Compass Declination

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Novice_Outdoorsmen

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Curious to what apps, websites, etc. Yall may be using to find compass declination before heading out on a trip. I want to work on my daughters compass skills on our next trip, but it's been years since I've used one. She might just end up teaching me, LOL!

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USGS provides magnetic declination values on their maps. I enjoyed the Nat Geo topo software enough that I still use it even though it isn't supported anymore. Those maps also provided magnetic declination. I would imagine just googling the area you are visiting and looking up USGS magnetic declination should get you to what you are looking for.
 
Novice_Outdoorsmen said:
Cool, appreciate it !

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Just curious what compass are you using? When I was younger and first got into orienteering I was using some of those kind of cheap round ones that I think were knock offs of the older military style compasses. When I was in high school and doing orienteering as part of FFA we started using the Ranger Silva compasses. I liked that one enough that it is still my go to compass.
 
swmalone said:
Just curious what compass are you using? When I was younger and first got into orienteering I was using some of those kind of cheap round ones that I think were knock offs of the older military style compasses. When I was in high school and doing orienteering as part of FFA we started using the Ranger Silva compasses. I liked that one enough that it is still my go to compass.
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I haven't picked one up yet, still researching. I'm going to look up the one you mentioned.

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Oh jeez, sorry about that. My computer was wonking out so I did the stupid thing and kept hitting "post reply". Stupid, stupid, stupid. I'll try not to do that with this post.
 
I use the NOAA declination calculator for my navigational needs too.

I'd stay away from the current Silva compasses though. They are no longer made in Sweden if you buy them in this country. Suunto is good. My Brunton got permanent bubbles and when they fixed it, the bubbles came back never to disappear.

Now I'm using a K&R Sherpa. Just find one that you can actually adjust and set delineation. Some just have fixed declination but also have a scale that is not adjustable.
 
Wyatt Carson said:
I use the NOAA declination calculator for my navigational needs too.

I'd stay away from the current Silva compasses though. They are no longer made in Sweden if you buy them in this country. Suunto is good. My Brunton got permanent bubbles and when they fixed it, the bubbles came back never to disappear.

Now I'm using a K&R Sherpa. Just find one that you can actually adjust and set delineation. Some just have fixed declination but also have a scale that is not adjustable.
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I'm glad you mentioned the Brunton compass. I've had their TruArc 15 Compass on my radar while watching reviews and reading up!

Adjustable declination is one of my first requirements before I pull the trigger on one. There is know way I want additional stress of remembering the degree of declination in a situation where I'm lost or turned around! LOL



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I think knowing how to navigate with a map and compass are essential skills for anyone who travels in the backcountry, and it's great that you're going to teach your daughter those skills...but I haven't carried a compass in years, and I've just about stopped carrying paper maps. These days I trust the GPS apps on my iPhone, and love how much easier they make navigating.
 
Wyatt Carson said:
I'd stay away from the current Silva compasses though. They are no longer made in Sweden if you buy them in this country.
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That is too bad about the newer Silva's. I have an older one that I love. I agree with a lot of the comments about making sure you get one that has an adjustable declination. That way you can set it and not have to worry about doing the calculations in your head. If you are in a situation where you are relying on the map and compass you really don't want to make a mistake and forget to add or subtract for magnetic declination.
 
FYI, when I flew to Jackson, WY this fall, I had my fairly new compass in my checked luggage. It was in fine shape when I packed it. It was well protected in the luggage. When I pulled it out to pack it for a trip into Yellowstone, it had a huge bubble in it.

After giving this some thought, I figured that having it fly under low ambient pressure at 35,000 feet allowed expansion and leakage of the fluid and upon losing altitude into a higher pressure environment, air leaked in creating the bubble. Just a hypothesis.

I will fly with the compass in my carry on luggage (until TSA outlaws those killer compasses) in the future and see if this prevents the bubble. Stay tuned.
 
I was reading an old thread about a compass being thrown off by magnetic elements in the ground (Crazy Compass - see below). Rather than drag that thread up to the present, I figured I'd comment here. This can have a major effect on compasses, obviously. In the distant past, I used a compass several times a day for work and we would usually have rebar with us to mark the plot center. Just having a 2-foot piece of rebar within a foot or so of the compass would easily move the compass needle around. A steel fence post could affect the compass needle at 2-3 feet. Even holding the compass down toward our waist could cause the needle to be affected by our belt buckles.

In Yellowstone this fall, I was around some heavily-mineralized areas and my compass readings were ridiculously wonky. On a clear day this would have been no problem as I would have been able to see landmarks/terrain to help me out but the low clouds and rain/snow created short visibility windows. Navigating off-trail was a slow process.
 
Uh... you all know that the declination changes over time because the magnetic poles are moving due to the source of the field moving - the molten magnetic core of our planet, right? In fact, in our history, north has become south and south, north. Multiple times. That is science fact and not alternative science fact.
Course I mean it has moved over time meaning geological time.... :) Won't mean much regarding your USGS and NOAA reference sources.
 
Artemus said:
Uh... you all know that the declination changes over time because the magnetic poles are moving due to the source of the field moving - the molten magnetic core of our planet, right? In fact, in our history, north has become south and south, north. Multiple times. That is science fact and not alternative science fact.
Course I mean it has moved over time meaning geological time.... :) Won't mean much regarding your USGS and NOAA reference sources.
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Fortunately the NOAA & USGS websites report the latest declination values. Don't diss alternative facts, they will be mainstream in another couple of years.
 
Outdoor_Fool said:
Fortunately the NOAA & USGS websites report the latest declination values.
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Yes indeed they do. I've seen the declination in my town move by 1.5 or 2 degrees over the decades. The old maps are wrong now but I update my various declinations every couple years from those sites and write them down in my field notebook.
 
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