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How To Use A Compass
By Alan Leach
While most of us have no intention of spending weeks hiking through the middle of nowhere, with the use of only a compass and a can opener, knowing how to use a compass is a valuable skill to have, and will help you to enjoy the great outdoors. The following advice is for those who have yet to use a compass and who want to know how to use a compass. As there are no pictures attached, it is strongly recommended you use a compass while following the instructions.
While all compasses are slightly different from each other, they all share the same basic characteristics. The first lesson for those of you who want to learn how to use a compass is that the red arrow on your compass always points to magnetic north. If you simply want to go north therefore, all you need to do is go in the direction that the red arrow is pointing! Unfortunately, life is rarely as simple as this.
Let's say for example that you want to use the compass to know how to go in a north east direction. First of all, turn the compass housing (the part of the compass that turns) so that the direction you want to go (north east) is lined up with the direction arrow of the compass (this direction arrow is the one on the base of the compass, not the main metal arrow that moves). Then, holding the compass flat on your hand (or on top of a flat object like a map) turn the whole compass so that the red metal arrow in the compass housing is line up with magnetic north. Bingo! You now know where north east is. Simply head towards that direction, checking you are going roughly the right way about every 100 metres or so.
This method works fairly well if you don't use a map, but is not very accurate. To use a compass with a map is more complicated, but it is certainly more accurate, an issue which is quite important when you are stuck somewhere that you have never been before and want to know how to use a compass to get out!
Imagine you are at a certain point on the map and you want to know how to get to another point (In real life, for this method to work, you will need to know where you are!) Place the compass on the map with the side of the compass along the route with the direction arrow in the compass base pointing in the right direction. Now you will need to turn the compass housing so that the lines on the compass housing are perfectly aligned with the lines on the map. Finally, while still keeping the compass on the map, turn the whole map so that the metal arrow is pointing towards magnetic north. Finally, all you need to do is use the direction arrow to reach your destination. Again, you will need to check the bearing several times as you go so that you are certain you are going in the right direction.
These are the basics for those of you wanting to know how to use a compass. It should be stressed here that there are more things to learn before you can be truly proficient with how to use a compass, not least of which is the issue of magnetic declination (basically, your compass shows magnetic north, which is not the same as true north). It is strongly recommended before you decide to rush off into the great outdoors that you use a compass to practise first!
See Also:
More info on how to read a compass
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