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The right compass for beginner?

NOTPARSNOTPARS Member Posts: 2,081 ✭✭✭✭✭
edited February 2006 in General Discussion
Hello, in my recent travels I had the experience of becoming temporarily in an unknown location (lost). I want to get a compass and learn to use it. I have never even held a compass so I know nothing about them. I see them in surplus catalogues but want to get a good quality compass that is not too hard to learn and is rugged to boot. Anyone have any ideas?
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    GuvamintCheeseGuvamintCheese Member Posts: 38,932
    edited November -1
    Garmin![:D]
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    gearheaddadgearheaddad Member Posts: 15,096 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I'd suggest a Swedish compass.
    What is a Swedish compass you ask?
    Well, its a snuff box with a mirror in the lid, when you're lost you open the snuff box and it doesn't show you where you are or where you are going or even where you camd from but, it does show you who's lost!!!!!!!!
    Sorry, I love that one!!!
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    sheepdipsheepdip Member Posts: 3,124
    edited November -1
    One like this should get you going - K mart, Walmart ect.
    http://www.thecompassstore.com/9020g.html
    http://www.thecompassstore.com/51mcadl.html
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    11b6r11b6r Member Posts: 16,588 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Pick up a basic Silva- and find a good book on using map and compass. A compass alone is of limited use. You can get a usable compass for under $20. You can also spend a lot more on one that will have bells and whistles you have no idea how to use. Then go find a 72 inch bootlace, and attach the compass to your body or your gear- makes it a lot easier to find after you fall down the hill and roll thru the creek. Don't ask me how I know- trust me on this one- OK ?
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    CowboyEngrCowboyEngr Member Posts: 47 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    A Silva or a Brunton. Either of them will work well and last a lifetime. The Silva Ranger is a real classic and runs $40-$50. Both brands have fine compasses in the $10-$20 range that will work just as well.

    A GPS is great, but a good compass is still a good investment.
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    spurgemasturspurgemastur Member Posts: 5,655 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by gearheaddad
    I'd suggest a Swedish compass.
    What is a Swedish compass you ask?
    Well, its a snuff box with a mirror in the lid, when you're lost you open the snuff box and it doesn't show you where you are or where you are going or even where you camd from but, it does show you who's lost!!!!!!!!
    Sorry, I love that one!!!


    lmao
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    spurgemasturspurgemastur Member Posts: 5,655 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    I have bushwhacked across a 1.5 mile wide peninsula in N. Minnesota through boggy, dense forest using a good topo map and a $8 compass and come out within 200 ft of my intended location. I probably got lucky on that one, but an $8-$15 compass can do most of what most people want it to, and it doesn't hurt too bad when you lose it.

    I really like my Silva Ranger (referenced in a post above above), which allows a great deal of precision in sighting down a bearing. I use this to help me set up large research plots: I can get a much squarer plot using this $50 compass than I could with a cheaper model because it's designed to help you sight down a bearing with a lot of precision. The $40 differences between this one and a perfectly adequate $10 compass are that this one comes with a fold-open mirror (yes, snuff-box) with a slit in it through which you can sight. That allows you to simultaneously see the compass needle and whatever you're sighting at without moving your head or body. It also allows you to correct the compass for magnetic declination from true N with a gearing system. Oh yeah, and it's got an inclinometer on it but I've never had a real use for that. Once you've spent that much on it, it only makes sense to get some kind of good case for it....they're well built, but still.

