What kind of compass do you use?

What kind of compass do you use? Standard or digital? I am not sold on the digital. What are the pros and cons of each.....
Thanks
MArk

Standard, here--I never want to rely on batteries, which seem (at least for me) to die just when most needed!

+1 for standard compasses. I'm possibly a bit of a Luddite but I try to never depend on anything that uses batteries: If it uses batteries, I always take along a simple, non-electronic backup or do without. I have used a Silva Ranger compass professionally for over 40 years. It is a magnetic, liquid damped, mirror sighting compass. I am still using the one I bought in 1965. It has never failed me. And, I can use the mirror for shaving should I feel the need.

I bring a cheap Wal-Mart compass, don't know the brand, but I've had it for a long time now and it still works fine. Where I live and hike declination is almost nothing so I don't have to worry about that. Close is good enough for me here.

Standard - a Silva Starter. Of course, I'm nearly always on a trail, and in the MIdwest with its wonderful rectangular survey.

There are so many different types of compasses, I don't think it's possible to say digital or standard.

If I were selling you a compass, I'd first ask what you were going to do with it. If your answer was just knowing general directions, I might give you a button compass out of a Crackerjack box. If you wanted to navigate without trails, I'd recommend a Commenga 27 lensatic compass.

If you wanted to mark a map to prepare for a hike, I'd sell you a compass and a circular protractor.

Knowing how to use a compass is more important than the compass itself as long as the compass is reasonably functional. For most people, this compass will work well: Brunton compass

I bought one for under $10 at Sport Authority.

I use a standard baseplate with a mirror. Brunton. Great compass. If I ever use a digital (like on a gps), I always have a standard as backup.

Speaking of compasses, I've been working on some software to display a digital compass and it's been a interesting process.

You can find the code I've used and notes for it here , and play with the compass rose and needle by clicking the compass.html link.. These files are not connected to the "Magnetometer", which sends a number between 0-360 to the compass animation, but you can sort of see how it works by typing a number in that range into the text box in the compass rose.

Unlike a magnetic compass, which quits working when it's not level, a digital compass readings are affected by what a sailor would call "pitch and yaw (roll)".

I found the maths to compensate for this, but I've not taken time to try and implement it yet because I don't know how to read those formulas and I'll have to commit some serious effort to decipher them and convert them to Python code. Here's a link that describes the maths I need to use for this.

I made a video of it that shows the compass working and this effect in use:

Generally liquid-filled, baseplate, foldable with sighting mirror. Prefer pre-settable declination but that's becoming more rare it seems.

In winter I like one with a slope angle feature.

Have a few to increase the probabilty I will have one anytime I go, be it a dayhike or overnight. We're at about 14 degrees, which can prove significant, and I grew up in the Northwest where it's closer to 20.

p.s. Declination map.

I have a collection of compasses all the way from pocket transits, high speed orienteering thumb compasses, down to tiny little button compasses.
The one that always ends up around my neck is a very simple Silva whistle compass I've had for many years and has been around the globe. All I need to know is how to orient a map and I'm good. I don't need declination adjustment (you can do that in your head), or markings on the compass. Just point me generally north. If the map is oriented correctly, trails don't change.

Adding compasses to my list of controversial topics. The other two are footwear and stoves.

Fly-by-night brand, Wet finger in the air model. Sorry, don't have a link to it.
Duane

Do you adjust for declination by using a different finger? (Is it the one you're holding up right now?)

I'm also of the button persuasion. I wear it on my watchband (yes, I was a diver). I use it mostly to get a general Idea of a change in trail direction to keep track of where I am. It will give me declension, but Canadian maps show magnetic north so I rarely need it. I do have to move it away from my watch for accurate readings. best, jcp

Inexpensive, compact, lightweight, easy to set the magnetic declination (if you don't know what that is, it's urgent that you do some research!) and works well with a map--Silva Starter Compass.

My one experience with a button compass ended when it reversed polarity while I was riding a Swiss electric train. When I reached Grindelwald and started trying to navigate to the hostel, I discovered that the sun was setting in the east!

