3 Basic Compass Skills Everyone Should Learn

Thanks for opening this discussion, I’m a big believer in compass use. Reading this article would be a good introduction to what you can do with a compass. Of course, in my experience, dead-reckoning and triangulation both sound easy in principle, but require a fair amount of practice to understand and mitigate the factors that lead to inaccuracy.

On the other hand, setting the declination on your compass isn’t even a skill.  :-)

Matthew K, that way works but it sort of adds some steps.  I do a lot of Orienteering as a sport.  The beginners get shown your way as it can help “see” how the map relates to the features around them.  There are a few things that should be added.  The MAP is actually the most important thing.  Following an exact compass bearing over rough country is very difficult.  Best to keep the map features as you pass them.  We are also taught that if you ARE working on a bearing, to hold up the compass, let the needle settle “in the dog house (north)”.  then look as far as you can in the direction of travel arrow.  Spot something….lower the compass and just walk to that feature (Tree, bush, downed log….).  Get there, repeat.   The other thing is in their example of going for a water feature (or anything).  Depending on the size of the feature, you might need to actually “aim off”.  We aim say to the side by 10, 20, 50 meters of a feature but we are going to hit some other linear feature (power line, stream, trail).  Then when you hit that other feature, and you aimed say to the right of the actual thing you are going for, you then know to simply turn left (since you’d aimed to the right).

Orienteering is a fairly inexpensive sport.  There are clubs in many states (Here in Texas I think we now have Houston, Dallas/Ft Worth, Austin and San Antonio clubs), and I ‘d suggest to everyone going backpacking to find a local event and attend once or twice a year.  Just for practice.

Wisner!,

Yes, I have that book.  I got it a few years after I started doing Orienteering.  But it is still the gold standard.  Our club has done raffles at events and given away copies.   Our local club (North Texas Orienteering Association) is very fortunate.  We have and have had in the past, world class orienteers.  Some of our founding members were Niki and Sir Peter Snell (Olympian).  The Boy Scout Handbook was written by some of our club members, one still teaches our “Beginners Clinic” and the BS Merit class at 95 percent of our events.  I think he’s forgotten more about orienteering than I know.

+1 on Kjellstrom’s book.

I rarely worry with a compass backpacking, because I’m always on established trails, but canoeing I’ve always got one in the boat. Especially in the northeast, when you’re hopping between 14 consecutive little round identical lakes, they prevent a lot of headaches. I picked one up a while back and was startled at how much I’d forgotten about using it, it’s definitely a perishable skill. (I do Matthew K’s way of orienting the map prior to getting a bearing or identifying features.)

A good thread topic,  I’ll be happy to read other’s advice on the subject.

Since I orienteer, I’ve got several compass’s of different types.  Actually about 6.  I have a “Moscow Thumb Compass”.  We wear it on our thumb with the map.  Cool compass, very fast needle, can mix and match.  “I want a compass for my left thumb, but this base plate, but that compass, with….”  They put it all together.  I also carry a $11 base plate which is a Silva from one of the sporting goods stores.  I have a small button compass for backpacking but also a Silva with a broken base plate.  I don’t plan to be off a trail far.  I use it to go off trail, count my paces off.  When I then wish to return, I simply put the “SOUTH” arrow in the “Dog-house” on the compass (so 180 degrees) and count my steps back out.  The main thing for me is to pay close attention to features as you go off trail.  When you reverse, it will look slightly different but I find myself going “Yeah…that half fallen tree, and beyond that was that funky bush growing sideways with berry’s…yep there it is….”