    Whichever route you take, I think the REALLY important thing with a first compass if you're planning to do any orienteering is to have the compass dial mounted in a transparent base with a nice, longish (4-5 inches) straight-edge. This makes triangulating your position on a topographical map a little easier.
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    kristovkristov Member Posts: 6,633
    edited November -1
    Like every other product the compass can be as basic or as advanaced as needed to fulfill specific types of duties. You will most likely need what is often called an orienteering compass which is good for getting yourself out of a tight spot when you are lost. One of the Silva or Brunton models mentioned by our engineer-techician/cowboy friend will serve. If you are going out deep into harms way I suggest you get a mountaineering type compass which will offer adjustable declination and a sighting mirror, both of which will improve the accuracy of your readings by as much as 10-15%, which could save you many miles of extra walking. On either compass type try to get the largest baseplate you can comfortably carry because a larger base allows for more accurate triangulation and the larger ruler makes for easier map measurements. GPS is a wonderful item to have along with you but dead batteries, foul weather or any of several other problems can disable even the best of electronic devices and leave you stranded. This reminds me of the discussion we had several weeks back about the slide rule vs. the scientific calculator: The electronic gizmos will always win out in ease of use in typical daily life until they go bad (always when you REALLY need them) and then you might as well chuck them in the trash!
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    texaswildmantexaswildman Member Posts: 2,215 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    In all my times in the field in all kinds of conditions - i have staked my return on a Silva Ranger. One i have had since 1976, still travels with me. I think i paid about $40 for it in 1976 and i think they are about the same price now....

    BTW FCD - the Silva Ranger has an adjustable declination, and you are right on with your thinking.
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    FEENIXFEENIX Member Posts: 10,559 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    From an assistant scoutmaster ...

    All the compass recommendation above is great. However, "must" ...

    (1) know how to properly use the compass and its limitations
    (2) have the right area topo map - understand it
    (3) observe the buddy system - never hike or hunt alone

    ... and "BE PREPARED" ... for the challenge ahead ... and enjoy the outdoors.

    GOOD LUCK!
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    plains scoutplains scout Member Posts: 4,563
    edited November -1
    quote:A Silva or a Brunton. Either of them will work well and last a lifetime. The Silva Ranger is a real classic and runs $40-$50. Both brands have fine compasses in the $10-$20 range that will work just as well.

    A GPS is great, but a good compass is still a good investment.

    Could not agree more. The declination factor is really important. I "guided" two canoes with my exploring buddies on a week long soujorn across the Churchill River, (which nothing more than a series of lakes that innerconnect by waterfalls and rapids -- truly an easy place to get lost) with a compass and a map.

    THe books are usually pretty easy to understand, but you must practice before you go. Having a compass and not knowing how to properly use it can get you into deep trouble.

    The only time we got "miorientated" was the last morning after I had visited the whiskey god the night before and we all decided we knew where we were -- an extra 10 miles of paddling is all that being so sure cost us.

