UKH

Any views on whether something like talkytoaster maps make carrying a OS map redundant in winter? (maybe that should be 'referring to a map' as I can see the sense in having one at the bottom of your rucksack).

Also, is it common to upload a gpx that plots a course from say the top of a crag to the carpark (staying 50m from any edge) to be useful in a whiteout?

(maybe leads to a further question on how a garmin directs you back on course if you are picking your way through terrain, and not following the absolute directions suggested).

was meaning a watch btw, rather than a handheld unit

There was considerable discussion on the recent "Descending from Ben Nevis" thread about GPS v paper map navigation, so let's not re-open that.

I've not used talkytoaster maps (I have OS mapping on my Garmin) but they look good, and I assume you are happy with the level of detail and clarity they show.  

I always carry a map and compass as well, and I'd want to keep them handy, not at the bottom of my rucksack. It can be useful to refer to a map as well as the GPS, and if it's different from the mapping on your GPS the different view it gives can be helpful. Many argued on the other thread that you should still use map and compass as your primary navigation aid with GPS as back-up, but I prefer GPS (maybe I'm lazy)

I don't know what others do, but it's definitely my practice to pre-load the GPS with potential escape routes. It's all part of the pre-planning, and the mere act of drawing routes means I study the map in more detail than I might otherwise do, and gives me a much better mental picture of the terrain.

If you are following a route loaded into your GPS it should show on the mapping as a coloured line so you can see if you've deviated, and the compass view will point to the next waypoint.  If you're not familiar with it I suggest you practice with it before having to use it for real. I've recently got a new Garmin and I've been taking it even on local walks I know well, just to get used to it.

In that case definitely keep the map to hand as I imagine the visible screen on a watch is quite small compared with a handheld.

My system recently is to have the gpx programmed into my watch as you said, and then I use maps on my phone when I want to see more clearly the terrain around. I carry a separate compass because I don't trust the watch one, and I have used it from time to time in whiteouts. I can't remember the last time I've got the paper map out of the bottom of my pack and don't tend to take one any more. It seems very unlikely that both the watch and phone would fail, and for multi-day trips and sometimes very long days on the hill, I take a battery pack.

In reply:

Good to know and sounds like what I had in mind. One thing I can't seem to confirm though is if creating a gpx with waypoints, can you also do the inverse and mark an area/location to avoid that would alert if you crossed into it?

That function is provided by a 'geofence'. Have no idea if your Garmin does that, but it's a common enough function.

I use talkytoaster maps on my garmin watch and they're excellent with good detail (compared to OS, for example).  But, as others have pointed out, there are issues with the size of the display on a watch. I've found this to mean that it's often also useful to refer to something with a bigger display too (a phone or a printed out section of map). If the map were buried in the bottom of the sac that would take longer, so I find it useful to have this handy.

The other day I was on top of a hill and I could see two different paths on the ground heading down but in different directions. Only one of these paths was on the map. Using the watch alone I would probably have just had to guess, set off, wait for the watch to either tell me I was 'on course' or 'off course' and then adjust if needed by traversing. Obviously, that works but isn't ideal. We also had an A4 size paper OS map with us that showed features that weren't visible on the small watch screen. I used these to quickly set the map making it obvious which of the two paths was the right one.  That would be harder to do in poorer visibilty of course, but the range of things you could do to find the right path would still be improved by having both the watch and the larger map (and a compass). Although I find the watch with maps to be fantastic, especially if you've loaded a course onto it, in situations where I actually need to navigate it works best when used in conjunction with something that shows a larger area of the map (and this therefore needs to be kept handy).