WhiteBlaze Pages 2024
A Complete Appalachian Trail Guidebook.
AVAILABLE NOW. $4 for interactive PDF(smartphone version)
Read more here WhiteBlaze Pages Store

Page 1 of 2 1 2 LastLast
Results 1 to 20 of 35
  1. #1
    Registered User John B's Avatar
    Join Date
    10-04-2005
    Location
    .......................
    Age
    63
    Posts
    1,335

    Default compass and book on how to use it

    I want a decent compass and a book on how to actually use it. I don't need to call in surgical air strikes and I don't want to do orienting competitions -- just enough knowledge to stand a reasonable chance of being able to get myself out of trouble should I find myself lost.

    Using Amazon reviews, it seems that David Seidman's book "The Essential Wilderness Navigator" in combination with a Suunto A-10 would give me the best bang for the buck. If there is someone on Whiteblaze who really knows a lot about this topic and will tell me that either or both choices are woefully inadequate, I'll place my order later this week.

    Suunto A-10:
    http://www.amazon.com/Suunto-SS012063013-A-10-Compass/dp/B000FEXZGW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1330959262&sr=8-1

    "The Essential Wilderness Navigator":
    http://www.amazon.com/Essential-Wild...=36D2W2NH8WSLE

    BTW, I thought Spoke's links to the YouTube navigation videos were really helpful.



  2. #2
    Registered User canoehead's Avatar
    Join Date
    08-04-2005
    Location
    Mass, Berkshires near AT
    Age
    61
    Posts
    411

    Default

    This is a good book and fairly easy to understand.
    "The Essential Wilderness Navigator":

    I use this book also. I run an outdoor / adventure business and the folks that I teach say, they would rather learn hands on they find it's easier to do it, then to read about it. So if it's confusing or you don't quite get it. Then take a class with your local outfitter, guide etc...

  3. #3
    Registered User
    Join Date
    09-29-2008
    Location
    West Palm Beach, Florida
    Age
    69
    Posts
    3,605

    Default

    The old stand by from way back, Be Expert With Map & Compass. Silva sells it, but it can be found a lot cheaper.
    The trouble I have with campfires are the folks that carry a bottle in one hand and a Bible in the other.
    You never know which one is talking.

  4. #4
    Registered User O-H-10 Lil Ohio's Avatar
    Join Date
    05-24-2011
    Location
    Locust grove, VA
    Age
    75
    Posts
    110

    Default

    Friend, there are many very easy to learn Compass & Map reading videos on YOUTUBE. You will get the basics and more right while your sitting at home. hope this helps! Just type in how to use a compass and a topo map. It should get you to some very good videos.

  5. #5
    Registered User
    Join Date
    06-24-2009
    Location
    Stephens City, Va
    Age
    68
    Posts
    44

    Default

    I am a fan of the book "Wilderness Navigation" written by Bob and Mike Burns

  6. #6
    Registered User Hikes in Rain's Avatar
    Join Date
    10-14-2005
    Location
    Georgia Mountains
    Age
    69
    Posts
    2,196
    Images
    23

    Default

    I have all those books, but for a great beginners guide, just get yourself a copy of any old Boy Scout Handbook. Not only a good entry level guide to map and compass use, there's a wealth of other great info, as well.

  7. #7

    Default

    That is a decent base-plate compass. You can pick one up at an REI or outfitter near you. Some have a small magnifier built in, which might be a helpful addition. You can also pick up a compass and find a local orienteering event near you. At ours, we always do a beginners class. You can sign up for a recreational "hike" on the beginner course, which will all be on trails anyway. You can use the event to practice your compass work.
    For a couple of bucks, get a weird haircut and waste your life away Bryan Adams....
    Hammock hangs are where you go into the woods to meet men you've only known on the internet so you can sit around a campfire to swap sewing tips and recipes. - sargevining on HF

  8. #8

    Default compass and book on how to use it

    Don't get the latest edition of the Boy Scout Handbook. It's watered down. Get an 80's or earlier. The Fieldbook also has alot of info but again get an older one

  9. #9
    Registered User
    Join Date
    01-28-2008
    Location
    Spokane, WA
    Age
    71
    Posts
    4,907

    Default

    Once you learn the basics, practice continually until knowing where you are becomes second nature. Develop the ability to translate what's on a topo map into what you see around you, and vice versa. It's a fun part of hiking that I think many never learn to enjoy. Amaze you friends with your rare, pidgeon-like sense of direction.
    "It's fun to have fun, but you have to know how." ---Dr. Seuss

  10. #10

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by John B View Post
    I want a decent compass and a book on how to actually use it. I don't need to call in surgical air strikes and I don't want to do orienting competitions -- just enough knowledge to stand a reasonable chance of being able to get myself out of trouble should I find myself lost.

