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#249883 - 08/15/12 12:53 AM Why carrying a spare compass is wise...
Teslinhiker Offline
Veteran

Registered: 12/14/09
Posts: 1418
Loc: Nothern Ontario

This woman lost her only compass which resulted in a cell call to 911 for rescue. Fortunately the woman was in cell range and a Life Flight chopper flyover then was able to find, then land and retrieve the woman.
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Earth and sky, woods and fields, lakes and rivers, the mountain and the sea, are excellent schoolmasters, and teach some of us more than we can ever learn from books.

John Lubbock

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#249897 - 08/15/12 03:37 AM Re: Why carrying a spare compass is wise... [Re: Teslinhiker]
hikermor Offline
Geezer in Chief
Geezer

Registered: 08/26/06
Posts: 7705
Loc: southern Cal
Kind of an odd tale...Did she not have a map? Usually in country with any kind of relief, a compass is not particularly critical, especially in good weather.....
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#249901 - 08/15/12 01:55 PM Re: Why carrying a spare compass is wise... [Re: Teslinhiker]
Lono Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 10/19/06
Posts: 1013
Loc: Pacific NW, USA
I have to confess to being a frequent hiker and never carrying a spare compass except by accident (ex. occasionally loading the baggie containing an older Silva along with the baggie containing my map / newer Suunto). I'm not certain that's the conclusion I would draw from this example - there's not too much to go by, but was she in familiar territory, was it difficult terrain to assess, did she have a map, could she use alternative means (position of the sun) to assess general direction? I am not familiar with Utah at all so I can assume she got twisted in canyons and didn't realize her way out, and in that sense she had the lowest reliability emergency signaling device, her cell phone, and a signal.

Honestly, I tend to rely on knowledge of terrain, my maps and the one compass I have; failing that, I rely on knowledge, map and dead reckoning (which drainage I may be in, and where it may run to civilization). And of course dead reckoning sometimes means I may end up dead.

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#249904 - 08/15/12 06:15 PM Re: Why carrying a spare compass is wise... [Re: Teslinhiker]
JerryFountain Offline
Addict

Registered: 12/06/07
Posts: 418
Loc: St. Petersburg, Florida
I always carry a spare compass, but I am not sure this is a good example of why? Too much is unknown to tell what happened here, but a compass is the least important tool of the kit in this type of terrain in good weather. There are several other ways to determine general direction, as hikermor indicated. It would seem to me that she was unprepared (no map, etc) or panic set in when she lost the compass. We will probably never know what really happened.

Pet peeve -- a compass put into everything that is marketed for the outdoors! Not only do I have my working compass (a Brunton Pocket Transit) and my backup (an old Silva Outdoorsman pin on) but there are compasses in the top of my match safes (one on me and one in my pack) there was one in my Ritter PSK, there are ones in my wife's hiking poles, one in her thermometer pull on her jacket, etc., etc., etc. If she were to look carefully she might have had one or two more without noticing. I like redundancy more than most, but this is absurd.

Respectfully,

Jerry

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#249906 - 08/15/12 06:43 PM Re: Why carrying a spare compass is wise... [Re: JerryFountain]
Russ Offline
Geezer

Registered: 06/02/06
Posts: 5357
Loc: SOCAL
Interesting -- my cell phone has a compass. But then so do my watch and GPS wink
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Better is the Enemy of Good Enough.
Okay, what’s your point??

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#249909 - 08/15/12 08:47 PM Re: Why carrying a spare compass is wise... [Re: JerryFountain]
Teslinhiker Offline
Veteran

Registered: 12/14/09
Posts: 1418
Loc: Nothern Ontario
I always carry a spare compass because as this story demonstrates with the little details available, people can and do lose compasses and can find themselves requiring assistance when they would least suspect it.

Judging by some of the comments here, the overall idea and concepts of carrying a spare compass is not worth it. Sorry for posting the link...
_________________________
Earth and sky, woods and fields, lakes and rivers, the mountain and the sea, are excellent schoolmasters, and teach some of us more than we can ever learn from books.

John Lubbock

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#249910 - 08/15/12 09:12 PM Re: Why carrying a spare compass is wise... [Re: Teslinhiker]
Russ Offline
Geezer

Registered: 06/02/06
Posts: 5357
Loc: SOCAL
That last may have been aimed at me so I should clarify. I have a number of compass's and I do carry a back-up magnetic, non-electronic compass. In addition to primary mag compass and back-up, many of my electronic items also have compass's built in although normally turned off.

As has been stated here many times the first step in many rescues is the subject getting lost.
_________________________
Better is the Enemy of Good Enough.
Okay, what’s your point??

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#249915 - 08/15/12 10:18 PM Re: Why carrying a spare compass is wise... [Re: Teslinhiker]
Lono Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 10/19/06
Posts: 1013
Loc: Pacific NW, USA
Well, I said I don't carry a spare compass, only one for me - I'm just not sure that I very often need a spare compass, one generally being good for me. I realize folks get separated from their compasses, ok - that's still not enough for me to suddenly carry two compasses instead of one. YMMV and all that - nothing to keep anyone else from carrying as many compasses as they can haul.

Maybe this makes my a hypocrite, but it occurred to me after JerryFountain's post that my aluminum match safe has a button compass embedded in its cap, so I have that at all times I suppose as a backup. Being a button type I have never used it to navigate around.

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#249917 - 08/15/12 11:07 PM Re: Why carrying a spare compass is wise... [Re: Lono]
hikermor Offline
Geezer in Chief
Geezer

Registered: 08/26/06
Posts: 7705
Loc: southern Cal
Teslin, I should clarify my remarks as well. I usually go out with just one compass, which is rarely consulted. ut this is in the mountainous western USm where the skies are not cloudy all day and prominent terrain features and sweeping vistas are commonplace. For that matter, I am often travelling in country I know quite well. Even at that, i do have an electronic compass lurking within my wristwatch. I have played with it from time to time, but I have never used it "for real."

Things change drastically when you get out on the water and mix in some limited visibility and fog. A mounted deck compass is now mandatory when I am sea kayaking. I became a convert when I was planning, along with some friends, to embark upon a short (1 1/2 to 2 hour) paddle along the coast. I mounted my new fangled deck compass, mostly to impress this awesome babe (now Mrs.hikermor). We launched and bingo! -here came the peasoup fog. Maintaining a compass bearing became critical because we needed .to travel parallel to the coast just outside the breaker line. I consulted my compass more in thirty minutes than I ever have in forty years of hiking and climbing on land. That is not the only time I have made regular and frequent use of a compass, but all the notable situations are in marine settings.

Any compass must be completely reliable; if you are using it, you will be utterly dependent upon its accuracy - not a place for cheap junk.
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Geezer in Chief

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#249920 - 08/15/12 11:59 PM Re: Why carrying a spare compass is wise... [Re: Teslinhiker]
AKSAR Offline
Veteran

Registered: 08/31/11
Posts: 1233
Loc: Alaska
Originally Posted By: Teslinhiker
Judging by some of the comments here, the overall idea and concepts of carrying a spare compass is not worth it. Sorry for posting the link...
I generally carry a good sighting compass in my pack. In my pocket I usually have a loop of cord with a small knife, match case, lighter, and a small wrist compass strung on it. I've never really thought of it as carrying a spare, rather it is to make sure I always have it, even if I should become separated from my pack. But I suppose it is a spare. Like hikermore, I find that in the terrain I frequent, I rarely ever need a compass. However, when you need a compass you often need it really really bad.

I don't think you should feel sorry for posting. I thought it stimulated some worthwhile discussion.
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"Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas any more."
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