View Full Version : Which guidebook(s) do you use
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Companion
Thru hiker Handbook
Data book
Maps/Guide book
Mapdana
Other
Why isn't there an option for "Follow the paint marks on the trees and ask people whats coming up."
trippclark
12-04-2009, 17:15
Why isn't there an option for "Follow the paint marks on the trees and ask people whats coming up."
That would probably be "other"
It isn't a book though. It also weighs a lot less.
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=45341
I asked this question last year.... here are the results.
Alright, well I had to vote Mapdana seeing as how the data I rely on comes from persons heads...
Companion, because (although I purchased a paper copy) I can carry it in pdf form on my smartphone --- whole book, no added weight. The actual book weighs 11.4 oz (2009 edition); much more than my phone does!
Many, many thanks to the folks that put out the Companion for making the .pdf of it available.
Chaco Taco
12-04-2009, 23:16
Companion, because (although I purchased a paper copy) I can carry it in pdf form on my smartphone --- whole book, no added weight. The actual book weighs 11.4 oz (2009 edition); much more than my phone does!
Many, many thanks to the folks that put out the Companion for making the .pdf of it available.
This brings up a new wave of guidebook handling. Each guidebook author should sell the pdf's as well. For those that dont want to hike with the book. Then they could have email alerts with updates to the book. Charge $20 and that gets them in for the year. Each year it costs since its new editions
This brings up a new wave of guidebook handling. Each guidebook author should sell the pdf's as well. For those that dont want to hike with the book. Then they could have email alerts with updates to the book. Charge $20 and that gets them in for the year. Each year it costs since its new editions
With this new way of handling comes the issues of digital copy rights and control. How do you stop the distribution of the books. Yes it's great and light but from the makers perspective they will get more money if they keep selling just the book. Although 20$ with little or no overhead to make a digital copy once and sell each for 20$. You can only hope hikers are honest.
white_russian
12-05-2009, 04:01
With this new way of handling comes the issues of digital copy rights and control. How do you stop the distribution of the books. Yes it's great and light but from the makers perspective they will get more money if they keep selling just the book. Although 20$ with little or no overhead to make a digital copy once and sell each for 20$. You can only hope hikers are honest.
DRM would not be too much of an issue. Whatever the future holds for this it is not going to be a PDF or any kind of document like it is now. It is going to be in the way of an app that can do a lot more than let you scroll though trail info.
If some folks can make it work with the PDF right now then good deal for them. I can see doing that, it sucks enough already looking at the PDFs on my full size screen. Its a lot easier for me to flip through a book than try to find what I want on a huge PDF.
With this new way of handling comes the issues of digital copy rights and control. How do you stop the distribution of the books. Yes it's great and light but from the makers perspective they will get more money if they keep selling just the book. Although 20$ with little or no overhead to make a digital copy once and sell each for 20$. You can only hope hikers are honest.
The first authors to figure a solution out will "corner" the market however as this is the wave of the future. Amazon Kindle type formats among others. My base weight is around 17-20 lbs currently but that already is increasingly including a Kindle (still trying to decide if weight worth it) which although it weighs as much as a paperback book, it is a whole library of books, music and documents and lasts about 2 weeks before batteries need recharging (as long as you leave internet off until needed - normally on all the time). Would gladly pay more for trail guide with links.
JoshStover
12-05-2009, 06:12
I think a trail guide app would kick a$$. If you had that on a gps enabled phone it could go straight to where you are at in the guide and tell you how close you are to h2o, shelters, town, etc.. I think this is the future of trail guides but ofcourse there are lots of people who get on the trail to escape technology among other things....
JoshStover
12-05-2009, 06:39
A Walk In The Woods
How did the OP forget to add that to his poll? A thru is not possible unless you have read this wonderful piece of work... lol :D
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=45341
I asked this question last year.... here are the results.
I posted this under Class of 2010 trying to get a feel for the up coming year thru hikers plans. Thanks for sharing last years poll.
"... it sucks enough already looking at the PDFs on my full size screen."
It's an issue, but with pretty lightweight reading glasses and the ability to zoom +/- to an optimal size, plus a button on my phone that allows the screen to be rotated 90 degrees, I can make do well enough. Of course it's not as comfortable reading as holding a physical book in my hand (the screen on my phone is 2-1/2" x 1-3/4") but the multi-use of a smartphone offers a variety of benefits, not least this one.
DRM or some sort of rights management for folks that create content is of course an issue here, and indeed at some future time it could be interesting to see a sort of designed-to-be-digital guidebook that integrates GPS, cell, and internet capabilities.
The other approach to getting pdf or whatever electronic format is via volunteers cooperating to build content and offering it for free. I'd love to see (and very possibly participate in future) more of that.
For now, I really appreciate having the complete Companion book in this form, would have happily paid to get it like this (and again, I did buy the physical book).
ARambler
12-05-2009, 13:24
I used the 2003 data book entered into an Excel spreadsheet. This allowed me to have a separate columns for miles to/from the next resupply as well as miles to the planned shelter for the night. I almost never slept at the shelter I planned before the trip, but the extra columns were helpful. I don't know why this never cuaght on. The digital rights issue may have been part of it.
Rambler
ARambler
12-05-2009, 13:26
Also used the electronic version of the Companion, and left the printed version at home.
CrumbSnatcher
12-05-2009, 13:28
i like the older style thruhikers handbook.
the way it used to describe the things along the trail and the shelter/campsite areas