    Using Amazon reviews, it seems that David Seidman's book "The Essential Wilderness Navigator" in combination with a Suunto A-10 would give me the best bang for the buck. If there is someone on Whiteblaze who really knows a lot about this topic and will tell me that either or both choices are woefully inadequate, I'll place my order later this week.

    Suunto A-10:
    http://www.amazon.com/Suunto-SS012063013-A-10-Compass/dp/B000FEXZGW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1330959262&sr=8-1

    "The Essential Wilderness Navigator":
    http://www.amazon.com/Essential-Wild...=36D2W2NH8WSLE

    BTW, I thought Spoke's links to the YouTube navigation videos were really helpful.


    I have also been watching Spokes link to the Green Mt. Clubs map and compass on u-tube....It's great,I think that book and compass combo is a good place to start.

  11. #11
    Registered User
    Join Date
    01-14-2009
    Location
    Tomball. TX
    Age
    54
    Posts
    755

    Default

    In all reality you don't need to have a book..you can find literally everything you need to know online. i teach map and compass skills to my scouts and i pull stuff down all the time from a number of sites. Ichange all the time because it seems every year someone new comes along and had better graphics or a better demonstration. For that reason I won't recommend any site at this time.
    Take almost nothing I say seriously--if it seems to make no sense what so ever it's probably meant as a joke....but do treat your water!

  12. #12
    Registered User
    Join Date
    01-14-2009
    Location
    Tomball. TX
    Age
    54
    Posts
    755

    Default

    dang fat fingers...

    the key is to practice....get the same quality of map for an area around you and practice with it.
    Take almost nothing I say seriously--if it seems to make no sense what so ever it's probably meant as a joke....but do treat your water!

  13. #13
    Coach Lou coach lou's Avatar
    Join Date
    09-03-2011
    Location
    Madison, Connecticut
    Age
    66
    Posts
    4,788
    Images
    400

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Feral Bill View Post
    Once you learn the basics, practice continually until knowing where you are becomes second nature. Develop the ability to translate what's on a topo map into what you see around you, and vice versa. It's a fun part of hiking that I think many never learn to enjoy. Amaze you friends with your rare, pidgeon-like sense of direction.
    Bill, your post is absolutely spot-on[another term I hate]. You don't, 1 hr. into your walk, whip out map and compass and wave it back and forth and......here I am!!! You must be aware of your location at all times, untill a periodic check keeps you on tract.

  14. #14
    Registered User John B's Avatar
    Join Date
    10-04-2005
    Location
    .......................
    Age
    63
    Posts
    1,335

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by rocketsocks View Post
    I have also been watching Spokes link to the Green Mt. Clubs map and compass on u-tube....It's great,I think that book and compass combo is a good place to start.
    I got lost from the "Fred in the shed" part but it was a good start and if nothing else made me want to actually learn how to use a map and compass rather than just carry them around for style.

    I wish map/compass/orienteering skills were taught locally. I'm much better learning by having someone show me than reading a tech manual. The local outfitter in my city doesn't do classes and I searched on line for stuff. There is an orienteering group in Louisville but their website hasn't been updated in about a year.

    The "Essential Navigation" book seems to be a good fit for me because it doesn't BS about the history of the compass from ancient times in China and about how magma and the earth spinning create declination. The reviews suggest that it tells you how to get from here to there, how to stay on track, and other basic stuff, and I'm hoping it has a lot of pictures and diagrams. I need simple. I get lost in complexity. Neighor's kid is in Scouts so I'll see if he has their handbook, too.

    I pretty much get how to find N-S, but the "path of direction" and orienting needle and setting a course and whatnot I need to study. And I really don't get how to find where I am on a map if I'm hopelessly lost. Something about seeing nearby 'landmarks' and then locating them on the map. I don't get how you'd do that if you're in the middle of a forest and can't see 50 feet without a tree blocking the view. All the mountains look pretty much the same to me from a distance but maybe after I read a book I'll know better. Makes sense to keep up with where you are, though, than hike 8 hours and stop and wonder where I got myself to now. I took a "rocks for jocks" geology class in college, so I sorta understand gridlines and where cliffs are.

    I appreciate the suggestions. I'm going to order the book. I'll let you know if it's any good -- if it can teach me, it can teach anyone..

  15. #15
    Registered User
    Join Date
    01-28-2008
    Location
    Spokane, WA
    Age
    71
    Posts
    4,907

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by John B View Post
    . Neighor's kid is in Scouts so I'll see if he has their handbook, too.

