okansas.blogspot.com Occassional thoughts about orienteering
Wednesday, October 16, 2002
My magnifier
What kind of magnifier do you use? Where did you get it?
I use a Silva magnifier. I bought it at the Swedish 5-days last summer.
I'm not sure if anyone in the US sells the model I use. Joe Scarborough and Gale Teschendorf both sell thumb compasses with magnifiers that look quite nice (as long as you use a thumb compass, that is).
This photo shows how I use the magnifier with the compass. I use a compass that sits on an elastic band around my wrist. The magnifier fits over my thumb.
The problem with the magnifier is that it makes it difficult to see an entire leg. It is easy to see the bit of the map under the magnifier, but if the leg is longer than the width of the glass, the magnifier obscures part of the leg. On longer legs, this can be a real pain. If the magnifier is on your thumb and you move it off the map, you can't keep your thumb on the map to mark your location.
When I want to look at the map without the magnifier -- for example, to look at a long leg or when I don't need the magnification to see the details -- I slip the magnifier off my thumb and put it on my middle finger. My middle finger is on the bottom of the map as I run. This photo shows it.
posted by Michael |
