Map Rulers for the Rebelle Rally

If you're running the Rebelle Rally — a multi-day, all-women's four-wheel drive competition through the American West, with roadbooks and checkpoints, paper maps and compasses, and absolutely no GPS — this is the page for you. It's a rally, not a race (they're particular about that, and rightly so): points come from precision, not speed. Which means it's won and lost with a ruler and a sharp pencil.

The rally hands you maps at 1:25,000, 1:50,000, 1:100,000, and 1:200,000 scale, and your coordinates come as latitude and longitude. Below are three ways to gear up, from off-the-shelf to fully tuned for the course.

Option 1 — Stock Map Rulers

Our standard map rulers cover all four rally scales. Each one plots latitude/longitude coordinates (minutes/seconds on one edge, decimal minutes on the other), handles UTM/MGRS as a bonus, and measures distance in miles and meters on the back. Proven tools, in stock, ready to ship.

One thing to know: a stock ruler's coordinate scale is spaced for latitude. Minutes of longitude are shorter than minutes of latitude (more on that below), so when you measure longitude you angle the ruler across the map until its endpoints line up with the graticule. It works well — navigators have done it this way for a century — but it's an extra step every time you plot.

1:25,000 Scale Map Ruler Scales: 1:25,000 x 2.5 minutes
1:50,000 Scale Map Ruler Scales: 1:50,000 x 5 minutes
1:100,000 Scale Map Ruler Scales: 1:100,000 x 10 minutes
1:200,000 Scale Map Ruler Scales: 1:200,000 x 15 minutes

Why a Latitude-Adjusted Longitude Scale?

Minutes of latitude are the same size everywhere: one minute is one nautical mile, about 1,852 meters. Minutes of longitude shrink as you leave the equator — at the latitudes this rally runs, a minute of longitude is only about 76–85% as wide as a minute of latitude. That's why a single ruler edge can't read both directly, and why stock rulers get angled for longitude measurements.

A custom ruler fixes this with a second scale: one edge for latitude, and a separate longitude edge compressed by exactly the right amount for a chosen latitude. At that design latitude you lay the ruler flat along the map's parallels and read longitude directly — no angling, no geometry, no wondering whether you slipped. When you're tired, dusty, and the clock is running, plotting a fix in half the time with fewer mistakes is a real advantage.

The catch: the longitude scale is exact only at its design latitude. Move away from it and a small error creeps in — so you either angle the ruler a little (much less than with a stock ruler), or you carry rulers tuned for each stretch of the course. That's exactly the difference between the two custom options below.

Option 2 — Budget: Custom Rulers Tuned to 32°

All four rally scales as custom rulers, each with a longitude scale adjusted for 32° north — the southern end of the course. Degrees and decimal minutes, just like your roadbook coordinates, and — because the rally runs on metric distances — two kilometer scales on the back, no miles. Near 32° they read longitude dead-on with the ruler held flat; as you work north you angle the ruler slightly — noticeably less than a stock ruler needs.

We've pre-built the whole set as a collection. You can order it exactly as designed, or copy it into your own account and customize each ruler — colors, labels, the design latitude itself — before ordering.

View the 32° Rally Collection (4 rulers)

Option 3 — Deluxe: Rulers for the Whole Course, 32°–40°

The full-course treatment: for every scale, a separate ruler for each degree of latitude from 32° to 40° — lat/lon on the front (longitude tuned to that exact latitude), two kilometer scales on the back. Wherever the day's route takes you, grab the one ruler that matches your scale and your nearest latitude and plot with it held flat. You're never more than half a degree from a perfectly tuned longitude scale, so there's virtually no angling, ever — and because each ruler is a single latitude, there's no packed set to read the wrong scale off of.

Budget vs. deluxe in one sentence: the 32° rulers are exact at the south end of the course and need a little angling as you move north; the full-course rulers are exact everywhere the rally goes.

The whole set is pre-built as a collection: add it all to your cart at once, order just the latitudes you need, or personalize the titles — no account required.

View the Full-Course Rally Collection (36 rulers)

A Few Practical Notes

Copying a collection takes a free customer account — the copies land in My Designs, where you can open each one in the designer.
Prefer to start from scratch? The custom ruler designer and the ruler set builder are open to everyone.
New to plotting latitude and longitude? Start with our lat/lon quick guide and the plotting video.
Want practice at plotting generally? Our interactive plotting tutorial is built around UTM/MGRS/USNG rather than lat/lon, so it won't match your roadbook coordinates — but the habits it drills are the same ones: bound the square first, seat the ruler square to the grid, read the scales, don't round what you didn't measure.
Ordering for a whole team? Get in touch — we're happy to help with team orders.

Rebelle Rally is a trademark of its owner. MapTools is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by the Rebelle Rally; we make map tools that competitors find useful.