Another map related idea that struck me. I signed up for trails.com and have been haaaarvesting topo's and guidebooks (gonna save a million PDF's and print as needed so I only need to subscribe once). I created a rather large map of the Katadhin area, and on the reverse I'm going to print excerpts from trail guides, also downloaded from trails.com. Nifty weight saver and much easier than having to consult a book while on the trail.

I print USGS topos on 8.5x11 paper

I crop and stitch together to get the area I want

adjacent areas on opposite side of paper

carry it in gallon zip top bag

ink isn't waterproof but bag keeps it dry, and you can read it through the bag

"carry it in gallon zip top bag"

The weight of a bag like that is not insignificant.

I'm trying to move to produce bags, which are much lighter.

--B.G.--

what is it, 1/2 ounce?

one bag is insignificant, but I usually carry maybe 6 bags total which does add up.

2 for food, 1 for map, 1 for tent, 1 for first aid and other misc., 1 for my toothbrush

I should find something lighter

Produce bag is about 2 grams
Grocery bag is about 5 grams
Gallon ziploc is about 10 grams
Nylofume bag is about 28 grams (large)
My sleeping bag stuff sack is about 22.5 grams

I'm just trying to keep these things in perspective.

Nylofume bags are good for food, since they are gas-proof and odor-proof.

--B.G.--

I use the 8.5" x 14" Adventure paper. Makes a waterproof map that need no bag.

I've found that many of the specially coated papers weigh more than cheap paper. I believe it was Benjamin who was seeking a really thin, lightweight paper that could be color printed... but that was still practical.

If you are doing a long trip with lots of map pages, this will add up.

--B.G.--

I'm either going to print to waterproof paper or use the nikwax map sealer to waterproof regular paper.

nat geo adventure paper (which i use) works very nicely for printing maps both sides. and peter carries a LOT of maps. there are much lighter waterproof alternatives out there, but they are laser printer papers, and i have an inkjet.
ng "paper" is 10 mil, so laser owners can knock off an easy quick 40% of the mass by using a 6mil medium.

along mappage lines, their 8.5 x 17 gives a better fit/ratio and thusly less waste and weight than the 8.5 x 11.

along the lines of printer economy. being a mac person, i am running the very same epson i have had since system 7 back in the 90's. no need for new printers every couple of years. ink is 2 to 3 bucks a cartridge off ebay, and it all works great.

along the lines of REALLY making a printer last as long as it should .. you will eventually want to lube the cross shaft to shut up the howing coming off the print-head bearing. use from REI bicycle dept the "finsish line - dry teflon lube".
that info is off the nikon film scanner (another hella sweet tool) repair forums. it works quite well. once a year is more than adequate.

me new alpacka raft ROCKS !

What about waterproof ink?

Regular paper isn't waterproof but it holds up to a little water

The ink splotches

One thing I hate about the USGS maps is they have all these green areas that were one person's interpretation of something at one time, but I never find them to be accurate or useful.

" I hate about the USGS maps is they have all these green areas that were one person's interpretation of something at one time, but I never find them to be accurate or useful."

ohh .. piffle. hate is punchy stuff, save it something more .... worthy.
but ok yeah, that green is kinda nebulous, but it DID mean something to somebody, and ya, it's a different somebody as the years went by. i like the way form one map to the next, it changes wildly.
but on the other hand, what the heck, its' FREE information. and you should do something with it, once you index the meaning of it and apply that smarts to the rest of the map. first though, one needs to decipher what manner of brush the fellow was thinking about.
granted, it is a bit more useful once you leave the trail networks and are punching brush.
remember than some usgs maps are based on ANCIENT information, gleened from aerial photos taken from like, DC-3's. it goes back quite a ways. alaska has maps not updated since originally birthed in 1953.

check out google earth. then try to use a print of the satellite photos. they are syntheticly colored, so whatever color it is means ???? you got to go there, figure out/index the "what that color means" and apply the knowledge.
it IS helpful (can be virtually, a lifesaver), but only after one knows how to interpret the data.

digital maps of canada are cheapestly avail from yellowmaps.com

canada, not to be sisseys about logging, uses a map emblem "NCB". which means, non-commercial-brush, just so you know where their head's are at.

v.

I like USGS topo maps, because I have used them for so long. But weight, size, and cost makes the other options attractive.

If I do not anticipate rain, I use very thin bond paper that can handle an ink jet printer. Also convenient to crop and paste. Of course to thin paper makes printing on both sides less than desirable. The coated paper is heavier, but works fairly well.

I am not a "carry electronics" kind of person. But a Kindle looks like it might have great potential, other than being black and white. Long battery life, and at 8 oz, you could carry every trail guide, map, and extra reading your heart desires. Just need to figure out how to get digital versions into it. There are many options here... the worst case being scanning to PDF.

"ohh .. piffle. hate is punchy stuff, save it something more .... worthy."

I hate it when someone piffles my hate......

"being a mac person, i am running the very same epson i have had since system 7 back in the 90's."

Peter, NOT being a mac person, I am running the very same Epson that I have had since the late 1990's. There are only a few good vendors for the cartridges left, but that is enough. The cost comes when I print out a lot of maps at 13x19 inches.

Oh, well.

--B.G.--

Nick,

The kindle is an interesting solution given it's weight and incredible battery life. As for getting maps into the device, there are plenty of free pdf printers. So if using something like Nat Geo's map software, just "print" to the pdf printer and you have a file suitable for the e-reader. Now not having color may be a problem for some of course, but it's still an intriguing idea.

Does anyone KNOW what Tom Harrison uses?

It is Very light, waterproof, and durable.

??

Edited by greg23 on 05/07/2011 09:03:51 MDT.

No One Knows?

I can't tell you exactly what kind of paper Harrison uses, but I know what is close. HP makes a Laserjet Tough Paper, and also a Laserjet Soft Gloss paper. Some of these papers have different amounts of plastic finish.

--B.G.--

I have a kindle and it is pretty darn rugged. Not saying it is waterproof or anything like that but I have dropped it quite a few times and shoved it in many overstuffed bags and it has never scratched and always works. Besides that they are extremely light and compact, have a realistic usage battery of around 2 weeks, and soon have a color version coming out.

And they are easy to read off of for me.

In New Zealand you can get waterproof fabric topographic maps from this place. Fantastic multipurpose item. As they are printing a digital image using a dyes-ublimation process, they may be able to print a US map and ship it to you.

http://www.shirt.co.nz/information/fab-map-i-59.html