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Posted by Bill S on January 11, 2008 at 7:14:15 pm EST
In reply to COMPASSES posted by juancho on September 30, 2007 at 11:23:39 pm EDT

juancho -
first comment - leave off the IMG tag in these forums - Trailspace does not have image posting capability at present for regular posts. Just put the URL, and people will be able to click to see the image you are referencing. Like this (your first link) - http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v111/blackbear11784/severalcompass.jpg
[Good grief! That's an ancient Boy Scout Silva next to the Ranger 15! It didn't even have liquid damping, just relying on eddy currents in the aluminum bezel!)

Second, there are a number of excellent books out there that cover map and compass basics both at the simple introductory level and in depth. You could add your own favorite list to help people. You mention Boy Scouts - Bjorn Kjellstrom's excellent classic book (which I mention below) is sold in most Boy Scout Shops. Several outdoor organizations (Seattle Mountaineers, Appalachian Mountain Club, NOLS, etc) also publish excellent books on the subject.

A couple of historical points - The Silva system was invented by the Kjellstrom brothers in Sweden in the 1930s. The family started and still has majority control in Silva. The company uses that name for their compasses and other survey and navigation instruments (and orienteering gear) in the whole world outside North America. When Bjorn (author of the still best book on map and compass, even though he passed on several years ago) came to the US, he was looking for a North American representative. The company he chose and was a spokesperson for eventually became Johnson Worldwide Associates (started by the founder of the Johnson Wax company). To this day, JWA retains the marketing rights to the name Silva as far as compasses are concerned in North America. In the 1990s, Silva (Sweden) bought Brunton, an old line surveying instrument company that also manufactured compasses and various types of optical and outdoor gear. When they asked for the return of the North American rights to the Silva name, JWA refused (there was a major court battle, decided in 1997, if I recall correctly). So Silva severed relations with JWA (which means that "Silva" compasses sold in North America are not made by Silva Sweden). Silva first used a name they had used for years for marine instrumentation, Nexus, for their compasses in North America. But there was so little name recognition that they have recently (few years ago) started using the Brunton name for all Silva (Sweden) gear sold in North America. JWA meanwhile contracted Suunto (Finland) to manufacture compasses for them, while Suunto continues to import compasses and other gear to North America under their own name. Compare, for example, the Brunton (Silva of Sweden), JWA Silva, and Suunto model 15 mirror compasses - you will immediately see the strong resemblance of the Suunto and JWA versions, and some interesting differences with the Brunton (Silva Sweden) version - then compare to a JWA Silva (made by Silva Sweden) from the 1960s through 1980s. There are differences in the way the similar models are designated, with Brunton/Silva and JWA Silva using the "15" - Brunton 15TDCL, Silva Ranger 515CL, and Suunto MC-2.

I mentioned the "professional" mirror compasses because it is easy to see the strong resemblances and minor differences. I do NOT recomment these for most people. A simple baseplate compass is more than enough for the vast majority of people in the outdoors (I even carry one of the little $10 ones as a spare backup myself, despite having a plethora of compasses up to and including a venerable Brunton Pocket Transit). The other styles of inexpensive compass (the little ball-shaped ones, the kind found on the top of hiking poles, the key-chain ones, etc) are next to useless for even simple navigation - they are barely able to point out magnetic north. The expensive ones, including the mirror ones, have their uses, but only for someone thoroughly trained in their use (oh, ok, you can use the mirror for shaving or coming your hair, or even maybe making sure your sunblock is evenly applied).

And, yes, I teach land nav to scouts and scout leaders, and for various outdoor organizations, from the basics of map and compass through use of the various electronic widgets.

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