Friday, April 20
Harvey Mountain Series Maps - Lake District
Andy Howell's recent post on Harvey's 1:40,000 map range reminded me of my promise earlier this month to look over the one for the Lake District .
Well it arrived today, and the my immediate reaction was how thin and light it seems compared to my OS versions. The map paper definitely feels different, and if Harvey's promise of 'durable, tear-resistant and 100% waterproof' is delivered I will be a happy little wanderer.
And a nice touch is the plastic wallet holder, to protect it when not out on the fells.
The 90g weight is a saving in itself. But to me the clear advantage is the area covered. Which means that if my OS versions are used for initial route planning at home, I will be able to leave behind up to 4 OS maps on my forthcoming trip in June.
Pros: The colours used for map shading have been very intelligently applied which means the ground topography really does leap out from the map. First time I've seen this since the days of the old non-metric maps.
Cons: For those areas that I know well some of the detail seems to have been omitted because of the 1:40,000 scale. A little disappointing but I will reserve judgement on that until I actually use it on the ground. Hence my earlier suggestion to use the OS maps to add any key detail that is required (in my case a small out of the way tarn I plan to visit)
To balance this there are two enlargement maps of the Scafell and Pillar area at 1:15,000 (not 1:20,000 as Harvey's website blurb states) A nice touch.
Overall I'm looking at a potential 300g - 500g saving (thinking of my laminated versions) at the cost of some slightly more detailed route planning. Which is probably not a bad thing if I think about it.
All for £15 inc p&p at Amazon prices. I didn't bother shopping around for the cheapest.
Now how much would I need to spend to save approx 0.5 kg of pack weight, if I targeted other gear?
An unexpectedly outcome in this case, but I offer the tip for others out there to consider.
Labels: Gear
Andy Howell's recent post on Harvey's 1:40,000 map range reminded me of my promise earlier this month to look over the one for the Lake District .
Well it arrived today, and the my immediate reaction was how thin and light it seems compared to my OS versions. The map paper definitely feels different, and if Harvey's promise of 'durable, tear-resistant and 100% waterproof' is delivered I will be a happy little wanderer.
And a nice touch is the plastic wallet holder, to protect it when not out on the fells.
The 90g weight is a saving in itself. But to me the clear advantage is the area covered. Which means that if my OS versions are used for initial route planning at home, I will be able to leave behind up to 4 OS maps on my forthcoming trip in June.
Pros: The colours used for map shading have been very intelligently applied which means the ground topography really does leap out from the map. First time I've seen this since the days of the old non-metric maps.
Cons: For those areas that I know well some of the detail seems to have been omitted because of the 1:40,000 scale. A little disappointing but I will reserve judgement on that until I actually use it on the ground. Hence my earlier suggestion to use the OS maps to add any key detail that is required (in my case a small out of the way tarn I plan to visit)
To balance this there are two enlargement maps of the Scafell and Pillar area at 1:15,000 (not 1:20,000 as Harvey's website blurb states) A nice touch.
Overall I'm looking at a potential 300g - 500g saving (thinking of my laminated versions) at the cost of some slightly more detailed route planning. Which is probably not a bad thing if I think about it.
All for £15 inc p&p at Amazon prices. I didn't bother shopping around for the cheapest.
Now how much would I need to spend to save approx 0.5 kg of pack weight, if I targeted other gear?
An unexpectedly outcome in this case, but I offer the tip for others out there to consider.
Labels: Gear
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