By: Blonde One
Despite plastic getting a bit of a bad press at the moment there are some things made of plastic that are brilliant! The map romer scale grid reference tool from Shaven Raspberry is one such piece of plastic. Shaven Raspberry very kindly sent one for us to try and it’s one of those gadgets that so simple that it’s brilliant! Basically it’s a card that lies over a kilometre square on a map to enable you to accurate gauge a 6 figure grid reference. It shows you the lines which divide the square into 10 making it simple to change the 4 figure grid reference to 6. Mostly I do it by guesswork but using this square is a much more precise way of ensuring accurate micro-navigation. It has proved invaluable when I’m at school teaching DofE newbies the basics of map reading.
It’s too late for this year’s Christmas list but at £2.99 it won’t break the bank.
I can see its uses, but I now use digital mapping which has the ability to enlarge the print map for much more clarity, but of course a kilometre square is still a kilometre square however much you enlarge it, but no good for your gadget. I remember on my Land’s End John ‘o Groats walk the GPS told me I was actually standing on the trig point at Knockfin Heights NC 92512 35487 but it took me several minutes to find it amidst the severe peat hags on this flat plateau in swirling mist. Perhaps GPS wasn’t as accurate back in 2008?
I’ve made roamers from odd bits of cardboard – usually take one or two with me – but having a see-through one would be better. The only thing is, I regularly lose mine, so it might get a bit expensive! My first GPS, Magellan, only gave grid references to 4 figures on each axis but it made such a difference to navigation, except the day they switched the system off and went to war, leaving me marooned on a mountain – can one be “marooned” on a mountain? I was camping quite close to a tarn. It was the only day Magellan refused to help me until it finally died.
One thing I like about this one is the hole in the corner, which allows one to tether it to the compass. Mind you my compasses have been roaming recently!
P.S. Romer/roamer – sorry – I know I have spelt it incorrectly, but mine definitely roam. They are quite willful about it.
I love this little bit of kit!! Arrived in the post this morning and it’s made marking my map easier and accurate (well, more accurate than usual) Just need to attach it to my compass as every time I put it down on the carpet I struggled to find it again… (Also seduced by the timings card and the contours thingy, don’t think I really needed that, but hey, a girl has to have these accessories, right? )