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  • Marking maps

    Anybody have any good suggestions for marking waterproof maps that won't run or bleed when wet?

  • #2
    Not sure if it helps but I often print out my own maps from caltopo.com, and will sometimes draw in my own notes, unmarked trails, campsites, magnetic north lines, etc using Microsoft Paint, then wrap the printouts with clear packaging tape which helps keep them water resistant.

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    • #3
      Caltopo is a great site and definitely worth checking out. And although I think it is very important to have a paper map and compass. You can also save a GPS loaded pdf from caltopo and load in to avenza maps app so you have real time pinpoint GPS location on your map even without cell service and in airplane mode. But always remember when it comes to survival items 1 is none and 2 is one.

      Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk
      "If they dont find ya handsome, they should atleast find ya handy.." -Red Green

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      • #4
        I print maps on regular bond printer paper. If they need to be waterproof, such as for canoe racing, I lay the pages out on the garage floor and use a can of cheap water proofing spray from Walmart to coat them. It not only makes them waterproof, but also a bit tougher and resistant to tearing. Then I place them in plastic sleeves for further protection. If I have many I put them in a 3 ring binder. I have done this and used the maps many times, 5 times for the Yukon canoe races (it takes 95 pages to cover the 1000 mile race).
        Last edited by Wldrns; 08-14-2018, 09:59 PM.
        "Now I see the secret of making the best person, it is to grow in the open air and to eat and sleep with the earth." -Walt Whitman

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        • #5
          I wasn't sure if you meant making or marking, but I order waterproof maps from Mytopo.com and then if I need to mark it up, I use a thin tipped sharpie. or a yellow highlighter sharpie. I'm not sure what they're made of, but I am 99% sure it's not paper. But I'd think the same would work for your maps.

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          • #6
            I was just interested in putting notes on my waterproof maps. I figured a sharpie might bleed or run if I did and the map got wet.

            JV, have you had any issues with that when you marked yours?

            Thanks.

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            • #7
              Originally posted by montcalm View Post
              I was just interested in putting notes on my waterproof maps. I figured a sharpie might bleed or run if I did and the map got wet.

              JV, have you had any issues with that when you marked yours?

              Thanks.
              Nope, standard sharpies, (fine point and ultra-fine) are waterproof. They smell a bit, but they get the job done. I use the ultrafines to draw the declination lines sometimes and they've always been fine. They've gotten rained on and never smeared. If you are doing that though, and the surface isn't absorbent, you have to let each line dry for 5 seconds or so before you drag the ruler across to the next line or it can smear. But once it's dry, no issues.

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              • #8
                I have National Geographic waterproof maps for parts of the area that I have visited, and have had good luck with Sharpie and knock-off permanent markers. I put markings on a #744 to show the locations of campsites and picnic areas on Indian Lake in 2014 and they are still as good as new, though that map has been soaked and dried repeatedly. I tend to keep it behind me on the bottom of the canoe when paddling and it gets water splashed or dripped on it.
                Zach

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                • #9
                  Thanks again.

                  I have those in stock so I'll give it a try.

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