How to Use a Compass: The Basics - Micro Advice Video Series

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VIDEO TRANSCRIPT:

Hi guys. I'm Shaun from simplyhike.co.uk. In this micro video, we're going to be talking about the basics, and I really mean the basics, of using a compass.

All right guys. Let's go through the key basics, shall we? Obviously you've got the north, east, south, west dial, and you want to position this dial to where north is pointing. That will give you a true verdict of where north is. So no matter what sort of trail you're doing, or where you're going, or where you're walking, hiking or whatever, that will tell you the true position of north, which also you can slightly adjust as well.

Obviously, you see these numbers around the dial, and basically they coordinate with your reference, your maps, or anything could use. Obviously you're not going into great detail with that today.

The key thing when it comes to basic compass use is actually using it as a reference point. So no matter what sort of direction you are going, you want to look ahead, say about 100 meters, and then you want to go right to that tree over there. We're going to walk over to there and that's when you take a look at your compass for a reference point. You look up and then you move on again to find another reference point.