Ortlieb Map Case

A lovely piece of kit. I've had a couple of cheaper map cases which split along the seams and leaked after a few uses. These Ortlieb cases are in a different league. Mine is still going strong after seven years - I bought this as a gift for a friend.

An excellent quality map case which seals well and seems so far! ) to be completely waterproof. Only time will tell how durable it is, but so far it looks very encouraging.

The Ortlieb map case was nicely packaged and is well made. The plastic is soft and more transparent than previous map cases I have used. The seal is easy to open and looks as though it is very waterproof. I have not actually used it in the rain yet, so I can only go by first appearances but it certainly looks up to the task. The lanyard is a useful length, can be attached either side and is adjustable. I have found that maps have to be folded quite flat and are best used with the cover removed in order to avoid the case being too bulky. Alternatively you could use a scanned copy of the area you are travelling. I can't be sure just how strong the plastic is but there is a five year warranty. Overall, this case is better than previous ones I have used.

Two months ago I lost my old Ortleib Map Case and replaced it with one from another brand only to find that the alternative was so badly designed that an OS Explorer map normally folded for reading would not fit into it. Even worse, the width of opening was narrower than of the body of the case, so, even if the body had been wide enough, it would still have beena struggle to get the folded map in. . . Orlieb to the rescue. I bought another Orleib case. Now my folded map fits in with some room to spare and getting it in is easy because the opening is properly designed, i. e. at least as wide as the internal width of the body of the case. My old Ortleib map case was brilliant, except that the adhesive used to hold the Velcro to the transparent plastic failed quite early in its life cycle. That situation was eventually saved by my copious use of staples to hold the Velcro to the transparent plastic. Perhaps Ortlieb have by now found a more durable adhesive. On the new ortleib case I found that fitting the neck-cord clips into the holes on the case was slightly difficult. Fortunately this is a once only process. I appreciate that we probably have to live with this as the hole size and the dimensions of the material around the hole are chosen for strength and reliability. The clips are possibly a catalogue item and so Ortleib have to take what is available so cannot optimise the clipfor their specific application. My rating is really for the old case as my recently purchased one has as yet seen very little use.

We've used a Silva map case for several years, but this broke when it had to be used as an impromptu sling when my wife broke her arm! The Ortlieb case is very basic for the price, although it has a great reputation. Initial impressions: good construction, flexible, transparent. Neck strap is not high quality for such a high level map case - just a nylon cord and none too long either. We've swapped over the strap from our old Silva map case, which is much longer and more fit for purpose. Just one outing in dry weather. The test will be a howling gale with driving rain on a Lakeland fell!