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Maps: 50k vs 25k

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 martinturner 19 Sep 2017
So when planning a trip out, I generally use an OS App on my phone, have a look around, zooming endlessly in and out.
But I find when I have 25k maps active, I just find there's way too much going on to even contemplate where to go, let alone route planning.
I generally switch back to 50k, then things just seem to pop out better.

I suppose the old 'less is more' could be used.

Then when out and about, I could probably give or take the extra detail, even in bad weather!

Is it just me that finds there just abit TOO much going on, on a 25k map? Or is it one of those personal things.

(I do understand they have their time and place and I probably will be cursing on the day I take a 50k out and could really do with that extra detail haha)

 DaveHK 19 Sep 2017
In reply to martinturner:

I agree. I quite often print a section of 1:50k out but zoomed in on the area I need. Bigger and easier to read but without the confusing detail of 1:25k.

It also partly explains why some people like Harvey's 1:40k maps, a good middle ground.
 defaid 19 Sep 2017
In reply to martinturner:

Depends where I am.

Strolling around the Welsh hill farms, it's handy to have some indication of hedges & fences, woodlands, small streams et c. On the other hand, OS 1:25 000 can be pretty useless in rocky places like Torridon or the southern half of Skye. It's almost just a black scribble of 'outcrop'.

I personally prefer paper 1:25 000 in Snowdonia for the extra detail. In the last few years I've got my eye in with Harvey's maps and now I use them in preference to OS. 15 metre contour intervals were a bit strange at first but it's only really the relative closeness that's important (as in whether the next leg is steeper or the next ridge narrower). Despite the extra colours, their maps are less cluttered, especially on steep ground where wider intervals mean fewer contour lines, and rocky ground is denoted by a different colour of contour line from vegetated ground.

As with all things though, the transition did take some effort. I have no idea whether they, or samples, are available electronically.

D
 sn 19 Sep 2017
In reply to martinturner:

I think when viewing on a screen, 1:25k takes too much panning around - for that it is easier to use 1:50k.
However I generally prefer 1:25k when out on the hill, as there is a lot more useful information - walls, fences and uncultivated land being the prime ones, but also micro - tarns and more detail in the contours. They are probably more effort to read, but then i like map reading.. Also, in England / Wales they denote access land in different shading, which helps should one encounter an irate landowner.. (of course not applicable to Scotland).

I also find, being used to 1:25k, that it takes an age to travel anywhere on a 1:50k

I like Harvey maps to look at, but find the scale and contour interval awkward - obviously one would get used to it if used a lot.
 hbeevers 19 Sep 2017
In reply to defaid:

I too have switched to the Harvey maps now, the Lake District mountain map covers the whole Lakes area in one map and the lack of clutter is far easier to read.

Viewranger have the Harvey 1:40000 available electronically.
 defaid 19 Sep 2017
In reply to hbeevers:

Aye, that 1:40 000 really is a beautiful work of art, something that isn't often said of maps outside of books about elves... and as Dave Kerr said, it's a good, practical scale.

D
OP martinturner 19 Sep 2017
In reply to martinturner:

Hmm I didn't even think to look to be honest.
I will be sure to take a look and see what I think.

 Sean Kelly 19 Sep 2017
In reply to martinturner:

When ticking all the Munros, I used 50k almost exclusively. They show the general layout of the landforms much better. Compare the 25k v. 50k for the Cuillin and you will soon see the difference!
 Sean Kelly 19 Sep 2017
In reply to defaid:

> Aye, that 1:40 000 really is a beautiful work of art, something that isn't often said of maps outside of books about elves... and as Dave Kerr said, it's a good, practical scale.

No roamer on the Silva compass for 40k!

 DaveHK 19 Sep 2017
In reply to Sean Kelly:

> No roamer on the Silva compass for 40k!

My Silva does.
 Sean Kelly 19 Sep 2017
In reply to DaveHK:
Well I have 5 Silva compasses and not one has a 40k roamer!


 defaid 19 Sep 2017
In reply to Sean Kelly:

Oh no, neither does mine. I had to go and check.

My older one just has centimetres and the newer, bought in Ambleside, only has 1:25 k and 1:50 k.

Easy enough to make one on paper and laminate it, and perhaps better because you can put kilometres or miles on one side and grid sub-divisions numbered in both directions on the other.
 Brass Nipples 19 Sep 2017
In reply to martinturner:

Prefer 1:25,000 for the valley bits where i like to know where fueld boundaries are etc. Up high where im not concerned about field boundaries etc the simplicity of 1:50,000 wins out.

