]

Originally Posted by Grayling

HEHEHE , where Carl comes from out in the wilds, I'd say its a bonus he even speaks English let alone writes and correctly spells de English too .

Stones/glasshouses

[Lord Gary of Grayling]

Originally Posted by Jackel

Stones/glasshouses

Are you by that hurtful remark insinuating that folk from this fair city of Liverpool don't speak the Queens English Mr Shell . Or are you now a pebble dash/double glazing salesman amongst your numerous other talents .

[Napalm]

Map/Compass AND GPS.

It should never be an and/or.

[SpikeG]

Jackel's right, map and compass every time as long as your competent (which you obviously are) I have Explorer maps in digital format for the whole of the UK (~£20,000 pounds worth iirc and I haven't mistyped that ) and the number of times they've actually been used I could probably count on the fingers of one hand.

As far as reliability is concerned, if you do get one don't skimp on a cheapo. Go for recognised brands.

[Lord Gary of Grayling]

Originally Posted by SpikeG

Jackel's right, map and compass every time as long as your competent (which you obviously are) I have Explorer maps in digital format for the whole of the UK (~£20,000 pounds worth iirc and I haven't mistyped that ) and the number of times they've actually been used I could probably count on the fingers of one hand.

As far as reliability is concerned, if you do get one don't skimp on a cheapo. Go for recognised brands.

I lurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrve MAPS wow that must be a sight to behold . I've been looking at the new (well to me anyway) digital map software in the mags, looks interesting , reasonably priced as well, the country is again split into chunks and is supposedly good for plotting routes etc. GOTTA BE WORTH A TRY.

As for GPS, I think I'll stick to my maps/compass for time being .

To be honest I'm happy with my map and compass as Carl says NO BATTERIES NEEDED.

[PeteB]

I always stick to an O/S 1:25k / 1:50k and a silva compass. Last year, I got some workmates round a 67 mile /24hr hike with them, no problems at all. However, we did have two GPS systems in the team. My Garmin emap, which is a bit crap and old, but solidly built. It shows major roads (designed from road navigation but does give a very accurate grid ref) and a friends PDA system loaded with checkpoints from memory map. We did crack them both out to start with, the PDA took 20 mins to get a position as it had been off for a while. Apparently, they take a while to get the initial location. Mine came in start away, but the battery life is only 2 hours, so I checked it worked and turned it off.

Basically, a GPS is good as a backup and as said before, don't buy cheap or you will regret it when you really do need it. But for general navigation, a map and compass are your best friends. That's my opinion and the safest way to go about things, but I also like maps and map reading

[foxshooter]

If you want a good cheap hiking type satnav I have a Garmin GPS V Deluxe going spare. UK and Europe street level mapping

Its ok as a vehicle sat nav but better suited to hiking or biking really. I have cases and mounts for both. Has compass and way points etc etc beats the backside off tom tom which is really a vehicle road based system

I now use a tom tom 910 for road use here and in the USA (the main reason for buying it)

Mark

[Buggy]

The advantages of a GPS are that it actually tells you where you are and that you can still use it while it's windy/wet as hell (think drenched map flying all over the place, just don't let the GPS get *too* wet). I guess it depends on if you like the exploring that comes with using a map and compass, as it depends on you being able to find landmarks on your map to find your way.

Never hurts to have both though.

[rogb]

Originally Posted by SpikeG

Jackel's right, map and compass every time as long as your competent (which you obviously are) I have Explorer maps in digital format for the whole of the UK (~£20,000 pounds worth iirc and I haven't mistyped that ) and the number of times they've actually been used I could probably count on the fingers of one hand.

As far as reliability is concerned, if you do get one don't skimp on a cheapo. Go for recognised brands.

Funnily enough, I just got OS mapping for my Tomtom in my HP PDA from Amazon as I'm planning a Lake District visit soon. Last time I was there, I went off the edge of my paper map and promptly got lost, so a GPS back -up was needed.

It's called Memory Map, 1:25,000 and covers all GB National Parks, South Downs, Lakes, Cairngorms, that sort of thing. You set it up on your PC (even has a brilliant 3D effect which reads the topography and shows the contours as real images).

You download the maps into your PDA, fiddle around a bit to get the Tomtom to recognise it and there you go. Real time OS mapping (looks exactly the same as your paper maps) and accurate position with zoom etc. It's fookin excellent IMO.


http://www.amazon.co.uk/Memory-Map-B...978336-1037452


Oh and the cost, well a few pence under £20,000...








£19.99 with free delivery - now that's a bargin!

Rog

[fitzcarraldo]

The problem with OS maps is that they don't update them. I mean, the number of times I've been orienteering and noticed that a landmark has moved quite some distance from where it should have been or a hillside has completely disappeared to be replaced by a B&Q.

I mean, c'mon Ordnance Survey, if you're going to do the job, do it properly.









"I say, anyone tell me how to get to the Brecon Beacons from the Bristol Channel?"

[SpikeG]

Originally Posted by rogb

Funnily enough, I just got OS mapping for my Tomtom in my HP PDA from Amazon as I'm planning a Lake District visit soon. Last time I was there, I went off the edge of my paper map and promptly got lost, so a GPS back -up was needed.

It's called Memory Map, 1:25,000 and covers all GB National Parks, South Downs, Lakes, Cairngorms, that sort of thing. You set it up on your PC (even has a brilliant 3D effect which reads the topography and shows the contours as real images).

You download the maps into your PDA, fiddle around a bit to get the Tomtom to recognise it and there you go. Real time OS mapping (looks exactly the same as your paper maps) and accurate position with zoom etc. It's fookin excellent IMO.


http://www.amazon.co.uk/Memory-Map-B...978336-1037452


Oh and the cost, well a few pence under £20,000...








£19.99 with free delivery - now that's a bargin!

Rog

Yup that's what I have on the PC and the PDA but I have the complete 1:25:000 Explorer series for the whole of the UK (hence the £20.000 since there's 200 + maps with all the extra bits at ~£100 each)

MM is a super product I quite agree but I still prefer paper maps or even better the laminated ones OS do.