Crumpled City Maps
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Maps look great when they are brand new. Not so much a few days into a trip.
After multiple unfoldings and refoldings (perhaps along the pre-folded map creases but more likely not), after exposure to wind, rain, the curious hands of children, the clumsy hands of adults, the bottom of a jostling bag and/or coffee spills, a nice paper map can become a mangled monstrosity. Crumpled City Maps are different.
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Palomar, the Italian company that developed Crumpled City, gave prime consideration to how travelers use maps in the real world.
For starters, Crumpled City maps are printed on a cloth-like material designed to be scrunched up, not folded. This fits perfectly with Spot Cool Stuff’s packing technique, which includes a lot more stuffing and rolling than neat organization. But even meticulous types might enjoy quickly squeezing one of these maps into a pocket or bag rather than folding it. The 24- by 22-inch (87 by 58 cm) map compacts to a size that can be cupped in one hand.
Additionally, Crumpled City maps are waterproof, lightweight and durable. Really durable. If you are powerfully strong and put your mind to it, you might be able to tear one of these maps. To accidentally damage one would require an encounter with a chain saw, blow torch, plutonium or some other such thing that would be at the center of a really good (or really bad) travel tale.
Beyond their durability and crumple-ability, Crumpled City are quality maps. Roads are clearly marked and the scale works for both driving and walking. We especially like how the maps display “SoulSights,” such as parks, museums, art galleries and other tourist attractions.
Next trip you take to New York City, London, Amsterdam or the like, travel with a Crumpled City Map. Folding it is optional.
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Another cool find by the SCS editors! I still love paper maps and sad everyone is switching to Google.
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lilly Reply:
January 10th, 2014 at 8:57 am
be sad if you want, but a map on a smartphone is much more useful. these maps do seem cool but i’d never buy one.
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Spot Cool Travel Stuff Reply:
January 15th, 2014 at 11:03 pm
Lilly & A Loraine,
Thanks for your thoughts. But does it have to be one or the other? We use a smartphone/tablet to plan routes all the time. But there’s nothing like spreading a real paper map out on the table over breakfast at the hotel and planning out your day’s activities.
~ SCS
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lilly Reply:
January 16th, 2014 at 7:16 am
that’s a good point. i like that too.
Ted Reply:
February 10th, 2014 at 9:07 am
TOTALLY AGREE! I’m buying one of their Barcelona maps right now. They seem really fantastic.
Hi Mia,
Nice to see you in the comments again.
The Crumpled maps are about the same size (both open and closed) as your typical paper map with a cardboard cover. But, definitely, even that is too large for some people. Another good option are the Streetwise Maps—they don’t have as much detail but are laminated and very pocket-able.
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Twitter: sbp_romania
That’s a great idea, but what I don;t like is that these maps are quite big, or it seems that they occupy a lot of space.
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