After Adi’s great post last November about marking information on maps I went out and bought the Staedtler pencils and pens, to trial them with Scott Amos, my good buddy and fellow mountain rescue team member, both on the hill and search management, for marking up maps. And we now totally concur with Adi’s conclusions: Staedtler are one of the best technical writing instruments companies out there!
We decided to use three colours and create a common protocol; speaking to our colleagues, and by common consensus, this is the system we now use:
Red Pencil
Mark current location, as in thumbing the map
Mark waypoints
Cross-hatching danger areas
Plotting bearings: Resections (Triangulation/Cocked Hat) and for military intersections
Escape routesBlue PencilRoutes
Tracks
Perimeters/borders of areas of demarcation
Search areasBlack PencilWriting notes
Grid reference
Telephone numbers etc.
Pencils verses PensInitially, the field the pencils worked best for us, because when it’s raining (and it does a lot in Scotland!) you can easily write on the map with them, and are easy to correct if you have made a mistake; in fact they are a
bullet-proof piece of kit. We trialled both the propelling and wood pencils and for our money the wood not only did the job, it represents great value.
The pens were fine nibbed; consequently you can be a lot more precise and detailed with these than with the pencils, perfect for marking maps up in a Search & Rescue control vehicle. Interestingly we started to use both, the pens when route planning, adding grid refs, mobile numbers, recording magnetic declination etc., before venturing into the great outdoors and are now convinced that using both is the optimum.
Unlike Victor Kiam, we couldn’t afford to buy the company, instead we have been selected as a supplier Staedtler and are offering the pens and pencils at:
www.shavenraspberry.co.uk
