Compasses?

[+zeus661]

I have just gotten into geocaching. I have 4 finds so far and have not used a compass yet. I have read where sometimes you may need one. This question is more like a poll. Do you use a compass when hunting a cache? If so, can you give examples of how, why, and when you use one? Thanks

[+Bill & Tammy]

Some multis and puzzle caches may require a compass. As I have probably mentioned too many times before I did my first 35 caches with only a compass and a topo map.

[+Team Tired Boy]

I use one all the time when caching. When we get to about 60 feet, I pause and shoot a bearing. Then I look that direction for possible hiding spots. This often leads us directly to the cache. To be honest, one of the reasons we have such success with this may be just that it forces us to take the time to stop and look rather than just follow the arrow on the GPS.

 

The other way that I use one is when we have to bushwack a long distance. I'll shoot a bearing, then use a back bearing on the way out to find the trail again.

 

I also carry it just in case the GPSr goes caput. I figure if I've got a compass I at least won't be wandering around in circles.

 

I have both my GPSr and my compass set to magnetic north. You could be off by quite a bit (14 degrees in my area) if your GPSr is set to true north and you don't set the declination on your compass. For me, the easiest thing to have both set to magnetic north.

Edited October 24, 2005 by Team Tired Boy

[+IVxIV]

If your GPSr doesn't have a builtin magnetic compass,, then in my opinion you NEED to use a seperate mechanical compass to obtain a directional bearing. This is especially true if you stop moving and need to know which direction to turn to..

[+nfa]

I always bring one along, and use it quite often.

[+Jester2112]

I've got a cheap Wally World pin on type on the strap for my pack. I use it to figure out which way to go if I'm close and can't find the exact area. My GPSr has a built in, but I like the quick look and go that the cheapie allows me without changing screens.

[+IV_Warrior]

I can think of one time I attempted to use a compass for a cache, and it was an el-cheapo that didn't really help. Just kinda started from the right general direction and spread out until the cache was found. I don't even carry a compass with me. That one time, someone else had one along.

[magellan315]

I use one all the time when caching. When we get to about 60 feet, I pause and shoot a bearing. Then I look that direction for possible hiding spots. This often leads us directly to the cache. To be honest, one of the reasons we have such success with this may be just that it forces us to take the time to stop and look rather than just follow the arrow on the GPS.

 

The other way that I use one is when we have to bushwack a long distance. I'll shoot a bearing, then use a back bearing on the way out to find the trail again.

 

I also carry it just in case the GPSr goes caput. I figure if I've got a compass I at least won't be wandering around in circles.

 

I have both my GPSr and my compass set to magnetic north. You could be off by quite a bit (14 degrees in my area) if your GPSr is set to true north and you don't set the declination on your compass. For me, the easiest thing to have both set to magnetic north.

I do the same thing, the trick is to get a "baseplate compass" used for orienteering, try this LINK. Pretty inexpensive.

[+LSUFan]

I carry one in my backpack all the time. Sometimes it's handy to have when doing a multi or such that gives you a bearing to find the cache. I always use it when hiking in offtrail to caches. My partner and I had to use it find our way out of a MS swamp one time after both our GPS's failed. It really saved our rear-ends that day.

[+mcl143]

I use the electronic compass or my Etrex Vista. However, I have also used the compass on my trekking pole to get my bearing once in a while.

[+CurmudgeonlyGal]

I've carried a compass with me for about a year and a half now. Well... most of the time. As the trend seems to be leaning more and more toward the urban micro (no matter how hard I kick and scream), when I only have to walk 5' from the car to the nearest tree/lamp post/jersey barrier/road sign it really doesn't make too much sense to take a compass. More often than not, of late, I don't bother with the GPSr either.

 

Compass: I have two. A Silva Ranger and a Silva Ranger Ultra. They're both excellent. Any time I'm out in the woods, I take one with me and more often than not, I DO use it.

 

I recently had someone with quite a few less finds than me say, "Oh, we used to carry one all the time... but don't need one any more". Oh. Well. That's nice. You know, that's all fine and good, but it sure comes in handy more often than not... and by God... I LIKE to be able to shoot a bearing and head that way when I'm in a pinch. (Maybe once I attain the same level of greatness they have attained, I can leave my compass at home?)

 

Also, in an unfamiliar area... under an overcast sky, it's a good thing.

 

I was caching in a 'flat land' most of the summer, and I never had a good-enough feel for the area I was in to be able to look at my surroundings (unless I was near one of the MANY freeways or major roads I was familiar with) and tell which way I was facing. It was kinda scary but the compass came in handy more than once!

[+JohnnyVegas]

I keep a base plate compass in my cache bag. Some caches may require the use of a magnetic compass. In some cases I have found myself in and area in which I would not like to drop my GPS (we have very large piles of lose potato sized rocks in this area that are left over from the Ca. Gold rush days) , in those cases I use the compass instead of my GPS until I get out of that area.

[+Jhwk]

My eX600 has a built in compass, but I am more comfortable with a standard, baseplate compass. Decades in the military made me very familiar with this tool. I have used it on a number of multi's and off set caches - find the clues and go xxx feet on a yyy heading. Handy and doesn't require a battery

[Team Firebird]

I always have a compas with me, geocaching or not.

[+ZingerHead]

My 60CS has a compass built in, but I carry my old Silva baseplate compass just in case the high-tech version calls it quits. Batteries NEVER go south on the Silva . And (pre GPS) this compass saved my butt when I got lost while backpacking in a snowstorm. In the morning I was smack in the middle of a dense pine forest, overcast skies, and no clue which way to go. Whipped out the compass, looked at the topo, and was back on a trail in an hour. If I'd gone the way I *thought* I should have gone, I would have spent a looooong time in the woods. Seriously though, in CT where I live it's pretty hard to get out of earshot of a car. Even if you DO get yourself lost, it's not going to take long to stumble across civilization. But.....it goes a lot faster if you have some inkling of the right direction to go.