    I really like my GPS for open water navigation, but a compass does not require batteries.
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    festusfestus Member Posts: 1,010 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I also say Garmin, $90.00 and it will get you home everytime!
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    timbromantimbroman Member Posts: 1,164 ✭
    edited November -1
    Take this for what its worth. I agree with almost everyone who posted here, but I'd like to add this: I like to have TWO compasses with me and one of them can even be the little pin-on ones that are like a little spherical bobber - and one on a string around my neck that I can keep in my breast pocket. I have lost and broken a couple over the years and thats why I like two. Also, TRUST the compass - I've seen folks (maybe myself a time or two) that were certain they were headed in the right direction, figured that the compass was wacky or maybe that the logging road was not in the place Johnny said it would be.
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    NOTPARSNOTPARS Member Posts: 2,081 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    For Cartod, as a high school teacher, I am always amazed at the helplessness of kids today especially when their electronics don't work. That was the point of this post. I don't want to be like them.
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    NOTPARSNOTPARS Member Posts: 2,081 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    For Sheepdip: Thankyou, the compass store has it all. Now, if I could figure out which one to get...I hope there is no math involved.
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    NOTPARSNOTPARS Member Posts: 2,081 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    For 11b6r: Great advice. I figured a book and practice were the order of the day. I have a fair amount of experience falling down, tripping, and rolling down hills in the woods. Our unseasonably warm weather in Missouri has forced me off trail to escape the tourists and teens who think nature is a great place to get drunk and do drugs. I appreciate your advice and plan to take it.
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    NOTPARSNOTPARS Member Posts: 2,081 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    For CowboyEngr: Great advice. I have heard of both. I am going back to the compass store and check them out. They have books too. By the end of the day, I will be ordering both and hopefully learning something I should have learned a long time ago. Again, I appreciate the help!
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    NOTPARSNOTPARS Member Posts: 2,081 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    For Spurgemastur: Most of what you posted I didn't understand which is a testament to my ignorance. Responses like your's are an inspiration for me to get off my lazy you know what and learn.
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    NOTPARSNOTPARS Member Posts: 2,081 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    For Kristov: Great post and I appreciate your patience. Okay, my description of myself as a novice was optimistic. After reading these replies, no wonder I got lost...3 times...I am glad I finally worked up the courage to post this question. Now, one more, is this something I can teach myelf or would I need help? I have a 3 year old son (and I am 50!) and want to learn all I can so I can teach him about the outdoors. I used to fancy myself a regular "Daniel Boone" until I got lost in the dark one night in a rather large woods. Imagine my embarrassment when I "fell" (it was a big hill) out of the woods, found my way to highway, walked for a couple of hours, and then had to knock on a door. I was no more than 5 miles from where I had parked. But finding my way through the woods, hills, and so forth in such dark? No way. If I had had a compass....
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    NOTPARSNOTPARS Member Posts: 2,081 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    For Flying Clay Disk: When I go back to the Compass store website, is there anything I look for to determine if they have that adjustable dial?
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    zipperzapzipperzap Member Posts: 25,057
    edited November -1
    Still have my old Scout Compass, GPS and state topos.
    Never been lost. Don't care, at all, for the concept![:D]
    chewtwigzz.gif
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    NOTPARSNOTPARS Member Posts: 2,081 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    For Texaswildman: Silva Ranger, thanks. I had no idea so many people had so much experience with direction finding. This has definitely been a rewarding experience (plus my wife says if I get lost one more time...)
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    dakotashooter2dakotashooter2 Member Posts: 6,186
    edited November -1
    I favor FCD's approach. Using a compass and verifying your location with a GPS really works great. I generally use the compass to determine a bearing and establish waypoints for the GPS. The GPS is kept off most of the time and then turned on occassionally to verify position and distance. Just having a map of the area you are in and some common sense can be helpful. Just taking note of the location of major features on the map (roads, river drainages, ridgelines) can help you get out.
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    CowboyEngrCowboyEngr Member Posts: 47 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Notpars,
    You got numerous and all excellent replies (well, I don't know about the swiss compass thing, but..). Truly, there are a multitude of good compasses, I just mentioned Silva and Brunton because I have one of each and I know them to be good. Learning to use one and a little practice is the key. You can find several places on the web that give quite good lessons on the use. It may be somewhat easier if someone showed you in person, but finding someone with real compass skills is not always easy.
    Heck, a person has not lived until they were really, truly lost for a few hours. Once, I was totally lost in a Wyoming wilderness area that I was normally very familiar with. I left camp that morning in heavy fog. In about one hour, I realized I was totally turned around and had lost my "mental" bearings. Long story short: I'm satisfied that if I hadn't had a compass, I'd still be there!

    Good luck!
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    SperrySperry Member Posts: 5,006 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I too have two compasses. The bigger one is lost, but the little brass backup is still in the truck.

    However, getting used to knowing, generally, which way south is [via the sun] is a good idea.
    Nighttime, compass and maps.
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    anderskandersk Member Posts: 3,627 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Silva
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    spurgemasturspurgemastur Member Posts: 5,655 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by NOTPARS
    For Spurgemastur: Most of what you posted I didn't understand which is a testament to my ignorance. Responses like your's are an inspiration for me to get off my lazy you know what and learn.


    Hmmmm. Some of us (me guilty) are prone to moving a little fast and getting jargonny.

    Flying Clay Disk claims that the compass is easy to use and fun to learn.

    HE'S RIGHT.

    Somebody else points out that personal instruction is best. He's right, too, but:

    You can teach yourself with a half-way decent book, because it isn't (as several have pointed out) very complicated.

    I started my post by describing a bush-whack across a 1.5 mile wide peninsula. The beautiful thing about that situation is that...how badly can you screw up? That was a situation in which utter failure in the orienteering skills department would have resulted in a worst possible failure of.....somewhere on the other end of the peninsula that I didn't intend to get to. Like maybe 1 mile off-target?

    So.....get a good book, a decent compass, and go practice somewhere that screwing up won't result in danger. It IS fun.

    And if you can find an experienced mentor....so much the better.
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