    ..
    If he knows his stuff, maybe this kid can teach you. It wouldn't hurt to ask.
    "It's fun to have fun, but you have to know how." ---Dr. Seuss

  16. #16

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by John B View Post
    I got lost from the "Fred in the shed" part but it was a good start and if nothing else made me want to actually learn how to use a map and compass rather than just carry them around for style.

    I wish map/compass/orienteering skills were taught locally. I'm much better learning by having someone show me than reading a tech manual. The local outfitter in my city doesn't do classes and I searched on line for stuff. There is an orienteering group in Louisville but their website hasn't been updated in about a year.

    The "Essential Navigation" book seems to be a good fit for me because it doesn't BS about the history of the compass from ancient times in China and about how magma and the earth spinning create declination. The reviews suggest that it tells you how to get from here to there, how to stay on track, and other basic stuff, and I'm hoping it has a lot of pictures and diagrams. I need simple. I get lost in complexity. Neighbor's kid is in Scouts so I'll see if he has their handbook, too.

    I pretty much get how to find N-S, but the "path of direction" and orienting needle and setting a course and whatnot I need to study. And I really don't get how to find where I am on a map if I'm hopelessly lost. Something about seeing nearby 'landmarks' and then locating them on the map. I don't get how you'd do that if you're in the middle of a forest and can't see 50 feet without a tree blocking the view. All the mountains look pretty much the same to me from a distance but maybe after I read a book I'll know better. Makes sense to keep up with where you are, though, than hike 8 hours and stop and wonder where I got myself to now. I took a "rocks for jocks" geology class in college, so I sorta understand grid lines and where cliffs are.

    I appreciate the suggestions. I'm going to order the book. I'll let you know if it's any good -- if it can teach me, it can teach anyone..
    Yes very often there is no radio tower or Mt.peek to shoot a back bearing or to set a coarse.You often have to keep in mind where you came from to extrapolate where you are.But it is fun,and the more you do it the better you become.

  17. #17
    Getting out as much as I can..which is never enough. :) Mags's Avatar
    Join Date
    03-15-2004
    Location
    Colorado Plateau
    Age
    49
    Posts
    11,002

    Default

    Many local outdoor groups will offer a free (plus cost of materials) map and compass class.

    Nothing like hands on instruction with some book learning for a follow up IMO.
    Paul "Mags" Magnanti
    http://pmags.com
    Twitter: @pmagsco
    Facebook: pmagsblog

    The true harvest of my life is intangible...a little stardust caught,a portion of the rainbow I have clutched -Thoreau

  18. #18
    Registered User
    Join Date
    01-14-2009
    Location
    Tomball. TX
    Age
    54
    Posts
    755

    Default

    I grew up in teh Appalacians and never had a problem locating myself on a topo...until i wasn't paying atention and hiked off the one I had with me that day...that was a tad frustrating for a few minutes until i realized what i had done. Its not always aboiut peaks and radio towers, more sublte features work as well. Hollows, creeks, gaps and jsut about anything that deviates from a straight line can be used to get a position. Of course the more prominent the feature the better bearing you can take and thus the better triangulation you can do. When things get indistinct take multiple readings on as many things as you can identify to narrow your location. Back in the day, when I did that sort of thing all the time i would give a GPS a run for its money. Now I'm down here in flat land..that makes things truely difficult.
    Take almost nothing I say seriously--if it seems to make no sense what so ever it's probably meant as a joke....but do treat your water!

  19. #19
    Registered User
    Join Date
    12-15-2003
    Location
    Charlotte, NC
    Posts
    3,949

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by WingedMonkey View Post
    The old stand by from way back, Be Expert With Map & Compass. Silva sells it, but it can be found a lot cheaper.
    Quote Originally Posted by rocketsocks View Post
    I have also been watching Spokes link to the Green Mt. Clubs map and compass on u-tube....It's great,I think that book and compass combo is a good place to start.
    1+ on the Silva book.

    Heres the link to the fantastic 7 part video series on how to use map and compass by the Green Mountain Club on YouTube.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p584I...e_gdata_player
    Last edited by Spokes; 03-06-2012 at 20:10.

  20. #20
    Registered User
    Join Date
    09-18-2002
    Location
    Central KY
    Age
    57
    Posts
    599
    Images
    1

    Default

    john, there is an orienteering group in louisville. http://www.olou.org/index.html

    I think UK offers a map / compass course through either ROTC or Forestry
    My name is Tabasco and I approve this message.

Page 1 of 2 1 2 LastLast
++ New Posts ++

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •