sardog1
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Another thread touches on the perennial problem of keeping a map handy for consultation, especially during bad weather when you need it most.
For several years I enjoyed the sport of following newbie SAR dog handlers as they learned the craft. Occasionally I had the twin pleasures of (1) spotting them drop their maps and (2) returning same to them some time later, usually at the very moment when the absence of the map was being felt most acutely. (Hey, there are limits to altruism . . . )
Eventually they all learned the wisdom of affixing map and compass to their bodies and not holding same in hand or stuffing them into their packs. That's usually when they acquired a sturdy, see-through map case and a chest harness. My map case is a Gaia Noon-Sight Roll-up (medium size) that will be familiar to some paddlers. Sealline and others make them as well. My preferred chest harness is a double-pocketed one from Conterra. The Conterra harnesses are easily adjusted and will fit over any clothing you wear.
Map case is suspended from harness at two corners, arranged so that the map can be read by flipping it up and toward you. Compass is attached with a slim piece of black bungy cord or other elastic cord and placed in one of the harness pockets.
No, it has never hung me up while bushwhacking. No, it doesn't interfere with my movements. Yes, it makes me look a tiny bit geeky or Ninja-like. But it's not nearly as embarrassing as wandering aimlessly through the dark woods, cursing self for setting down map or compass some time earlier . . .
For several years I enjoyed the sport of following newbie SAR dog handlers as they learned the craft. Occasionally I had the twin pleasures of (1) spotting them drop their maps and (2) returning same to them some time later, usually at the very moment when the absence of the map was being felt most acutely. (Hey, there are limits to altruism . . . )
Eventually they all learned the wisdom of affixing map and compass to their bodies and not holding same in hand or stuffing them into their packs. That's usually when they acquired a sturdy, see-through map case and a chest harness. My map case is a Gaia Noon-Sight Roll-up (medium size) that will be familiar to some paddlers. Sealline and others make them as well. My preferred chest harness is a double-pocketed one from Conterra. The Conterra harnesses are easily adjusted and will fit over any clothing you wear.
Map case is suspended from harness at two corners, arranged so that the map can be read by flipping it up and toward you. Compass is attached with a slim piece of black bungy cord or other elastic cord and placed in one of the harness pockets.
No, it has never hung me up while bushwhacking. No, it doesn't interfere with my movements. Yes, it makes me look a tiny bit geeky or Ninja-like. But it's not nearly as embarrassing as wandering aimlessly through the dark woods, cursing self for setting down map or compass some time earlier . . .