What compass do you use?

Hi Alan, keen bushwalker here, until a couple of years ago, dedicated map and compass man.
Silva, have short and long base plate, simple compass, bombproof in the bush.

The new HEMA 4WD Maps app on the iPad is great though, takes all the pressure off when driving :)

Silva Type 4 and Francis Barker M-73 Black.

I went to check on my old Silva, looks like a model 15T?? It has a mirror in the cover.

Sadly ( for it), it is buried at the back of my glovebox. I don't think I have used it for at least 10 years with GPS being so easy and accurate.

Sometimes I think about doing a navigation course using a theodeliete, but not even the navy teach those skills any more.

Hello Alan
My favourite - inherited off my Grandfather..


Don't use it of course...These are my current ones, two Suunto KB 14/360Rs and a Silva (Type 15T - The Ranger).

One of the Suuntos is now close on useless as the fluid has gone blue for some reason and you can only just read bearings through the eyepiece (yours also appears to be a bit blue?). This is the one I have had in my car (most of the time) for 25+ years and think it may possibly be due to heat but dont really know? Apparently it is not possible (or worth the trouble) to change the fluid and its a bin job. The other one has been inside the house for the same period and is OK so I am happy.

Cheers
Greg

Hullo Alan
Silva Type 80
Pretty basic; used it on the boat as a backup and for keeping my hand in checking the course on the charts.
Now in the survival bag for similar reasons :-)
Cheers
Andrew

Allen, I am another fan of the silva compass it used by militaries around the world and has everything you need. A trap sometimes is that there is northern and southern hemisphere version.

I brought a compass about 40 years ago when I use to sail. It was mounted in rubber so as it swung around your neck it did not really matter if it hit something. Very robust. It was not your conventional compass. You hold it up to your eye, point it at something in the distance, and then read the bearing numbers. If you want north, you turned until it reads zero and then look at the things on that bearing in the distance. Take it with me on every trip, but with 6 or 7 GPS equipped devices it does not get a lot of use. If I could find it at the moment I would take a picture, but with turning my truck over last year I am not sure which box it is in.

I use a digital watch when I'm driving, but use a relatively basic Silva when bushwalking and off-track (backed up by a GPS app on my smartphone).