Compass?

[Mountain Mike]

Is a compass really needed on the AT? On most of it these days...maybe not. It's so well traveled & marked. Do I bring one, yes!! With a map. It gives me the chance to become unteathered. Freedom to explore more.

Living at a hostel for a season I enjoyed meeting many thru hikers. I did mine back in 88 & did have to use my compass several times. Times & methods have changed. Even when I mentioned 5-7 day resupplies on PCT to a few they said it wasn't doable. There were times on it that I was lucky if I saw trail twice a day navigating by map & compass due to high snow year.

If you want to limit yourself to hiking blaze by blaze, go for it. If you want to cut the teather & hit real wilderness, learn map & compass. Explore country not limited by batterie life.

[AfterParty]

I have sunnto core watch. And a cheap compass. I can't imagine trekking into wilderness without a map and compass.

[FlyFishNut]

I have the Suunto M-3 - great compass. Unlike most here, my exploits take me into the woods where only fire roads and dirt roads exist (my hunt club) or other areas that are not as well marked as the AT. Having said that, a compass is crucial and I do sometimes get turned around or need to stop and figure out where I am.

I cannot imagine going into the backcountry without a compass, but the AT is clearly marked and well traveled - so I could see navigating it without needing a compass. BUT, those times when you get disoriented, fogged/snowed in it can be a lifesaver. Just makes sense to bring one along.

[saltysack]

Would someone post a link to a good tutorial for proper compass use! Enough with the bickering!!! It's been ages since I've actually used one..I'm curious what maps folks are carrying....only maps I carry are the little ones in the guides or data books...not very useful for navigation with a compass.


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[Traffic Jam]

(Recommended to me by rhjanes and Another Kevin)

https://randallsadventure.com/wp-con...ap-compass.pdf

http://landnavigation.weebly.com/lan...2-3-and-4.html

[GoLight]

Thanks for the links, excellent.
I was lucky to start with an older brother who learned in the scouts. Later, for a refresher and more advanced learning I joined a Meet Up in my neighborhood that was doing recreational orienteering. That´s when I really blossomed. It is surprisingly quite a thrill to find all the points in an orienteering treasure hunt. Some of us do them with both compass and GPS so we can learn how to use both.

Search your neighborhood for an Meet Up orienteering group here: https://www.meetup.com

[Turk6177]

They make this tiny little device that has a whistle, compass, magnifying glass, etc. that is light and plastic. If you are looking at going the right direction vs. using a compass to navigate this may work. Now, that being said, the trail sometimes goes south while you are walking northbound based on the way it goes around mountains and gaps, etc. I find the best way to keep going the right way is to point your poles (if you use them) in the direction you are traveling if you have to leave the trail for any reason. As far as navigation goes, I have only lost the AT in a couple places near a lake in the 100 mile wilderness in ME. While I haven't seen the whole trail, the white blazes make it very easy to navigate.


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[GoLight]

Here´s a very helpful youtube video showing the Suunto M-3 description of its various parts
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dI617p5vqu4

and another video showing how to use the M-3 to orient yourself using a map.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jlt8g7_yw4

It takes about 10 minutes to learn the basics of navigation with map and compass. The compass costs about $30 at Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/SUUNTO-M-3-Co...rds=suunto+m-3

In my opinion we all have a responsibility to ourselves, our fellow hikers, our families and friends and the Search and Rescue personnel not to get lost, and we have a responsibility to help fellow hikers who are lost or confused find their way, even in a people wilderness like the AT.

[GoLight]

For another $10 you can buy the Suunto M2 which has the lid with sighting mirror. This is my favorite. I use the mirror for tick checks and shaving and once I used it to get a spec of grit out from under my eyelid.

https://www.amazon.com/Suunto-MC-2-3...ywords=compass

[madgoat]

One of the things I constantly tell my scouts is "the easiest way to not get lost is to stay found". Such a goofy statement makes them listen as I describe the following though. By that I mean know and track your position on a map. Be able to recognize surrounding landmarks. Keep aware of your general heading. Use your watch and general pace to be able to estimate how far you have gone from your last known location. And always have a rough guestimate of where you are at. If any of those things don't add up, then reevaluate and make a plan to get back on track. Granted, this is pretty easy to do on the AT with all the White Blazes. But we have all overshot a switchback only to have to turn around and find the correct route, or have had difficulty with a poorly marked section or blue blaze, or had to deal with a bad reroute.

If you are not interested in learning how to shoot bearings, plot routes, and navigate using map and compass, then any old keychain/watch strap/whistle mounted button compass will do. Heck, some of them weigh next to nothing and include a whistle and thermometer. But I would encourage everyone to learn some basic map and compass skills to help them and others out of a jam. If you have some map and compass skills though, I would encourage you to always carry a decent navigation compass and good topo map of your surroundings (CALTOPO is your friend!) Simple generic baseplate style compasses work best for me, but plenty of people learned on military style compasses or ones with sighting mirrors, so use what you are comfortable with)

A Silva Starter weighs in at 0.8oz, costs $10-$15, and is more than adequate for map and compass navigation if you have learned some basic skills like taking declination into account.

If you would rather not hassle with remembering to account for declination, then you need to get a compass with built in declination adjustment. Brunton's TruArc 3 has built in declination adjustment that requires no tools (most require a tiny screwdriver), weighs 1.1oz, and costs $15. In the most recent version of this compass, it has a global needle that will work in the Northern or Southern hemispheres. Unless a compass has a global needle, it will only work in the hemisphere it was made for. Not a big deal for most, but definitely an added perk.

If you want the flagship compass for navigation, a Suunto M-3 Global is a great investment. The larger baseplate makes it great for map and compass work. It has good declination adjustment using a tiny included screwdriver on the lanyard and a global needle. It weighs 1.7oz and costs around $50.

Personally, I prefer using the Silva Starter. It is cheap, lightweight, small, and keeps my skills sharp by forcing me to account for declination.

To me, carrying and knowing how to use a compass is not a HYOH thing. Carry a compass, learn some basic land navigation skills, maybe even learn some First Class scout skills that 11 and 12 year olds learn like finding directions day and night without a compass as a backup. Otherwise, you may be making yourself into a SAR burden. Not carrying a compass is dooable on the AT, but it seems silly to intentionally go out without such a simple, light, cheap tool, and necessary tool.

[futureatwalker]

I bought the Silva Expedition 4 compass earlier this year after taking a navigation course. I've used it for navigating some of the barren uplands here in Scotland. It has a little magnification thingy that great for zeroing in on detailed maps.

In terms of cost, how many compasses are you going to have in your life? Might as well buy something that's reliable.

Do you need it for the AT? Probably not, until you do.

[LoneRidgeRunner]

I ALWAYS have one even though I have never really needed it on the AT. I got in the habit years ago when I used to go into wilderness areas (Slickrock, etc) where there are no signs, blazes, etc and the trails can be almost impossible to see/follow because of little use compared to the AT and I just never got out of the habit and never will. They only weigh a few ounces and if you ever DO need it you'll be glad you have it.