As a Mountaineering Instructor, Climber and Mountain Rescue Volunteer I use and go through a lot of maps. Apart from losing at least one a year, I probably wear out two maps of Snowdonia a year. For my work I used the reliable and robust Ordnance Survey OL17 which has been pre laminated with the Active Map cover. For me this 1:25000 scale map is the work horse, and it gets folded, refolded, bent, bashed, stuffed, screwed and any number of equally unfriendly acts, and after about 6 months it usually gives up the ghost and starts leaking like a sieve, it is however in the main still usable, save for a few ‘dead spots’ that I often find myself navigating around or through in some Bermuda triangle!
With a mission to get as many ‘Quality Moutnains Days’ in before my winter Moutnain Leader assessment, I headed up to Scotland with a new quiver of maps; the BMC map of the Cairngorms and Glencoe & Ben Nevis, The Harvey’s Super Walker Maps of Torridon and An Tellach, and after I promptly lost my Cairngorm map I replaced it with a trusty 1:50000 scale OS Landranger for the area.
As such There are four maps in the running the 1:25000 OS, the 1:50000 OS, the BMC 1:40000 and The Harveys 1:25000 maps.
In terms of use, I have to say I prefer a large scale than 1:50000, although I have got used to the scale using it for a few days to navigate in White out conditions on Cairngorm Platueax. You also get twice as much map for your money than a 1:25000 map, although OS have started producing double sided maps, although if you want to navigate from one side to the other then you need to be able to perform something between orgarme and wrestling on the side of the hill, if the wind is any but a gentle breeze.
The 1:50000 in my mind lacks much else other than contour details, so that sheep fold or fence your stood next to simply don’t appear. Which if you are totally lost, might just help you find yourself. Also measuring either distance or a bearing of them requires extra care, as even the smallest error is magnify by the smaller scale.
If you like the big area covered and the smaller scale then the BMC series of maps is a halfway house between the 1:25 and 1:50 thousand maps. Although until recently the 1:40000 scale was a bugger to use, as silva compasses simply didn’t have the roma scale for this size map, instead they came with the out dated inch to a mile scale. This has been solved now which means using the BMC maps is easier. They also have the wall boundaries mark on just like you would on a 1:25000 scale map, but even more helpful is the contours also fall into colour coded heights, meaning that the overall shape of the mountain is much easier to see.
On these BMC maps the contours take a little bit of getting used to, and whilst it looks like a normal paper map, it is actually printed on plastic, which is very tuff and durable, sadly the same can’t be said about the printing. After just a few days the map that is printed on the plastic started to rub off on obvious wear points, and more alarming, was when put in a pocket with my compass, several small sections were scratched off. What some centre and instructors have done is laminate the waterproof map, in order to increase their longevity.
Despite this the map is very good to use, and I often find it helpful when I teach navigation, the BMC has also put the opposite side to good use, with a smaller scale geologic map of the area, often some environmental and first aid tips, and on the back of Ben Nevis a 1:15000 scale of the summit with the essential bearings to get off the mountain alive! On some there are even topos of some of the more famous climbing routes!
The last maps I tested were the 1:25000 Harveys Walkers Map, and having used the BMC map which is produced in conjunction with Harvey’s I was expecting the same problems with the printing, and sure enough, after one day, yes one day in my pocket, part of the map started to rub off! Other than that they worked just as well as the OS map of the equivalent size.
Summary
OS 1:50000 with Active Map Cover
A good map, but with less detail than other maps.
Robustness: *****
Ease of Navigation: ***
Cost: £13.95
Overall: ****
OS 1:25000 with Active Map Cover
A great map, lots of detail, including the areas that we have a ‘right to roam’ on.
Robustness *****
Ease of Navigation: *****
Cost: £13.95
Overall: ***** (Authors Choice)
The BMC British Mountain Map 1:40000
Another really good map with lots of detail, however the printing is an issue
Robustness ***
Ease of Navigation: *****
Cost: £ 12.95
Overall: ***
Harveys Superwalker 1:25000
A good map with as much detail as the OS equivalent, and in some places even more obvious detail of the ground underfoot. Again the printing is an issue.
Robustness ***
Ease of Navigation: *****
Cost: £10.95
Overall: ***