Declination, I use the finger next to it. It's other job.
Duane

Ha! Were we on the same trip?? All my watch band button compasses and cheap ball compasses eventually reversed polarity, usually after being near a big electrical field like a train. They are easy to "re-educate" with a bar magnet and some time but I gave up on them.
I've never had a Silva fail, other than a capsule leak, my fault. Cammenga military card compasses have a slick "inductance dampening" (no liquid) system but are just too heavy to schlep around.

Just realized (reading others postings) that I should have mentioned that I used a lensatic compass for mapping many years ago. It was an engineer's compass, too heavy for everyday use but, properly used, very accurate. I carried it for awhile (still have it), but it's a bit of a fuss to get it out and use it, and I never seem to need that degree of accuracy. Also, there is a degree of skill involved in using it properly, and I haven't used it in so long (at least 35 years) I'm not sure I still have that skill. I have also used the Silva plate-base compasses more recently and like them, just don't really need that much compass for trails in the east (but if I had to bush whack a considerable distance out of a mess I'd probably fall in love). best, jcp

I got this one:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/hot-compass-ther...=item5b079fca13
In the woods, it points in the same direction all the time, and keeps me from going in circles. I have another cheap backup in my pack, that points ~5 degrees clockwise compared to it.

Compass nav is different depending on what you are doing.
For backpacking, the simpler, the better...just point me to mag north. The map does the rest. The only time declination matters (in my part of the world) is if you are traveling across featureless terrain...flat desert, dense forest, etc. Even then, most orienteering compasses have no markings or adjustments.
For flying, the compass needs to be compensated, and placarded for errors. Declination is figured "on the fly" since it changes as you travel, but is read off the sectional charts.
For sailing/open water nav, a compensated compass, but again, declination is accounted for on the charts. For sailing, the compass needs to read no matter the boats lean.
Map making, surveying, requires much more accuracy, levelness, declination, inclination, and good sighting. Pocket transits are works of art.
For diving, I like a baseplate compass board, with declination adjustment pre-set....it's like flying across featureless terrain, and becoming disoriented and lost is a real possibility.

At the bottom of that ebay page, the description reads "Affected by quartz magnetic field,thermometer and compass can not normally point out the direction,it belongs to decoration".

Ahhh, I see. A compass that challenges your nav skills. That's Awesome!!!

None of the above. I quit carrying a compass 15 years ago. Carried one for 30 years and never used it. I do most of my travel in mountains and am good at reading maps. I also do not use a GPS. Unless it is overcast, all you need is to know what time it is, what time of the year it is, and a have a shadow. I do not hike in deep forests - not fond of that environment. My husband says I have an internal compass - perhaps he is right. Staying oriented has never been a problem.

My son has a great sense of direction. He can glance at the map and know where to go the whole day.

Me -- I get lost in Lowes.

I use a compass (the one on my phone!) inside buildings way more than in the boonies. Especially in large malls, airports, and office buildings. The next most often on lakes, sailing or paddling. It's easy to miss points in open water.
This is why I don't haul a fancy compass in the boonies. I use the whistle on my compass...for signaling...more than the compass.

Originally Posted By: billstephenson
At least it was consistent? I'll have to double check that, again, compared to the other compass I was carrying. I tried it at least 5 different times, and was satisfied enough to put the other compass away.

The thermometer is definitely off, unless I take if off my wrist.

edit: I've been playing with both compasses indoors. They both tend to point north most of the time. I think there is too much interference in a house. However, they do about the same: both the watch/compass and the compass.

edit again: The third one I have, is in my cell phone (a galaxy note, which I presume functions like yours, billstephenson). It isn't as much of a pain as the cheap mechanical ones, that require manipulation to overcome friction.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aB4Pwx2fOpk

You know I had to take a magnet and wave it around that magnetometer. It's really pretty cool, I could just wave my had over it and move the needle on the screen. When you apply that same method to something like robotics you could, in theory, steer a remote vehicle that way, or move a camera.

But.... when I got the magnet too close it totally crashed my app

Try using a quartz watch, instead of a magnet. It has a some effect if you hold it really close.