EDC compass

[Mortblanc]

How many carry a compass daily?

I have one on my keychain and another on my watch band.

They are not for fine and precise navigation as much as telling me the cardinal directions and keep me headed for home.

[Devonian]

Yes I have some of those cheap Chinese zip pull compasses, I have them attached to each of my backpacks so 90% of the time I will have one with me.

As you say, not super accurate but sufficient if you are somewhere unfamiliar and need to get your bearings.

[Barneyboy]

You guys must be able to fined north with out a compass ,day or not

[CharlesHarris]

I have a Suunto button compass on.my watchband, a West Marine bearing compass in each vehicle, and an orienteering platform compass in my get home bag. Back in the day I navigated through the swamps around Lunga reservoir on Marine Corps Base Quantico, VA, at night, as did my mates completing the Infantry Officer Basic School.

[Sunna]

I have a silva , made in Sweden, never been out with me , their ment to be good.

[Steve]

(28 July 2015, 21:52)Sunna Wrote: I have a silva , made in Sweden, never been out with me , their ment to be good.

Me too, the folding type with clear base for use on maps. I don't carry it around with me. For night fishing I have a LED lantern with compass built into the top, just in case a sea fog rolls in and I lose my bearings on the beach.

[Scythe13]

Car has 2 compasses, but I personally don't bother carrying one. I've learned 4 different ways in the day light to find north, as well as 2 for at night. But when travelling outside of my usual sphere of knowledge…yeah, I'll carry a compass or 2.

[Sunna]

fancy letting me know some of the daytime ones s13...

[Scythe13]

Quick edit, market with *, and spelling corrections

I think I've popped a few of them up, but they largely depend on sunlight. If you've not got enough light to cast a shadow, use a magnifying lens to help with the shadow.

Set up a stick, mark the end of the shadow, then when you know that, wait 10 minutes and the shadow will have moved. Mark that point too. That will give you a rough east west line, between those 2 marked points, so north and south is easy to sort out.

*Using an analog watch flat on the floor* Get a stick and cast a shadow. Point hour hand at the sun. The mid point of the gap between the hour hand and the sun points south. This can be out if it's daylight savings time. If it's PM, dissect gap from 12 to hour hand. If it's AM, dissect gap from Hour hand to 12 on the watch.

If you're in a single spot, general shadow movement in time will read east to west.

If it's early in the day, you can see East (sun rises in the east). If it's late, you can see West (sun sets in the West).

When there's not enough light, you'll be surprised how effective a magnifying lens is at creating a shadow. In this case, you're better off using a flat magnifier, like a museum card magnifier (I keep one in my wallet) instead of a fresnel. For a fresnel, if you follow where the brightest spot is projected, while the magnifier is kept in the same spot, this also give you an east to west line.

Hope they help. All very basic, and most people probably already know them, but just forgotten them.

[bigpaul]

got one permanently on the dashboard of the car.