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What do you use for navigation?


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Home Forums General Forums General Lightweight Backpacking Discussion What do you use for navigation?

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Viewing 20 posts - 1 through 20 (of 20 total)
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    Posts
  • #1234441
    Justin Chaussee
    Member

    @judach

    Locale: Earth

    Just currious what other people use to navigate?

    I use a Brunton 8096-AR compass and a Garmin 60GSX GPS.

    #1481760
    John Brown
    Spectator

    @johnbrown2005

    Locale: Portland, OR

    USGS topo map and suunto baseplate compass, can't remember the model…

    #1481765
    David Neumann
    BPL Member

    @idahomtman

    Locale: Southern Oregon Coast

    I use a topo map, the compass and the altimeter on my Suunto Vector wrist computer.

    #1481778
    Jon Hancock
    Spectator

    @bigjackbrass

    Locale: Northwest England

    Generally I carry a Silva Ranger 27, a very compact sighting compass which conveniently doubles up as a mirror.

    #1481784
    W I S N E R !
    Spectator

    @xnomanx

    Suunto A-10 compass.
    $12, 1 oz., all I could ever need.

    #1481788
    Unknown abc
    Member

    @edude

    Silva 2 Explorer and topo map of area.

    Never did like GPS units.

    cheers

    #1481797
    John Carter
    Member

    @jcarter1

    Locale: Pacific Northwest

    Suunto GPS Plotter Compass. Has a UTM scale for my Garmin eTrex H. Also, the scale makes nice arrows which make it easier to sight the bearing, and the global needle allows me to tilt the compass up enough to read the bearing while quasi-sighting.

    #1481809
    Mark McLauchlin
    BPL Member

    @markmclauchlin

    Locale: Western Australia

    I carry a Garmin 60csx, full colour screen and top maps.

    This isnt the lightest thing to be carrying but I really enjoy the calculations it provides (altitude, kms/h, distance travelled to name a few).

    Perhaps the main reason I take this out with me is so that I can download the waypoints and load into Google maps. It's great to be able to see where I have been and to be able to share with others.

    Also take a photo-copy from a map of the area…just incase technology fails me.
    Cheers

    #1481869
    Denis Hazlewood
    BPL Member

    @redleader

    Locale: Northern California

    Suunto MC-2 and USGS Topo maps. I've got a Garmin etrex Venture HC, but have never used it. Probably won't either.

    #1481876
    Mike W
    BPL Member

    @skopeo

    Locale: British Columbia

    #1481878
    cary bertoncini
    Spectator

    @cbert

    Locale: N. California

    i almost always have a map, and almost always it's a topo

    i've usually carried a compass along, but i don't think i've ever actually used one to navigate – always just used a map along with visible landforms for navigation, even when going off trail

    #1481890
    Scott McClure
    Member

    @scottmphoto

    Locale: The beautiful Arkansas River Valley

    I'm carrying an old Silva Boy Scout compass that I've had for almost 30 years. That and a topo map and I'm good. Recently, I've been playing with a Magellan Triton GPS. It's a fun toy, but my compass doesn't need batteries.

    #1481906
    Richard Matthews
    Member

    @food

    Locale: Colorado Rockies

    I use a 7.5 minute topo map. If I need the compass or GPS I am aready lost.

    #1481959
    Ali e
    Member

    @barefootnavigator

    Locale: Outside

    If I have a trail I use it. If not the sun moon and stars. When I am in completely unknown areas I might bring a map but usually not. I dont recall ever using a compass. I dont like to be rushed so I dont set too many expectations of where I want to go. I just let my body do what it feels like. Since I usually dont know where I am I never feel lost. Ali

    #1482002
    John S.
    BPL Member

    @jshann

    Ali, the body navigator ; )

    #1482135
    Simon Wurster
    BPL Member

    @einstein

    Locale: Big Apple

    Garmin Vista C with topo map and UTM coords., and a paper topo map (with UTM grid). Sometimes I bring a UTM grid tool for more precision (like "Where's that darn water spring anyway?"). I also bring a Brunton 26 (small sighting compass) primarily for its mirror, and an itsy-bitsy Montbell compass/zipper pull on my lanyard.

    But it's not really navigation; I could probably navigate without any of the above, since I stay mostly on-trail. However, and as others have pointed out, I enjoy the geographic snapshots I take, to know exactly where–and when–I was at any point on the trail, and to record special waypoints for future reference. Further post-processing of the GPS data meets all my mental masturbahtion needs: average rate, time/distance between points A, B, C, D…, and even break times.

    I'm a bit dismayed that the latest GPS units are simply heavier and larger (OK, larger screens are good), which have delayed any thoughts of upgrading.

    #1482156
    Justin Chaussee
    Member

    @judach

    Locale: Earth

    I wish I was technologically savy enough to post my trips on to google maps using my garmin 60gsx. I tried to do it before, but alas, I failed…

    #1482677
    Jim MacDiarmid
    BPL Member

    @jrmacd

    I use a map and my Suunto M-2D. I'd love a GPS, but there are too many other things to buy first and I'm not ready to go cross-country yet anyways. So really, I navigate by following the trail.

    #1482683
    Denis Hazlewood
    BPL Member

    @redleader

    Locale: Northern California

    If you're practiced with your map and compass you should have no trouble going cross country. GPS is not required.

    #1482885
    Justin Chaussee
    Member

    @judach

    Locale: Earth

    I have no problem navigating with a map and compass, however, I do like bringing my GPS as well. Not only is it helpful for obtaining your coordinates and location quickly (which you can cross referance to your map), but on a more entertainment note, it makes it easy to record your hikes. I use it to save the hikes I've done so I can come back to them in the future (especially if its an "off trail" track.) If I really needed to, I'm about 99% positive I could successfully navigate myself through the wilderness using nothing but a safety pin, a leaf, and a little bit of water… But that's just plain inconvenient.. ;-)

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