Yeah, maps are the unsung heros of navigation.

When I was young and dumb(er) I went on a trip through the Boundary Waters (northern MN) with a small group (3 canoes, 2 per canoe) and had a blast. It wasn't until maybe 5-10 years later that it dawned on my that only one person in the group knew the route and carried the map. I couldn't recall if I carried a compass with or not. Anyway, in hind sight that was really a risky move.

In my older years I've become kind of a map & compass geek. I think it was in one of my favorite books on the topic (The Essential Wilderness Navigator: How to Find Your Way in the Great Outdoors) I found some great advice. Something like ... the key way to not get lost is to always know where you are on the map. Makes sense.

I'll second the preference for the Suunto M3 Leader baseplate compass. Its my go-to compass. I only use compasses that have adjustable declination - set and forget. I purchased and tried a good Cammenga lensatic military style compass, but without adjustable declination I still prefer a good baseplate compass.

I have one of those fancy Brunton Eclipse mirrored compasses and like it a whole lot - great for sighting, but I and others have had problems with bubbles forming in the capsule. Each time they fixed/replaced them at not cost, so kudos to them. Brunton has a new line of compasses that I have no experience with. I like the company - they brought all production back to the US, but ...

In addition to using the map and compass together I strongly recommend folks learn to use the map and compass along with their GPS. know how to find the current magnetic declination (just Google it). Learn to use UTM coordinates (Maptools.com) on a map. Learn how to set the compass and GPS to use true north so the bearings match each other.