Do You Use a Compass?

[RingTwist]

Do you use a compass while you camp, or is it not necessary during your trips? Do you use any other directional tools?

I rarely need a compass but I always take mine with me. It's an old World War II compass that was passed down to me from my grandfather.

[oldsarge]

Any time I go out I have a compass and map at the minimum. Most of the time I have my GPS. I don't always need them But would rather have it and not need than need it and not have it.

[wvbreamfisherman]

I agree with oldsarge- I always have a map of the area and a compass. Even if I lost the map, I always study the map before I go into an area, so I can remember the topography and major features.

If nothing else, you owe it to yourself to at least be aware of the best direction to try walking out.

Of course, I now have a GPS, but you can't always count on anything that needs batteries.

[ponderosa]

Unless I'm very familar with the area, I always have a map & compass. I'm also a big fan of the altimeter for route finding, especially off trail.

[ejdixon]

I always carry a compass around with me, although these days I would tend to use a GPS more to find my way around. It's still better to have the traditional stuff handy.

[Gondor]

Map and compass for me, but there is rarely a time when I would actually need to use it except for practice. Also, I always carry a button compass in my pocket.

[dinosaur]

I like a compass and a topographical map. If you know how to read a map you can pretty much triangulate your position. These have never let me down and, like the breamfisherman said, you can't always count on electronics. The Batteries go or the unit gets wet and croaks.

[ppine]

Of course, especially when hiking without trails and hunting.

For all of you GPS and geocaching types out there, what happens some time when your batteries quit?

[Pathfinder1]

Hi...


I use a compass...mainly for drawing circles.

[Lorax]

I'm old school. I like to navigate by map and compass. We still go places that are big enough and remote enough to use them.