In the extreme SE, and up much of the east coast, it is pretty much, as the saying goes, about as flat as '[censored]-on-a-plate'. A lot of this area is thick with brush and trees. Even when it's not overcast it can be hard to get a sighting on the sun or stars and there are few other visual references to guide on.

I learned orienteering in the scrub forests of the SE. Lots of pacing and detailed compass and map work to find small targets. When I later went through an orienteering course in Kentucky It was a whole lot easier. I just about didn't need a compass to orient myself or the map because the mountains were pretty much unique and easy to shoot azimuths on.

Daytime orienteering on the flat with enclosing forest has a lot of resemblance to nighttime orienteering with mountains. Your sight lines are very short. Difference being if you have a topo map around the hills you can tell a lot by keeping track of slopes and relative altitude. Reminds me of using a depth finder and charts near a coast. In the flat SE a elevation increment on the map might be three feet. Generally to small to reliably detect and use.

While a compass was pretty much essential on the flat it seemed far less so with easily identified terrain on the skyline.

That said having even a simple compass is far better than not having one. Generally for survival use, getting out or getting found, you don't need a whole lot of high-precision land navigation. Small and simple compasses are perfectly acceptable. I have used a simple clear baseplate Silva compass for years. I always got to the same place as the guys who were messing about with high-dollar lensatics.

IMHO a simple compass has advantages when your cold, tired, hungry and trying to work with frozen fingers. Sometimes messing about with more detail and 'accuracy' than you need can be like 'straining at gnats'.

Knowing how to deal with the inevitable inaccuracy, and how to work it so it cancels itself out instead of multiplying in one direction, was far more a useful skill than worrying too much about absolute accuracy in shooting azimuths and calculating courses.

I have that one. It works by showing the positions of sun and moon. If neither are above the horizon, it can't give direction. It's better than nothing, and costs nothing and weighs nothing so I figure I might as well have it.

Another Java astronomy program is http://www.piecafe.co.uk/solun/jsolun.htm. Kinda cool if you like to look at your mobile phone and say, "My god, it's full of stars."

I have one of those, too. It's physically huge, and I think they all are. If that bothers you you are probably out of luck.

I know what you mean. I sometimes find that taking stuff off the keychain, but still in my pocket, it is less obstructive.

You can make a compass by magnetising a sliver of metal and suspending it from thread or floating it on water. Traditionally a needle is used, but you probably don't want something pointy in your pockets. Anything reasonably long and thin and made of the right kind of metal will do. (Of course, a needle is a valuable part of a sewing kit in its own right, so you may already have one.) A home-made compass like this can be hard to use in difficult conditions (eg windy) and isn't much good for taking bearings or following one - but frankly we've not set the bar very high with the phone and watch tools.

It is of course worth knowing how to tell north from the pole star, from the sun, and from the moon. Eg

http://www.edibleplants.com/month/moonorth.htm

http://www.wikihow.com/Find-True-North-Without-a-Compass

You can Use Time as a Compass. Some people think you need a watch but all you need to know is the time and be able to see the sun. Its a rough compass, but it works.

I compass is a "Critical Item" need during many survival situations and a great way to avoid them entirely. If you need to cut weight then take a smaller compass, but don't rely on a button compass when what you really need a is real liquid filled sighting compass to have a chance at following it in a straight line in rough terrain.

I would guess most people who know this method realize they can check the time from another source (like your cell phone or GPS). I like wearing a watch however. The idea is to *point* the hour hand at the sun and draw a line between it and 12 on a watch dial. That line is roughly south. Easy enough to imagine a watch face if you don't have one as long as you know what time it is.

Put a watchband compass on your watch, and if possible put a fullsized compass in your pack/BOB/whatever. The watchband unit is great for quick orientation and as a backup for the fullsize. The watchband unit is also available everyday, even if I'm not on the trail. My favorite watchband compass is the Brunton 9068, mainly because 1) it's easy to read when moving and 2) the mount completely encircles the watchband, unlike the Suunto model.



My favorite source for the 9068 (and lots of other good stuff) is BestGlide who sells it for only $4.

I’ve used these




They are dirt cheap (Usually find ‘em for $1), pretty durable and make maintaining a heading easy as all you have to do is glance down.

I've got a couple small, inexpensive compasses, although in my area, I really do not need one at all. I spend my time in NYC and a suburban area that I had ridden a bicycle all over. The maps for each are etched in my mind, and picking direction is a matter of looking up.

However, if I were going to spend any money at all, I would go for binoculars with the compass in them, for taking bearings. I've used them racing sailboats and really like them. Something like this: http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/sto...classNum=12363. That's an expensive option, but you can find similar products for a little over $100.

I also use one these ball type compasses while I am hunting.

Johnny is right in that it is easy to just look down to get a fix on a general direction with it when you are pushing through heavy bush.

I pin this ball compass on my left shoulder and it also prevents my rifle sling from falling off my shoulder when moving.

I have a Timex Compass Watch but have not found it very reliable (it always seems to need resetting) so I replaced the original watchband with one that has a buttom compass built in to it. I got the plastic replacement band at WalMart for about $4.00.

Mike

D'oh! A day later and I finally get the reference.


-Blast