Do You Use a Compass?

[Theosus]

Compass... And I study the area in case I lose my map. At least I can go in one direction until I run into a road.

[TroyS]

Originally Posted by 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?

I'd always carry a set of regular batteries with me whenever I go hiking just in case that happens as well as a compass and a map.

[oldsarge]

Originally Posted by 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?

We continue geocaching using a compass and map.

[Mudder]

In central Iowa, the heavily wooded areas are usually along the rivers. For such a corn-and-bean-fielded state, we're lucky to have many rivers and dense/wide wooded areas. I'm lucky to not be in Nebraska or SD or ND . Really, no need for a compass here. If you don't follow the river, you're sure to run into a farmer's house soon enough. You really can't go more than 10 or 15 miles in any direction before running into somebody's home. But don't get me wrong, there are plenty of bike trails & hiking trails & primitive wooded areas, especially along the Des Moines river. There's tons of places to get "lost" in, yet safe enough to hike without a compass. A nice compass is a nice & compact tool though for if you do lose your sense of direction. For me, a compass is the last thing on my list to purchase. I may buy a cheapo Coleman though to get by, or a Casio or Timex or Coleman watch that has a digital compass (that actually works).

[JeepThrills]

Originally Posted by 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?

When I was learning to fly I had a handheld GPS as backup. One of the "rules" my Instructor taught me was that you always carry extra batteries. I keep an extra set in my backpack and rotate them out, so they don't get old. I do carry a compass, however, just in case the GPS goes out.

[Ventura]

I would think that this is an essential item to carry. Even though you may have a map or GPS, there may be times when the compass would come in handy. It would also be a fun activity if you are traveling with school age children.

[oldsarge]

Map and compass reading are great confidence builders with kids. Even without a compass, a good map is really an essential item through terrain association.

[RingTwist]

Originally Posted by Mudder

In central Iowa, the heavily wooded areas are usually along the rivers. For such a corn-and-bean-fielded state, we're lucky to have many rivers and dense/wide wooded areas. I'm lucky to not be in Nebraska or SD or ND . Really, no need for a compass here. If you don't follow the river, you're sure to run into a farmer's house soon enough. You really can't go more than 10 or 15 miles in any direction before running into somebody's home. But don't get me wrong, there are plenty of bike trails & hiking trails & primitive wooded areas, especially along the Des Moines river. There's tons of places to get "lost" in, yet safe enough to hike without a compass. A nice compass is a nice & compact tool though for if you do lose your sense of direction. For me, a compass is the last thing on my list to purchase. I may buy a cheapo Coleman though to get by, or a Casio or Timex or Coleman watch that has a digital compass (that actually works).

I completely understand; I grew up in Iowa and we traipsed through the woods all the time, even as kids. These woods were even smaller though; I think the furthest we walked before running back into civilization was 3 or 4 miles. That's a long way for a 7 year old though.

[Cappy]

Both Peg and I are map lovers. I can't tell yall how many courses ive plotted and run off of with map and compas. I still have a book full of directions like run this course 7 mins this course 17 mins etc to get ya across a shallow bay. This carries off to our home life and even like our recent road trip Peg had printed a stack of maps and directions over an inch thick. The guys on the boat laugh at the ole cappy with his brief case full of maps some homemade, and books of written directions, but outa our 50 boat fleet guess who every body calls when they gotta go to a new place....yup...me yea I have 2 personal GPS's and bring them with me eerywheres, but old habits die hard and I'm still a mapguy and like previous post I saw I always have a pencil and write lots of notes on my maps.

[oldsarge]

I feel that maps and compasses keep you more in tune with the lay of the land than when using a GPS. I like GPS units, but they seem to be like smart phones. People constantly looking down to read them while hiking.