Comments on: More Than Just Finding North: Understanding the Compass

By: Dave

Dave — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 13:47:00 +0000

Thank you, Martin, that is the highest compliment.

Re: looking for a compass – a decent outdoor sports store, particularly one oriented toward backpacking, should have a good selection, and a clerk who knows what s/he is talking about. If you can find a “Recreational Equipment Incorporated” (REI) (“The Co-op”) store near you, that is a great place to go. But Bass Pro, Scheel’s, Cabella’s, etc. and a host of local backpacking shops will also have what you’re looking for.

Two other things — I didn’t mean to badmouth lensatic compasses, only cheap ones. A lensatic compass is fine, but IMO takes more skill to use well. And the good ones can run you a C-note. You get more bang for your buck with a protractor/baseplate design.

Second, I said that the compass should have a means of “adjusting” for declination. I should have said “compensating” rather than “adjusting.” I recently had a friend use a compass that had a scale on the bottom of the capsule, and you simply placed the North end of the compass over the appropriate mark rather than straight at the “N.” There’s no adjusting – just compensating. That does work. On the other hand, the compasses that have a means of actually adjusting and setting declination sure are convenient. That’s how it is with my Silva Ranger 15 CL. But, as I said, unless you’re using a compass professionally, the Silva Ranger is overkill. Not that I’ll ever part with mine…

By: Martin

Martin — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 01:51:04 +0000

THanks Dave.

Every article always has one guy add a comment that send me into action. Your comment is the one for the compass article.

I will get the baseplate/protractor compass. Not sure where but will look around. This article and your comment was helpful I know nothing about this but this may come in handy one day.

By: Christopher Hutto

Christopher Hutto — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 21:38:08 +0000

Hey love this article. I came across another forgotten navigation tool that can do much more than a compass and is just as invaluable if you have proper knowledge of its functions it is called an Astrolabe. The Astrolabe is very cool and makes being without electricity or clocks a breeze, I believe that the U.S. Navy still uses it in their basic training.

By: zombie

zombie — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 18:21:43 +0000

When I reach the trail, I only have two possible ways home

By: Cobby

Cobby — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 18:07:17 +0000

Here’s a site that provides declination from a zip code:

http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/geomagmodels/Declination.jsp

By: Kyle

Kyle — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 12:41:05 +0000

The one thing I like about this site… it makes me think there is still hope. Just about all the skills and knowledge they share in here are things I think my generation is lacking… and therefor the one under me is lacking even more in! I think they said it right when they refered to my grandfathers generation from WWII as the last grgeat generation. They knew how to do this… somehow along the way, it has become a rare art for a man to be a man and not need GPS or to call a fix it company to do his work.. and dont even get me on how folks raise kids these days!

By: Dave

Dave — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 21:15:06 +0000

The baseplate compass shown at top, also called a “protractor” compass, is a Silva. Brunton makes one that’s almost identical, and I’m sure other manufacturers of quality compasses, do, too. The beautiful compass in the top picture is called a box compass. You won’t even find them for sale anymore. I’ve used all three types, and a few more, extensively.

I recommend the baseplate/protractor compass over the lensatic for a beginner. I use a Silva Ranger Model 15, far more compass than you’ll need unless you’re doing professional work. It’s about $50, and it’s deadly accurate. For most purposes, you can get a good, liquid-damped baseplate/protractor compass for under $15. Just make sure that it has some means of adjusting for declination. I recommend you go to a good outdoor store that specializes in backpacking, etc. I do not recommend the cheap lensatic compasses that you can find for, oh, $10 or so. They’re not worth it.

I can’t emphasize enough, though, the importance of magnetic declination. I’m out west, and the declination in my area is about 15° East — enough to throw you waaay off, and get you into some deep doo doo. But once you understand it, it’s easy to handle. In some places in the Pacific Northwest it can be 20° or more.

A compass does one thing that no GPS receiver can do. With a compass you can determine where something is without going there, by triangulation. GPS’s are cool. But I never go into the woods, or backpacking, or anything like it, without my compass.

By: Chris

Chris — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 16:12:06 +0000

I just returned from an 11 day trek through northern NM, Let me tell you, if we didnt have a compass, we would have been lost on dat 1. We were using the basic base plate compass though.

By: P

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 15:08:30 +0000

Reading Michael T’s post reminded me of my father and grand father. They always had a water compass mounted to the windshield of their cars. They are so much better than the digital ones that come in cars. You can get an exact bearing. I had one in my first car but since buying a new one, I have not had one yet. I think I will buy one today. My dad is so fanatical about these things that he took his altimeter from his first plane and built a mount that would replace the ash tray in his car. It was the coolest thing ever. We could see the barometric pressure, the altitude and the bearing. It was an old school GPS! LOL

By: Michael T

Michael T — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 00:46:13 +0000

Take a flying lesson and one of the very first things you will get hammered into your brain is that the wet compass (liquid filled) is the most accurate thing in the aircraft. I don’t know for sure what the exact explaination about this is but I do understand the general point.

May I respectfully suggest that before learning to use a lensatic, get the most basic compass as shown here and learn to use it and how it will behave. It makes a huge difference to just learn the basics.

Oddly enough, one of the things that helped me get reaquanted with my love for “old school tech” (I collect slide rules) was the cheap compass I put in my car, it was less than US$5 and held on with a suction cup. Just to be able to pull out a map on the side of the road and be able to answer the question “Which way am I heading?” can be very educational and helpful.

By: BP

BP — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 18:07:32 +0000

Can’t say enough about having some man skills. Went orienteering with some people this summer and many of the “men” did not know the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. When handed a map you would have thought it was in Arabic.

By: Travis

Travis — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 12:03:48 +0000

What brand is the compass at the top of the article?

By: oracle989

oracle989 — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 01:15:29 +0000

It’s a shame more men aren’t familiar with the use of a compass. Just think how lost some of these people would be if we had an outage of the GPS constellation, which is old and very well may shut down.

By: Cobby

Cobby — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 00:48:34 +0000

Another resource is “Be Expert With Map and Compass”:

http://www.amazon.com/Be-Expert-Map-Compass-Orienteering/dp/0020292651/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1247013864&sr=1-1

While I agree generally with P regarding declination, it’s helpful to know whether it makes a difference where you are. Along the Appalachians it’s minimal. Out west you’d better know about it.

By: P

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 23:02:35 +0000

How did the author completely forget to explain that the user must compensate for declination from true north? Since magnetic north is not the same as true north you must add or subtract a certain number of degrees, depending on where you are, to compensate. Many of today’s compasses have an adjustment that can be made to compensate. Google the declination in the area where you are using it.