I recently moved, and moved many boxes of books so I'd like to move to electronic format. Living in a new area means new guidebooks for route beta. I'd go all electronic, but I like to photocopy the pages for a particular route to take with me rather than the entire book and I wouldn't want to take route information on a battery powered device.

Anyone have experience using Kindle, or other electronic format for guidebooks you'd like to share? What about experience "exporting" relevant data to be printed?

Thanks,
Don

One thing I've resorted to frequently over the past couple years is photographing the relevant pages I'd like to print out, which would work on either a book or electronic versions.

Once photographed it is easy to email the photo to yourself, especially from a cell phone, and then print the information. The photo isn't always the highest quality but I can read it perfectly well.

mrchad9 wrote:One thing I've resorted to frequently over the past couple years is photographing the relevant pages I'd like to print out, which would work on either a book or electronic versions.

Once photographed it is easy to email the photo to yourself, especially from a cell phone, and then print the information. The photo isn't always the highest quality but I can read it perfectly well.

I have done a similar thing, only I have scanned them rather than photographing them. Typically I print print the scan on one side and the Topo I made on the other. That said, in all matters of book vs. Ebook, give me the real thing everytime. Nothing replaces the feel of a book in year hand and there batteries never go dead.

Bubba Suess wrote:

mrchad9 wrote:I have done a similar thing, only I have scanned them rather than photographing them. Typically I print print the scan on one side and the Topo I made on the other.

Thanks Bubba, I hadn't thought of that. I typically print a topo on both sides, one side with as much route detail as possible and the other with area details to be able to triangulate a position from prominent peaks.

Perhaps good 'ole paper is still the way to go.

I copy a lot of route info, too, for areas I'm not familiar with or where I won't be going repeatedly (such as when on a climbing/hiking vacation).

FWIW: Latest on the techo front is that dedicated e-reader devices (Kindle, Nook, etc) will dissappear in the not-too-distant future. The software will be integrated into laptops/tablets/smartphones as apps. You might want to consider staying with 'paper' for a little while longer to see how the book and guide book (and print wolrd in general) evolves.

phydeux wrote:
FWIW: Latest on the techo front is that dedicated e-reader devices (Kindle, Nook, etc) will dissappear in the not-too-distant future. The software will be integrated into laptops/tablets/smartphones as apps. You might want to consider staying with 'paper' for a little while longer to see how the book and guide book (and print wolrd in general) evolves.

Not likely with any current technology. The screens for a laptop/tablet suck for reading for any length of time. The screens for e-readers don't update fast enough to be used for a general purpose computer. I have yet to see a display that can handle both tasks reasonably. The may be out there, but I haven't seen one.

That said, I will still go with an old fashion book any time, especially for novels. I just finished reading The Time Machine in a first edition collection published over 80 years ago, complete with an introduction by the author. Can't beat reading a story like that in an old book.

I love the smell/feel of a traditional book. But I have to admit there is something to be said to be able to slip my Kindle into my pack and have all my guide books at my disposal as well as my copy of Mountaineering FOTH to reference if needed. Also having Angry Birds is great!

Last sentence was written with some sarcasm.

donby wrote:Perhaps good 'ole paper is still the way to go.

This +10,000

donby wrote:
Perhaps good 'ole paper is still the way to go.

i always go with paper as a primary source. i don't like being at the mercy of someone else if they decide to cut off my access for whatever reason. or the device breaks. or runs out of batteries. or blah blah blah.

but then again, this is coming from the guy [me] who actually has paper quads of the SoCal area, so perhaps i'm just a tad too ocd.