Tape up the creases of a map once they begin to wear out or tear. Clear scotch tape works okay, but use clear moving tape for a very sturdy repair. Once you apply the tape to the worn fold, fold the tape and crease it as if it were a section of a new map. This will establish a good groove for the fold.

Protect your maps: whether they're made of paper or plastic, a map will last longer and serve you better if you take care of it. You can buy fancy spray coatings and snazzy see-through map holders, but really a zip-lock plastic bag performs the task very well at a minimum cost.

Practice safe folding! If you're trying to consult a map while driving, pull over first. Even if you can manage the trick of folding and driving at the same time, the small print on most maps demands a lot more eyes-off-the-read attention than is safe. Besides, you can get even more lost if you don't stop: that turnoff you need may just disappear behind the map.

2torial #0652: Learn2 Fold a Map (Continued) Refold a pre-folded map   There's also an art to refolding a pre-folded map. Here are some tips to get a map folded away neat and flat for easy storage.   Always keep an eye out for the opening section of map--the section that has the title, price, publishing information, etc. Any fold you make should not bury that section from view. As soon as you make any fold that folds that section away, then undo the fold you just did, and look for another option. Look at the map--there are only two kinds of folds, those that go lengthwise, and those that go across the width. In most maps, you fold up all the folds going one way (say, lengthwise) before you start folding it the other way. If you can't remember which way goes first, try doing all the lengthwise folds, and see what happens. If you lose sight of the title section of the map, you know you've made an error and should try it the other way. -end- Learn More! or All steps at once (printable version)