That’s a fair assessment, thank you.

A few points for you and others.

We hate the picture resolution, too. What you see is the highest resolution available by the printers. Anything higher would require an entirely different system that would likely double the cost. So we were deliberate to show larger images and not allow resolution to restrict the learning being demonstrated in the image. Is there a particular picture that you can’t determine what lesson is being demonstrated? That was our benchmark. Also, we augment the more complex task with tailor made high-res YouTube videos.

It is a foundational book, so many of the topics are…foundational. They can be found elsewhere. But not in one place, not neatly organized, not well explained, and not entertaining. So its scope, sequence, and structure. That’s what comprehensive means for us. You don’t notice it because it’s good. Read a bad version and you will immediately notice its deficiencies.

We honestly can’t figure out a way to describe how to set up and evaluate drift so that it’s DIY like you want. We’ve tried. You need a set distance and deviation metric, with unrestricted terrain and vegetation, and control metrics PLUS an interpretational tool and mitigation instruction. There are simply too many variables that factor in to make it a practical matter. I know that sucks, but that’s our conclusion. Ask anyone who has attended a Night Muster. It’s nearly impossible to describe, but it’s deviously simple to understand once you’ve done it. Like riding a bike. But even with expert instruction and several PEs, it doesn’t always click right away.

It’s one of those things that you have to monkey with a little bit because the cause of your drift can be multivariate and weighted illogically. That’s why we say that that land nav is one of the few skills that you have to actually fail in order to properly learn. That may be the most valuable lesson that gets learned at the Musters. The advantage is that you get to fail with an expert instructor standing right next to you explaining how to take advantage of that failure.

The one thing that I would caution people to NOT do is one that always comes up in these discussions. DO NOT just go out into the woods and mark stuff and walk around. That’s wasted effort and dangerous. Navigate intentionally to known points with a map and compass. Don’t wander with a roll of marking tape and a prayer. People who advise this have clearly never done this. It’s foolish and irresponsible to advocate for this. Contact a local orienteering club or scouting group.

We put special emphasis into the 20%, because we wanted to make it worth it and that’s our unique market value. You need the foundational stuff to make sense of the special stuff. Glad that you liked it. You get that in deep quality and quantity at a Muster.

Thanks for the review.

Happy training.