The fragility of paper maps, or any paper goods for that matter depends upon the quality of paper and how they are handled. Some years ago, I realized I would be a set of quadrangle maps (for the northern Channel Islands) regularly for a good many years, so I "super prepped" them - cut them into uniform rectangles, coated them with waterproofing solution, and glued them together with Chartex cloth so that everything would fold uniformly. I used that map set regularly for nearly two decades with great success, also covering them with notes and locations. When I retired, they went into the park archives.

Sometime in the early 1990s, I began to use GPS. For an archeologist, GPS is the best invention since the wheel. Still, I like the backup that only a good old paper map can provide. Carrying both doesn't incur any significant weight or space penalty. Besides, you can shave off the margins of a paper map to use as an emergency fire starter. Try that with a GPS receiver.....

What about my old maps in the archives? I will be going out on a trip to Santa Rosa Island in June with another archaeologist and I inquired about getting my old map set from the archives and doing one more lap with them. No dice, but I can get a photocopy......