Gear

Map measure of the month: Morris’s Patent Bijou Wealemefna

With the release of this tiny instrument, English inventor and manufacturer Edward Morris probably reached his zenith when he created the smallest in his developing range of map measures.

art

Tiny titanium pens

Three Points of the Compass takes a glance at mini titanium pens, suitable for keyring, EDC kits and lightweight backpacking, these are tough little fellows, just don't lose them!

map measurer

Map measure of the month- Morris’s Patent Chartometer, without totaliser

This month's instrument is attractive, awkward to use and full of faults. The design was later refined and led the way for many manufacturers of similar map measures.

Gear

Fire Maple Petrel Titanium Ultralight Backpack Stove

Easily the world's lightest commercially made remote canister stove, Fire Maple's new offering is a welcome addition to the choice of lightweight stoves, providing something a little different.

Cooking

Fire Maple 800ml Petrel Ramen Pot

This wide-base 800ml offering from Fire Maple is the latest in their Petrel range of heat exchanger pots and goes some way to improving both efficiency and stove compatibility, but not ease of use.

map measurer

Map measure of the month: McDonald’s Roller Ruler

McDonald's Roller Ruler/Règle Circulaire is a simple card measure that helped introduce children to tracking and measuring a line.

Electronics

Nitecore NB Plus 10000mAh ‘energy bar’

Three Points of the Compass has long been a fan of Nitecore Powerbanks, using them across many thousands of trail miles. Does the latest NB Plus 10k have anything new to offer?

art

Ultem: is this the ultimate material for lightweight EDC pens?

One type of plastic has been exciting comment among the Everyday Carry brigade. But does polyetherimide have anything to offer? Three Points of the Compass purchased a trio of pens to try them out.

Gear

Youth, learning, enjoyment, retrospection… and a set of scales

A few items of new gear have been carried over the threshold of 'casa Three Points of the Compass' in the last few days. While carrying out a few necessary preliminary tasks, retrospection and consideration of 'what it is all for' came to mind.

map measurer

Map measure of the month: Munn’s Map Measurer and Compass

Produced by a London jeweller specifically for cyclists in the 1890s, this little fob instrument bought together two useful functions

Gear

Gear talk: Zpacks Ultralight Camp Shoes

Three Points of the Compass ignores over a decade of personal preference and adds the Zpacks Ultralight Camp Shoes to his gear. Why!

map measurer

Map measure of the month: Silva baseplate compasses, with scale slides

Silva are one of the most respected manufacturers of compasses. Included on some of their baseplate models is a handy exchangeable map measuring scale.

map measurer

Map measure of the month: Suunto A-40 compass

This baseplate compass from Suunto includes a novel little addition; a small tracking wheel for measuring distances on scale maps.

Gear

The trials of trail shoes

Three Points of the Compass delves into his love/hate relationship with trail shoes. Now everyone, sigh and shake your head, pity him...

map measurer

Map measure of the month: Ronald McDonald curvimetre

Two pieces of moulded plastic, that introduced children to the notion of measuring a line with a circular wheel. While at the same time pushing brand awareness on to them.

Gear

Unpacking from the trail. Scotland has been wearing me down!

...or rather, multi-day hikes punishing gear over time. It looks like Three Points of the Compass will be hitting the summer gear sales.

Gear

Packing for the trail: my hygiene kit

Packing a few items that may, just may, keep me slightly cleaner on trail. It's not hard, its not difficult, just needs a bit of thought.

Gear

Packing for the trail: goodbye old friend

OK, so it Is just a flexible water bottle. But it is (was) amongst the oldest items of gear I have been using continually on just about all of my backpacking trips over the past decade.

map measurer

Map measure of the month: ADAC Kilometerzähler

This month's example is a fun little measure made especially for use with road atlases produced by the ADAC breakdown service

map measurer

Map measure of the month: Carl Brenske’s Marsch-Zirkel

Invented by a German army officer, the Marsch-Zirkel dividers could be used to calculate how long infantry and cavalry would take to cover a measured distance on a map.

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