Moley 19 Sep 2017
In reply to martinturner:

I find both have their uses in different circumstances. Certainly for navigating over unfamiliar ground I prefer the 25k, the extra detail can be a godsend ( in mid Wales) where things are not always where they should be on the map.
The 50k is good for an overall view of an area and fine for easier navigation, has its place and need less of them on a day out!

When I see a Harvey map I go blank, but that is purely because I'm not used to them. Everything on an OS map is familiar, so as soon as I open it, it speaks to me. The colours, contours, everything. A Harvey map looks like a schoolkid has been let loose with a colouring book, but if I was brought up with Harvey's instead, my thoughts would be vice versa.
In reply to Sean Kelly:

Romer...
 jezb1 19 Sep 2017
In reply to Sean Kelly:

> Well I have 5 Silva compasses and not one has a 40k roamer!

Must all be pretty old.
 balmybaldwin 19 Sep 2017
In reply to martinturner:

I've always used 1:50k for looking around an area and desk planning, and also for navigation when out on my MTB (and I have OS1:50 on my garmin).

However when walking I tend to use the 1:25k to actually walk with (and prob have my garmin in my bag as back up or if I walk of the edge of a map)


Has anyone else found that OS paper maps are made so the area you are interested in is always on an edge or a corner? so you need 2-4 maps for a 20 mile ride round your house etc?
 Howard J 22 Sep 2017
In reply to balmybaldwin:

I have become a convert to Harvey's maps. I find the contours on OS 1:25k can be too faint to give a real sense of the terrain, and it is easy to become overwhelmed with detail. However in some situations the level of detail can be useful. On the other hand the 1:50k can have too little detail. The Harveys seem to strike the right balance, for me, but it took a while to get used to them.

It is possible to get customised OS maps centred on a selected point so if you regularly visit somewhere on the corners of several maps that might be worth considering. You can even have your own picture on the cover:

https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/shop/custom-made-maps.html?gclid=CjwKCAjw6...
 Toerag 22 Sep 2017
In reply to sn:
> However I generally prefer 1:25k when out on the hill, as there is a lot more useful information - walls, fences and uncultivated land being the prime ones, but also micro - tarns and more detail in the contours.
Agreed - if it's big enough to class as a feature I want to see it on a map.

> I also find, being used to 1:25k, that it takes an age to travel anywhere on a 1:50k

I grew up with 1:25k and got caught out when I used 1:50k in Norway for that exact reason. What I thought wasn't far turned out to be!
Where I live (Guernsey) is riddled with little lanes and footpaths, often only 50-200m long. At 1:50k the width of the roads would be thicker than the land between them, and even 1:25k is difficult to read in the little lane areas. The government now sell a GPS-based map at 1:15k which is much easier to use, and I was even lucky enough to have input into its design . The first version actually used accurate road widths which meant many lanes were virtually impossible to see, so we made them start using a standard thickness like OS do and it's much better now. The most annoying thing was that they decided Guernsey needed it's own arbitrary geodetic grid, so a reference on the map is impossible to pump into a GPS .
The only thing about 1:15k, 1:30k or 1:40k is that most compasses don't have romers for them. Luckily the BMC shop sells suitable romer cards.
Post edited at 16:48
 AlH 22 Sep 2017
In reply to Sean Kelly:

Older Silva compasses don't. Nigel the Head of Training at Glenmore Lodge persuaded Silva to put it on newer Type 4s. Still some old ones being sold though I expect.
Scallop 23 Sep 2017
In reply to martinturner:

I would not leave home with out 25k maps, due to boundry and ground types ect, 50k are great when you want basic info that being said in my local walking area Lank Rigg from Scaly Moss parking area, you would only get basic paths on the 50k no boundrys that could be an essential navigtion and safety feature nor do you get Farm names. Using farms to navigate is a thing when tou live near loads of them.

Recently i had to visit a farm down by Irton i had no data on my phone nor direction only the farm name, it took less than 5 mins to find the farm and choose my route using 25k map that cannot be found on 50k maps.

Now the OS map and it excendly high battery usage for its gps and why its just blitzes my phone and ipad even when only used for a minute or so here and their, i have no idea why its sooooo unoptimised but when using strava and i can walk and bike all day with its gps running and still have have lots left to watch youtube and type on here. So OS map app only use sparingliy if you are reliant on your device and dont carry a power bank or solar charger.

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