If you have never used a compass before, or are a little bit “rusty,” we’ve pulled together some helpful information to give you a “quick start” on the Rally map and compass navigation tasks. You can download our Compass Basics guide for step-by-step instructions, but we also thought it might be good to share some video demonstrations.
USING A COMPASS
For the very basic operations and understanding of how a compass works take a look at this video that explains “Red in the Shed.”
Once you are comfortable with using your using your compass to find a basic direction, the next step is taking a bearing to a feature in the landscape.
When you are actually out navigating on a trail, and you need to follow a specific heading, you can use your compass to maintain direction. This video gives a basic overview of how to follow a bearing in the field.
USING THE COMPASS WITH A MAP
There are times when you will need to use your compass as a “plotter”, to determine the heading of something on the map that you want to find in the field. This video takes a look at that process.
Finally, the process of triangulation is introduced in this video.
If you want to have a better understanding of the concept of Magnetic Declination as it relates to using a compass, this is a good concise video (it is a little longer than the others, but goes into a lot of detail).
COMPASS RECOMMENDATIONS
If you don’t already have a compass, your decision about which one to purchase should be based on how much you plan to use it outside the scope of this rally. While there are many inexpensive ones that will generally point to North (more or less, we have had some interesting surprises with very cheap-o compasses), here are a couple that we recommend.
