Obviously, ideally, you have a map and compass etc and know how to use them in order to get a 6 figure grid ref- though I realise that might be aiming quite high for some hill users. They might not have done it for some time, may be rusty and a little worried about their accuracy, and some may simply never have learned how to do it. In such cases mobile apps are of course going to be of some use, and it would be silly to think that there is no reliance on them- so let's just assume for a moment, that in this particular case, no map, no knowledge of how to find a 6fig grid ref....
Let's think a little about being lost on the hill. You may or may not have a mobile signal, for the moment, we're going to assume that you do, and that you have had the forethought to download an app that gives you your current location. Marvellous. You can work out that location, send it to someone and they can come and get you. All well and good.
The "advantage" of w3w is that the words are easy to remember, the app is easy to use- you have it on your phone and it tells you immediately where you are, and the 3 words given, give you your location to a 3x3m square of land. You don't need to know how the system works. You don't need to think about anything, it just does it.
Wonderful.
The minor issue:
If you give me 3 words and say "I'm at this location", I then have to find my phone, get the app, type the words in and then it should give me your location on a screen... which I then have to work out where that is in real life, which is fine with a street name, but on a fairly featureless moor, it might be a little different. The reason for that is that each square is named with no relevance to the next square, so sequential searching just isn't a thing.The names are created by an algorithm which means that easier to spell words are used, also homophones are placed far away enough from each other that they shouldn't make too much of a difference when relaying information, and if you spell the word wrong, theoretically, if it is close to a word with a location it will autocorrect to the right place.
I do have a minor gripe with it though in terms of hill going accuracy... it appears to be optimised for locations in towns and cities. There, the words tend to be short, succint and easy to say. When you're on bleaklow and trying to say "removed. estimate. riverboat" it might be a little more challenging... and those words do indeed show me exactly where you are- if I have signal. If I don't, unless I can get in touch with someone that DOES have signal, there is no way I can deduce where you might actually be.
 |
| Alright then Dave... we've got a w3w location come in... you've got the app downloaded on your phone, right? |
But hold on a sec.
What if there was an app that you had on your phone- just like w3w, that needed exactly the same amount of knowledge on your part- ie. press a button- where am I?
Here is your location- but instead of using words, it uses numbers.
You don't need to know how the numbering system works, it just does it. Wonderful.
Hold up... this sounds similar to w3w, doesn't it?
Is there any further benefit?
Imagine you download those numbers, they get relayed via radio to someone who has been searching for a while and has no mobile battery left. They take those numbers, use a map and work out exactly where you are- to within 10 metres and then come and find you.
Insane- right? and without any use of technology on their part.
Yes, this is how the Grid system works. No, it is no more complicated than w3w, and yes, you can use it entirely offline- there is no reliance on a company maintaining the network or the algorithm, it is there for everyone to use and is as easy to use as w3w.
But I don't understand the grid system
If someone tells me that w3w is better for them to use because they "don't understand" the grid system, that doesn't fly with me. You don't understand the w3w system because it is a computer generated algorithm- That doesn't stop you pressing a button and getting your location, does it?Equally, not understanding the grid system doesn't stop you pressing a button and getting your location?
No, I didn't think so.
As someone on the hill who might be given a location to get to in a short space of time, in a situation where my phone may or may not have signal, battery, or the ability to work because of the crappy weather, if I get a grid ref, I know I can get to it using a map. If I get 3 words... all well and good, but I'm still reliant on someone translating that into something I can use to find you.
For Example
Here is a quick example: if someone calls you up and tells you that they are currently located at vital.study.undivided, where exactly on this map - which I have in my hand- are they standing? |
| Ok- awful picture, but you get the idea |
Okidoke- now, if someone in the same place, using a different app, but using the same process of pressing a button tells you they are at 1184 9331- where are they? Well- I can certainly find them.
"but what about the preceding letters?" someone will shout. Surely you need the preceding letters as well?
Indeed, to be specific, you do need the preceding letters. However, if someone is on Bleaklow, or started walking from Snake summit or Alport Farm and just gave us those numbers, we aren't going to assume that they are at SD1184 9331 (the West coast of the Lake District), or SE1184 9331- (Just North of Bellerby)- or any of the other versions of that Grid ref... you'll be doing well to be 100km away from where you started. So yes, the preceding letters are nice to have, but not utterly essential in this context.
This is not to say w3w is not any good. It is fine in towns. It is fine in the absence of anything else. But professing ignorance of how the GR system works as a reason for using something that is less useful in a hill going context just seems lazy and disingenuous to me.
Here are a couple of apps for grid references if you need them.
Apple OS grid app
Android grid app
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