Birdsville inside track

I spent 11 years in the Army so I will always use grid maps over Lat Long. The main problem with Lat Long is that the maps do not show contours and elevations (lay of the land) anywhere near the accuracy of a topographical map.
You could be lost on a topographical map and work out where you are by compass (back bearings) and looking at the contour of the land and relating that to the map. This is impossible to do with Lat Long.
Lat Long is used by civilians because it's easy. Refering your bearings from a number on a GPS to a map is simple. Problems arise when you don't have GPS (flat, broken etc). Using simple map skills is not possible to the same accuracy.
I love to know that in 200 metres I will be crossing that creekline that I can visually see on a map. This cannot be done on a Lat Long map.

I honestly believe that 99% of 4wd'ers do not have the map reading skills required to use a topographical map to it's potential hence the community uses Lat Long. Back bearings, allowing for movement of true north over the age of the map etc etc is a skill learnt from hands on (not out of a book). I'm not having a go at anyone for this as I consider myself lucky to have picked up these skills and enjoy putting them into practice. I just find it personally frustrating that every map you get from the Desert Pass and rangers etc are all Lat Long. The only way to get a good grid map is via a dedicated map shop.

Sorry , still a little confused ,

Cant you get Topographic maps with lat/long as the reference.

I have used the Lat/long system alot , the aircraft I fix use it for navagation . Learned about it during my apprenticeship.

I have zero knowledge of the grid system , a small burst would be appreciated

Glenn.

yes you can get maps with both. As Lat Long is less accurate you will only get the topographical maps with lat long also in the larger maps (1:250 000). Once you get down to the 1:100 000 you will only get grid from what I have seen. I must admit I haven't asked a dedicated map shop this question so maybe you can get both on more scales (?)
My preference is always the 1:100 000 as they just have the right amount of info to feel comfortable to know where you are all the time.

I am by no way an expert on all this. These are just my personal preferences, but no one can argue on which map shows more detail when it comes to seeing the 'lay of the land'.

It also depends on the terrain. Desert travel for example will have a lower priority on contours etc (it's all flat!), but if looking for a turn off or you lose a track because it's hardly used then grid maps are the way to go (hence I got grid maps for this trip so I don't lose the inside track again). Also in terrain with lots of hills then I think grid is much better as you can actually see the peaks and gullys visually on a map and you can refer that onto the map and know exactly where you are.

I know a GPS will tell you all this but what happens if you drop and break it, or the batteries run flat, or a heavy canopy is blocking the signal. Then you only have your map (and hopefully your compass) and map reading skills to get you home. This is obviously a worse case scenario but personally I think anyone is crazy to go out bush 4wding and not be prepared for the worse.

7P's - Prior Preparation and Planning Prevent Pi** Poor Performance.

Glenn.

thanks but still in Lat Long :(

I have bought good grid maps yesterday so won't have a problem now. The problem with my last trip there was that I let others do the navigation to give me a break from it. They only had Lat Long so the accuracy simply wasn't there when it came to the extent of knowing what was around me down to 50m to 100m (track could have only been that far away).

buggar. Thanks for that.