The bit of plastic that could save your life

By LFTO Gear Team

Gear news

22 January 2008 15:24

Did you know that, when you eyeball a grid reference on the map, a millimetre’s error will take you 25m off course on a 1:25,000 map, and 50m on a 1:50,00 map?

Now you can stay safer on the hills and help raise money for Mountain Rescue at the same time.

From the end of January www.where-wolf.com will sell a special edition Grid Reference Finder, stamped with the logo of Mountain Rescue England and Wales, as part of Mountain Rescue’s mountain education campaign.

For each £2.59 card sold, £1 will go to MREW. Fifteen percent of the company’s standard card sales will also be donated to the organisation.

Pinpoint accuracy

The 5g acrylic card features a grid marking the exact size of the northings and eastings on OS Landranger and Explorer maps, and allows grid-references to be pinpointed with great accuracy.

Richard Warren, Secretary of the Lake District Search and Mountain Rescue Association, said, “Spending a couple of pounds on a card could help avoid a rescue situation, saving many hundreds of pounds spent by the volunteer teams turning out in horrendous weather. And you never know, it might even save a life.”

"Knowledge beats a mobile"

The mountain education campaign, which commemorates MREW’s 75th Anniversary, is intended to encourage walkers of all ages to learn how to navigate, rather than relying on mobiles, GPSs or rescue services to lead them off the mountains.

“Remember,” warns Richard, “technology can and will let you down. A map and compass, and knowledge and experience of how to use them, won’t.”

Don’t forget to check out LFTO’s handy guide to navigating using grid references: http://tinyurl.com/2w4ucj