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| 7.62mm Crusader |
I somehow knew the cell phone would be posted of. I, sometime back down loaded a way cool compass. There were several styles to choose from. Have the app shoukd I ever need it. Still, a quality mechanical compass is a nice piece to have. | |||
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Member |
Like anything else, it depends. In this case, it depends on a lot. Most places I spend time outdoors these days, I know the place well enough I don't need tools/equipment. If you're going to be somewhere that you would be in deep shit if you couldn't figure out where you are or how to get somewhere, you want an effective navigation method (that you know how to use) and a dead-reliable backup navigation method (that you also know how to use). Typically, that would be something like a handheld GPS unit, with a waterproof map and quality compass as backup. Of course, if you haven't learned how to use them (and haven't PRACTICED how to use them), you might as well leave them at home. Also, HOW you use them depends a lot on where you are. There are many places where, if you get lost and you have a good map and compass and know how to use them, you can figure out where you are very quickly by comparing terrain and landmarks and taking bearings and plotting them on the map. There are also a lot of places where, if you only pull it out after you're lost, a map is pretty useless. If you're going to be wandering through dense, flat woods/forest (no distant landmarks, no meaningful terrain features), and you're relying on your GPS to get you somewhere and it goes tits up, a map isn't going to help you because there's no way for you to figure out where you are. In that kind of situation, the only way a map is useful is if you've been using it all along, keeping track of where you are by dead reckoning and what terrain features you can find. When you know about where you are and about where you're going, when you hit a little stream, you can tell which one it is on the map. When you're lost and don't know where you are within miles, there's no way to tell which one of the dozens of little blue lines on the map just got your socks wet. | |||
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| Dances With Tornados |
Check out my post on What 3 Words. . | |||
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Member |
Agree. Was just wondering what is typical today given all the products available. In my day when I actually did stuff like this, only analog compasses were available. I'm definitely rusty - I could do what might be considered relatively basic / rudimentary stuff before. But I need to rebuild knowledge, skills, experience. I'm not even sure where to get maps and what maps to get now. Everything seems to be online these days. And these newfangled GPS devices - hope the learning curve is not too steep.  Anyway, was hoping to use some easy trips to start building skills again. It's all prep for when I fully retire and have lots of time on my hands, I can venture to more remote places. Trying to build all the skills I need now so that I can hit the ground running from day 1. The quote above gave me a chuckle. "Wrong does not cease to be wrong because the majority share in it." L.Tolstoy "A government is just a body of people, usually, notably, ungoverned." Shepherd Book | |||
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| Member |
Handheld GPS devices cover a pretty big range of price/features/size. If you go back to the dawn of GPS handhelds, they basically showed you current coordinates, heading, and speed and little else. If I recall correctly, they also had basic waypoint recording functionality. My dad had a very early Magellan handheld GPS like that in the 90's as a backup on an offshore fishing boat. It was huge, about 9"x4"x2". These days, the smallest, cheapest handheld units have more features than that. The bottom of Garmin's range is the eTrex 10 which has a very basic worldwide base map and will plot the path you've taken on it. Higher end units can do stuff like load full-color topographic maps on the device and show you your position and path you've taken on the map. There also are some units with extra, non-GPS features - e.g., the Garmin Rino series have built-in two-way radios and can transmit location and voice to other units within range (you can see your friends with other units on your map) and the Garmin inReach range uses a low-bandwidth satellite connection to allow two-way text messaging, weather reports, and location reporting outside of cell service range. Ignoring the fluff, the basic use of a handheld GPS device has very little learning curve, it's all pretty self-explanatory if you have any land nav experience at all. | |||
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Member |
While a regular compass is good having a Garmin InReach GPS receiver is the ultimate. You can drop breadcrumbs at a preordained interval from 10 minutes to 4 hours I think so not only can you find your way back you can retrace the exact route. Plus if you find yourself in deep doodoo you can reach out for help either from friends or a dedicated SAR team// ------------------ Eddie Our Founding Fathers were men who understood that the right thing is not necessarily the written thing. -kkina | |||
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| Member |
Every currently available handheld GPS I am aware of has path recording (with the recording interval generally in the range of seconds or tens of seconds) and will let you retrace routes. The InReach breadcrumb thing is that it reports location at intervals via satellite to the internet. People you designate can check on your current location and past route in real time (subject to the reporting interval). | |||
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| Peace through superior firepower  |
Can you do all of that without batteries? Let me know when that becomes the case. ____________________________________________________ "I am your retribution." - Donald Trump, speech at CPAC, March 4, 2023 | |||
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Member |
The vast majority of the time I can ‘get out’ by holding one direction until I hit a road or other major border. That’s normally deer or grouse hunting. I don’t like to just walk back the way I came, want new cover. Take an overcast day/eve in a large, flat, undistinguished cedar swamp, a compass is handy. I do have an Etrex, but like simplicity & not having to rely on batteries. Try trailing a wounded bear(then dead) after dark in a MI evergreen swamp. It’s been asked several times, ‘do you know how to get back’? | |||
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| Member |
With battery life measured in days and the ability to charge the device with a small portable solar panel (battery bank) or your vehicle it is really a non issue. We used it on a 10 week trip to AK this summer with up to a week off the grid at a time and never had an issue. ------------------ Eddie Our Founding Fathers were men who understood that the right thing is not necessarily the written thing. -kkina | |||
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Go Vols! |
I don't remember where they are made, but I keep a Stanley London in my bag. They have a wide variety. Well made, but I wish mine was liquid. For a lensatic, it is still very heavy brass (mine, not sure about the link). https://www.stanleylondon.com/...ensatic-compass.html Plenty to choose from. | |||
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| Savor the limelight |
Using your phone as a compass and GPS is all well and good provided you've downloaded the maps ahead of time and have a way to recharge it. I've been in quite a few places where cell coverage isn't available and have lost gps signal as well. There's nothing wrong with plotting your path on a paper map and having a compass. Casio makes quite a few solar powered watches with compass and altitude sensors built in. Keeping track of your elevation can help you locate yourself on the map. | |||
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