Category: Outdoor Gear
Navigation and all that
1st September 2006 If you do any sort of walking, sufficiently detailed maps proved invaluable. For hillwalking, they are absolutely essential as is the ability to use them. If you want to advance your hill-craft so that you can cope with the vicissitudes of the weather, having a compass and knowing how to set your map with it is obligatory. Other navigational techniques build on these foundations and the more foul the weather, the more needed the advanced knowledge is. A GPS navigation system is useful but you will not get the best from it without a map and compass.
As for me, I do possess a Silva compass but Ordinance Survey maps suffice most of the time that I am out and about. Landranger 1:50000 maps work fine for cycling, but for walking, I find the Explorer 1:25000 series invaluable. They cover less area than the Landranger ones but the extra detail more than compensates for this perceived weakness. Some swear by Harvey's SuperWalker series and I have some, but the range is often restricted to popular hillwalking areas and I have been known to head off the beaten track. Nevertheless, given that they are based in Scotland, it should be no surprise for you to learn that their Scottish coverage is far from shabby.
Britain is blessed with good mapping, but Ireland is not so fortunate. In the Republic, the staple from the Ordinance Survey of Ireland is their Discovery 1:50000 series, the same scale as the OS Landranger series. Another thing that you need to watch is the age of the maps: some date from 2001. The Ordinance Survey of Northern Ireland Discoverer series, at the same scale as the OS Landranger series. Both services do larger scales (1:25000) for specific areas, but these are not many of these. Harvey has done 1:30000 SuperWalker maps of the Wicklow Mountains and Connemara for a while now but they have now brought out a new SuperWalker for the MacGillycuddy's Reeks at the same scale as the others.
So far, I have restricted my discussion to paper mapping, but mapping software is a growing area. OSI produce their own DVD's, but the main players in British mapping seem to be Anquet and Memory Map. Integration with GPS receivers and the ability to print off mapping for your walking are very much on offer. Just a few thoughts on the printing bit: laminate your print-out and remember not to cut yourself too tight; regarding the latter point, you may need to change your plans on location.
Buying a new jacket
19th August 2006 After a hot and sunny July, we seem to be getting a wetter August, with temperatures more normal than the record-breaking ones experienced last month. With the rain comes thoughts of waterproof jackets, and my hill-walking Berghaus is showing more than its share of wear and tear.
The Gore-Tex coating is not what it should be, and wear from rucksacks has contributed as well. Given that it was my first outdoor jacket with a DWR finish, the Gore-Tex deterioration may not come as too much of a surprise when you consider that maintenance of such items means encountering a learning curve anyway. Cleaning out the detergent from my washing machine and use of Nikwax is my usual course of action.
While I also have a Sprayway Comanche jacket (bought at Nevisport in Fort William in July 2004) for everyday wear and that seems to be functioning well, I don't want to be using the same jacket for both hillwalking and non-hillwalking purposes. The search therefore began for a new jacket.
This time out, I am starting looking for something more technical. Being out in snow and rain around Whernside in the Yorkshire Dales last spring convinced me of that need. The Rab Latok caught my attention since it got good reviews in TGO and Trail. That said, there were some mixed experiences with the jacket reported on the OUTDOORSmagic website.
A positive review in the same place of the Montane Super-Fly XT caused me to look at that option. However, I am a little ashamed to say that the mention of a drop tail put me off. Another option was the Mountain Equipment Kongur, but that seemed to be out of stock in many places. The ecstatic review of the jacket in Trail magazine probably helped towards that outcome: it came first in the test, with the Rab Latok in second.
In the end, I decided to plump for the Rab (got it for £199 on the website of The Outdoor Shop; the Montane was £170 at the same place) and give it a go. After it arrives, I will let you know how I get on with it.
