Replicated from the GGA EZBoard:

erik88l r
Administrator
(8/3/02 7:47:36 pm)
Little bitty compass

A couple of weeks ago I bought a bunch of geocaching trade goodies at BassPro and among other things bought a little compass that attaches to a watch band. I meant to use it as a trade trinket but put it on my watch band instead. It came in handy a few times at the GGA geocaching challenge but I mostly relied on my Silva lensatic compass to stay on track towards a cache.

This Monday I got to go to the dentist and while sitting in the waiting room read the June issue of Backpacker magazine. In it was an article on competitive orienteering events. I discovered that what these guys use are a good topo map and a compass (no surprise, right?). But, the compass they use is a "thumb compass", that has only the cardinal NSEW points. They use that while holding their topo map aligned with their direction of travel, instead of aligned with the top up so you can read the lettering.

There was no picture of a thumb compass, but it sounded just like the wristwatch band compass I had.

Today I found three of smoothjazz's caches. I bushwacked about a mile total and used only that little compass and my GPS. It worked great! My Silva compass requires two hands to open the case and is a real pain unless you need a precise bearing. If the GPS said to go in a 30° heading it was good enough to be a third of the way between North and East with the little wristwatch band compass. It's also perfectly aligned for easy reference while holding my GPS in my left hand.

Some like having a compass dangling around their neck, which I've never liked, but I find this solution easier than pulling the Silva from my pocket and having to spin the dial around....
So if you find a slightly worn Silva lensatic compass as a cache trinket you'll know I'm totally converted!

~erik~

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AllenLacy
Magnificent Poster
(8/3/02 9:21:07 pm)
Re: Little bitty compass

Interesting.

Oh here is an article with a picture of an orienteering thumb compass. Doesn't look like what you had.



CODITO ERGO SUM

Edited by: AllenLacy at: 8/3/02 9:29:44 pm

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erik88l r
Administrator
(8/3/02 9:59:06 pm)
Re: Little bitty compass

No, that doesn't look like what I've got. I think I prefer having the NSEW rather than just a north pointing arrow.

Whatever works, I guess!

erik

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AllenLacy
Magnificent Poster
(8/3/02 10:09:03 pm)
Re: Little bitty compass

The reason it works for them is they don't care what the "number" of the bearing is. They just orient the map to North with the compass, find a landmark on the map turn the direction of travel to the landmark on the map. Lift the compass off the map look for the something in the direction of travel and head out. At no time do they need the bearing as a number or Letter (N, S, NW etc).

Allen

CODITO ERGO SUM

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LoCache
Administrator
(8/4/02 9:51:18 am)
Re: Little bitty compass

My compass is a Silva I think, but it is one of the flat clear plastic things (meaning it doesn't require two hands and doesn't "open"). I loop the neck lanyard through my belt loop and let it hang there....I usually tuck it in my pocket and only pull it out when I start getting close to a cache. That way it isn't getting in the way when I am walking, but is quick and easy to get to when I need it....since it is "one handed" I can use my left hand for the GPS and my right for the compass when needed and just use my thumb to adjust it.

And then of course there is the digital compass on the Vista, but I never use it.
Geo

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erik88l r
Administrator
(8/4/02 4:11:38 pm)
Re: Little bitty compass

I guess I get frustrated in having to spin the dial around on the lensatic compass I have to match the GPS reading, that's sort of awkward to do with one hand even if I leave the cover open.

I guess what I really need is a "heads up display" for my glasses - a GPS display on one side and a compass on the other. Maybe I could even wear a beanie with a compass arrow on the top instead of the usual propellor. The beanie arrow would point me to the cache

I think the sun got to me today.....

~erik~

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Da Rebel
Magnificent Poster
(8/4/02 7:19:29 pm)
Re: Little bitty compass

I've been using a little wristband compass made by Coleman. Only about 3 bucks and seems to work fairly well. With the recent demise of my watch, however, I'm thinking of getting one of these.

Timex Data Sheet


Anyone have any experience with them?

See ya!

"If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything." - Mark Twain

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pandycat
Unregistered User
(8/30/02 10:20:45 am)
timex compass

We got one of these timex expedition watches a few weeks ago and have been really pleased. You need to click on a button to get a current heading, then you can rotate a little to check and confirm. It has helped us out a few times already. We found it at Target for around $35.

[This message was edited by gpsfun on November 04, 2002 at 10:14 PM.]