SplashMaps – tough and usable maps

Maps are great, we use them to help us navigate around spaces. These spaces tend to be outdoors and the weather is not always conducive to unfurling a massive sheet of paper. In my opinion, maps need to be tough. That is why it is nice to see a start-up that is trying to produce maps on fabric, a technique that was used widely by the armed forces during WWII.

I don’t usually give shout-outs to ventures like this, but this one is using Open Source Data and is trying to make nice, usable maps printed on fabric.  I hope they raise the money they need to get going, i would certainly like to have a fabric map in my collection. If you are interested, please read the overview below and click the link to the SpalshMaps project page on Kickstarter.

SplashMaps – pic courtesy of SplashMaps

“A SplashMap is a map printed onto a fabric, and like its inspiration (the escape and evasion silk maps used in the second WW and distributed around the continent in Monopoly boxes) they are light-weight, durable, washable, wearable and ideal for the “real” outdoors of mud, wind, snow and rain… all the conditions that paper is not “cut-out” for. This is a fresh new market offering, never done before; uniquely based upon the best Ordnance Survey data and other Open Data Sources. We are able to tailor these maps to be the most usable outdoor maps ever for walking, riding, cycling, eventing or anything you could do in the real outdoors.”