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Peter, January 3, 2007

It's beyond me why people recommend this book for first-time backcountry hikers, adventure racers, or backpackers who want to learn how to read a map and use a compass in the wilds. Even the old time-encrusted 'Be Expert With Map and Compass' book is easier to use, and that's saying something!

The writers take far too long getting to the point in teaching map and compass fundamentals. Mr. Kals was an amateur sailing enthusiast and this influence shows in his frequent references to this sport - but sea navigation bears little resemblance to wilderness land navigation! Kals' frequent deviations from the relevant topic are worsened by the fact that the book pages are small (you can't even crack the book flat on a table while referring to it and doing a few nav exercises) and the resulting illustrations are less than clear. The whole book reminds me of an old first-year astronomy text - interesting discussions of abstract planetary and magnetic concepts, but very long in coming to the point when it comes to practical instruction. Furthermore, Kals tries too often to be clever when he should be trying to be clear and concise. Even with the so-called revision, it remains a slow-reading book that takes too long to get across the concept of practical back-country navigation in most wilderness environments. I am convinced that someone interested in backcountry navigation will want a modern teaching guide that helps them learn quickly, and not three pages on the virtues of an obsolete 1902 compass design! Oh, and the added-on GPS information is far too scanty to serve as a useful guide - better to master map/compass work first, then try a few geocaching exercises while using the factory instruction manual.

The fact is most every new backcountry navigator will want and need to practice mapreading and compass skills in the field with ANY instruction book. But there are much better instructional texts (and, with easier-to-follow illustrations!) than this one for learning basic map and compass skills, and learning them quickly (try The Essential Wilderness Navigator, for just one example.)

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