Customer Reviews

Land Navigation Handbook: The Sierra Club Guide to Map, Compass and GPS (Sierra Club Outdoor Adventure Guide)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The book discusses in detail every technique that you need to know to become a very good land navigator. It explains very simply and clearly the different types of maps and compasses. Teaching the novice or expert basic and advance navigational techniques which are both simple and practical. So far this is the best book that I have read with regards to land navigation.

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 learn with, and that's saying something!

The writers (Kals died years ago, and the book was recently slightly revised and augmented with GPS information) take far too long getting to the point in teaching map and compass fundamentals. Mr. Kals was an amateur sailing enthusiast, not a hardcore wilderness hiker, 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.)

This is a great book, it is careful explained, written in plain english, it explains everything about map and compass navigation ...and it goes further explaining about stars navigation, altimeter navigation, scales, cross country navigation and much more!, all explanations are carefully developed to made easy the learning process.

If you are looking for a book to get usefull knowledge about land navigation or compass and map skills this your best choice.

This is a book for all people, beginers and intermediate users will be pleased and satisfied, the book contains a lot of useful information.

Author is an expert!!!, no doubt this is the best book about map & compass navigation and the best choice!

This book teaches everything from basics to advanced navigation procedures, it even teaches you how to understand those crazy topographic maps you've got to use when navigating! It's very complete, it's very easy to understand and it comes from those guys who defend the wilderness. Looking for THE book about map & compass? You found it.

I don't know anything about land navigation and hoped that this book would help me. But it does not explain many of the concepts, and it doesn't even have a glossary. It has a topographic map in the back, but it is hard to follow the references to it. I consider myself a reasonably intelligent guy, but I've had trouble learning from this book.

The new edition brings this classic book up to date with digital mapping and GPS technology. It retains much of the content and flavor of the original text yet adds a great deal of material that is helpful today. This handbook teaches the basics of map, compass, and GPS with clear langauage while offering advanced outdoors folks detailed information and tips (there's even information for adventure racers, geocachers, and sea kayakers). The new info, illustrations, and photos make this the best navigation book on the market for anyone who plays in the outdoors.

As a book that holds itself out to be a handbook as well as a guide to the subject of maps and compasses, it fell woefully short in instruction on either.

1) There was virtually no mention of terrain features. One of the most important things to understand on a topo map are the terrain features and how you can use them and the map alone to navigate a parcel of land if you know your terrain features well enough. This is a must for any book of land navigation.

2) Section, re-section and modified resection. While modified resection was briefly mentioned, the first two were not. These three methods of positioning must be understood to successfully find a particular position on the map.

3. The lensatic compass, while an old model, is still utilized because it is one of the most well designed models ever built. Why was it not mentioned in the section on compasses?

4. The section on maps had no reference to the Military Grid Reference System.

Those were the primary complains, but there was nothing of notable value, either.

This updated second edition of LAND NAVIGATION HANDBOOK: THE SIERRA CLUB GUIDE TO MAP, COMPASS & GPS could also have appeared in either our Sports or Military columns, but deserves mention here to be sure the widest possible audience receives notice of the completely updated edition including new text by Clyde Soles. Here is a pocket-sized 'bible' of outdoors survival, providing basic keys on everything from using maps and compass to using an altimeter, navigating by kayak on lakes, understanding GPS navigation and how to choose and use a GPS unit, and even how to navigate by moon and sun alone. Photos, drawings, and a fold-out topographic map provide plenty of visual illustration and examples of the details and make for an invaluable instructional reference both in the field and for at-home study.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

The second edition of Land Navigation Handbook (2005) is the best book I have read on the subject of navigation. The explanations and expert guidance on choosing and using a compass, the distinction between magnetic and true north, choosing and using a GPS unit, how GPS works and its limitations (not just for north America but for other parts of the world as well) are definitely worth reading. I have learned a lot from this book. The book is not for land navigation only, it is also an indispensable aid for marine navigation. I sincerely think every sailor should have one in his sailboat (it measures only 8" x 4.5" x 0.5") as a reference book.

I was considering this book for a class I teach. I really like the Sierra Club backpacking book, so I had high expectations for this book, and was disappointed. The author comes across as more of an enthusiast than a serious teacher of navigation. The book needs more structure and organization. It reads easily, but it's wordy; some things could be explained much more clearly and concisely. A lot of fascinating detail; may be of value to a more advanced student, but for the beginner it's just unnecessary clutter. The best feature is the fold-out map (but Ch. 2 begins by discussing what's not shown on the map!). There are few illustrations, but a couple of them are particularly well done. The author seems biased against standard base-plate compasses, but users of mirror-sighting compasses will find more for them. The discussion of declination is made overly complicated by excessive background information, but the methods are correct and decently explained. Like most similar books, the procedure for orienting a map using a compass is more complicated than necessary. There's an entire chapter on altimeter navigation, and a lot of advanced information on astronomical navigation. Overall, the book is an interesting and enjoyable read for someone with considerable background in the topic, but a beginner should start elsewhere.