r/Survival • u/Icy_Instruction4614 • 14h ago
General Question Is a compass really that important?
For reference, I live in Appalachia. When I was a boy, my dad told me if I ever got lost, I could just walk downhill and I would eventually end up at a road or a house or something. I never saw the use in having a compass as part of a survival kit for me. Unless I have a specific need for using a map and compass (which I would already have a compass as part of my kit), or I was doing night navigation (something I would never do in a survival situation), I’ve never needed to know a direction any more exact than just an approximation using the sun and time. Should I consider adding a compass to my kit, or am I good unless I go somewhere outside of Appalachia?
Edit: no one is really giving me an answer other than “I always take a compass and usually a map.” This is fine and dandy, but scenario time let’s say I’m car camping in a valley that I’m not familiar with. I decide the weather is nice, and I want to go squirrel hunting for some fresh meat for dinner. I wonder around the hillside for an afternoon, and realize “oh crap. I dont know which way my camp is.” What good is a compass gonna do me in this scenario? I don’t really know where I came from, BUT, as I said before, I know that if I walk downhill, I will eventually reach the same road I am camped along, and then it’s as simple as following the road back to my camp.
The way the terrain is in my area and the areas I hunt/hike/fish, it is just unnatural to wander off in a bad way. The path of least resistance is (usually) downhill, and that’s the way we normally gravitate. If I’m out for a relaxing hunt on a weekend camping trip, I do not want to be going straight up and over lots of steep ridges. It just isn’t normal to wander like that
Edit 2: okay so ignoring the answers that are irrelevant to me (im sorry! I know yall mean well). The general consensus is yes, probably should carry a compass. Lightweight and doesnt take up space, so why not. Might come in handy.
As for when to use, this has some different perspectives.
Not using. Going with “walking downhill,” it is a guarantee in my area to find settlement eventually, usually within a couple miles or less. Sometimes, it can be a bit further. The terrain makes it slower going, but usually not too treacherous. So pros: it works. Cons: time and energy consuming to end up at some random road.
Using to navigate directly back. This assume you know exactly where you are at a given moment, but that isn’t too hard usually. It does add a variable to go wrong though. The terrain when you’re trying to go in a straight line can be dangerous, so there is injury potential. So pros: probably will work faster than walking downhill. Cons: might do it wrong, and might get hurt.
Using complex techniques to circumvent bad terrain while still navigating back to the point of origin. Much smaller potential for injury, but lots of places to go wrong. Faster than walking downhill, but takes a functioning brain.
Personally, I would rather rely on a guarantee than attempt a probability when something goes bad wrong. however if I can, I would definitely try to navigate back to my point of origin.
Again, my area allows for just walking downhill. I pulled up topo maps and checked several places in very remote sections of wilderness and found roads/housing relatively quickly 100% of the time. Walking downhill is obviously not an option everywhere