[Tahosa and Sons]

Used one today while doing a serious off trail hike. Maps and compasses are like a cooler and a beer, they keep you going.

[+Sean Connery]

Even though my garmin60cs has a built in compass, I still use a silva baseplate compass I've had for almost 4 decades. While my gpsr will tell me whigh direction to head, I have to walk around in a circle to get it to accurately show me which way to go. By looking at my magnetic compass, I know right away which way to head. It is also quite useful when in heavy cover and I lose satellite reception, which has happened a couple of time.

[+budd-rdc]

The electronic compass in my eTrex Summit works pretty well (I always calibrate it). I almost always carry a regular magnetic compass as a back up.

 

I've found many caches in dense forests using the compass. I'd find a location where my GPSr can get decent signal, look where the compass is pointing, select a target landmark, and walk that way.

 

It also helps when the hider posts good coordinates.

[+Harry Dolphin]

I always carry a compass. The one in the Etrex takes time to reset itself. If the Goopus says NNE, I use the compass to go that way. Easier than waiting.

[+Ed & Julie]

I have just gotten into geocaching. I have 4 finds so far and have not used a compass yet. I have read where sometimes you may need one. This question is more like a poll. Do you use a compass when hunting a cache? If so, can you give examples of how, why, and when you use one? Thanks

To date, I have 657 finds, and have used a compass exactly once.

I have several of them, but no real need for them.

Ed

[+Renegade Knight]

I have a compass but I have never used it for geocaching. I bought it for a cache I set up and wished I had it for exactly one cache I needed to shoot a bearing and used the cheezy compass on my GPS.

 

When I use my GPS it points at the cache. As long as I'm moving I can use that arrow to shoot a bearing to the cache, which I gather is what people who use a compass do. Same goal, different tool.

[+humanloofa]

In town for lamp post micros, no. Hiking through thick woods Yes. If anything happens I want to be able to find my way out of the woods.

[+eosxt]

Are there any good on line tutorials on how to use a compass, with basic information and not overly complicated?

Thanx

[+Sevateem]

Using a compass

[+Thot]

Do you use a compass when hunting a cache?

Rarely

[+Super_Nate]

I never have a compass with me...even the one on my GPS I rairly use. Their are examples of caches such as this one that a compass may be handy, but I used the one on my GPS! So the bottom line is that the compass to me is an extra object that you have to carry around along with your GPSr, print-outs, Travel Bugs, or whatever else one carries other than a compass!

[+Team Perks]

I carry a compass in my car and my backpack, but I honestly don't remember ever needing to use it for caching purposes.

[+J D]

I use a compass often. When I am near a cache, I'll take a bearing, and follow it with the compass.

[+maritimedriver]

I use the compass feature on my Explorist 600 alot. However, I do like to go caching at night. I use this feature more when I am hiking.

[+TotemLake]

When I'm between 200-300 feet of the cache, I usually switch my MeriPlat from Map to Compass.

[purpledan]

i

i carry an old bruton with me all the time its ag great tool to have along

[+CharlieP]

I always carry an old Boy Scout baseplate style compass (made by Silva I think). In addition to the comments above, I have found the compass to be extremely useful in situations where GPS reception is minimal or nil in the vicinity of the cache. I can move to a nearby spot with better reception, read the bearing and distance to the cache off the GPSR, then shoot the bearing with the compass and pace off the distance to the cache location.

[the james gang]

I carry one every time I go into the woods. I have yet to use one to aid in finding a cache. I carry it to aid in finding my way back should I get turned around. Let me say from experience that when your lost in the woods, every pine tree looks the same.

[+Stumpy75]

I have always carried a compass. I have an old Silva Ranger.(30 years old). I just don't feel right in the woods without it. I know that I will be able to find my way if/when the GPSr loses signal in heavy growth. Also use it as others have mentioned...get a good read with the GSPr and then take a shot and walk along that line.

Edited November 10, 2005 by n8wgb

[+N8OFP - Del]

I've carried a compass since I started caching (a little over 2 years ago). I wanted to learn to use a compass and thought what a better.

I actually carry several compasses. I have a Garmin Vista with a build in compass, I also have a small compass that attached to my wrist watch band. Those are the two I use the most. I also carry a Baseplate Compass and a sighting compass in my pack.

 

While the electronic compass in the Vista is nice and works very well, I feel much better having at least one non-battery dependent compass just incase the batteries in the GPS die.

[+TotemLake]

I feel much better having at least one non-battery dependent compass just incase the batteries in the GPS die.

While I tend to agree with this sentiment, why are you walking around withoug spare batteries and risking a DNF?

[+RobRee]

i never leave base camp without one. base camp can be home, or anywhere we strike out from. here is my favorite... any military guys will remember these.

 

 

 

Stocker & Yale Lensatic Compass

 

alot of geocachers are within a safety margin area when they cache. some, maybe many, go a little farther than most would dare. when, and if your batteries die, are you equipped to get back out? a compass, topo map, and a little preparation can go a long way.

 

most of the store bought $10.00 and up Silva type base plate compasses will do fine. we have even played around with a few 3.00 gumball machine compasses in pretty dense areas, and had "mixed" good results. your knowledge of the lay of the land, terrain association, and a decent compass will get you anywhere.

 

now i think i will do a Geocache with an orienteering theme to it.

Edited November 11, 2005 by robree