Don't forget there are just a few days left to qualify for this month's Ranger Pacing Beads giveaway. You may recall my recent blog post about how to measure your distance using strides in which I described how to use pacing beads for keeping track of the number of strides/paces you've taken. These are sets that I have made using three different colors of gutted 550 paracord; olive drab, blaze orange and ACU grey. They all use the same black nylon beads and are approximately the same length/size.
How to Enter
To enter the giveaway for one of the sets of Ranger Beads, leave a comment below describing how (if at all) you track your distance during hikes and include any advice you would give to fellow backpackers who might just be getting started or learning this handy estimation technique. That's all it takes, pretty easy!
Good luck to everyone and I look forward to reading your comments.
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8 comments:
As a technology guy *g* I use my Garmin GPSMap 76Csx for measuring distance.
For estimating distance I just use time. It's a rough estimate but has worked most of the time. But I like the Ranger-Bead-Idea and will give it a try :-)
I just re-read the previous article and the comments and just noticed your question regarding if we were told to start with the beads up or down...
To be honest, I don't recall. In thinking about it, I have always started with them up and pulled them down just because I could pull the bead down in a smoother, slower motion than I could to push the bead up with the "shimmy" to work it up the string.
Less movement == Less chance of being spotted
Comes in hand when you are sneaking about :-)
That being said, I have seen other guys start with them on the bottom and there was one guy that hat the pace counter sewn sideways on his assault vest so it didn't "dangle"...
It's all personal preference, I think.
I use the 4km/hr estimation more often than I used pace counting. Different navigational tasks call for different techniques though, and every extra tool you have can be useful.
I recently tried with some friends to follow an old track that had been re-routed. We had a good guess as to where it broke off, and we followed our location on the track roughly using compass (knowing which bend we were on by the bearing). Unfortunately we didn't think to pace out each straight. The new path was a straight-ahead where the old path turned, and since we weren't tracking distance, we carried on along the new path (which shortly took a bend in the same direction as the old path, really tricking us).
I mentioned ranger beads in our navigational discussion before-hand, and wish I had had some!
I use the 4km/hr estimation more often than I used pace counting. Different navigational tasks call for different techniques though, and every extra tool you have can be useful.
I recently tried with some friends to follow an old track that had been re-routed. We had a good guess as to where it broke off, and we followed our location on the track roughly using compass (knowing which bend we were on by the bearing). Unfortunately we didn't think to pace out each straight. The new path was a straight-ahead where the old path turned, and since we weren't tracking distance, we carried on along the new path (which shortly took a bend in the same direction as the old path, really tricking us).
I mentioned ranger beads in our navigational discussion before-hand, and wish I had had some!
I just re-read the previous article and the comments and just noticed your question regarding if we were told to start with the beads up or down...
To be honest, I don't recall. In thinking about it, I have always started with them up and pulled them down just because I could pull the bead down in a smoother, slower motion than I could to push the bead up with the "shimmy" to work it up the string.
Less movement == Less chance of being spotted
Comes in hand when you are sneaking about :-)
That being said, I have seen other guys start with them on the bottom and there was one guy that hat the pace counter sewn sideways on his assault vest so it didn't "dangle"...
It's all personal preference, I think.
I always wanted a set of these but after finding out how to use them, feel like I would loose count or forget where I was at in the count..
Have you considered using a hand tally counter. I used them and it is much easier than the ranger beads.
I just simply count my paces, and use my fingers to remind me how many sets of one hundred meters I've done. Have considered making my own pacing beads. Friends of mine have also used them and pacing clickers and even Knitting needle counters!
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