[pct-l] looking to buy a compass TODAY :)

[Steel-Eye]

Good morning, Amanda,

The Suunto compasses are great, given they have the features you need/want.

I usually carry a compass that has a flip-up mirror for sighting.  I don't
do much sighting, but I do like to have a mirror with me anyway to signal,
pick something out of my eye, or trim my mustache - something you probably
don't have to worry about.  The lightest mirror compass I could find at the
time  -- and that was several years ago - was the cheap-o Silva Type-26,
which weighs 1.2 ounces including a string.  That's what I still use on the
PCT.

For more serious route-finding I use a Silva Ranger Type-15CL which weighs
2.9 ounces.  One of the best features of the Ranger is it has a built-in
magnetic declination adjustment.  That's a little screw on the edge of the
bezel that turns the needle alignment brackets relative to the compass rose.
Then, when the needle is aligned to magnetic north, the compass rose and
grid points to true north somewhat to the left of the needle - at least it's
left here in the Western U.S.  That saves the pain of trying to remember
which way to compensate for magnetic declination.

My recommendation is don't buy any features you don't understand and/or are
willing to learn.  It just means more money and weight.  I've only used a
compass to "find myself" once, and that time a $.49 zipper-pull compass
would have served OK.  I was hiking in C. Oregon early on a nasty, overcast
day when saw a volcanic cinder cone several hundred yards from the trail so
I detoured off-trail to take a look at it.  While I was there I heard a pica
peeping so I started walking around the base of the cone to try to find it.
Those fuzzy little buggers are ventriloquistic, and hard to spot in the
rocks, so by the time I gave up I had made several laps around the cone.  By
then I didn't have the foggiest notion which way the trail was, except it
was to the southwest, so I took out my compass and walked directly to it.
Suitably humble, I hiked on.

Steel-Eye
http://www.trailjournals.com/steel-eye

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Amanda Gardynik" <aggardynik at gmail.com>
To: "PCT MailingList" <pct-l at backcountry.net>
Sent: Sunday, December 21, 2008 6:49 AM
Subject: [pct-l] looking to buy a compass TODAY :)


> How are suunto compasses? Can anyone suggest a reasonable priced compass
> for
> beginners that is sturdy for hiking?
>
> Thanks!
>
> -- 
> *Amanda*
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