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My experience is that dealers nearly always offer compasses that lack this feature for less $ than models that look almost identical. (That's the "Essential" part). Unless you live in Wisconsin, or eschew maps, or can do the math flawlessly in your head, declination compensation is worth having. So most of the other half of its column-inches are devoted to how to navigate without, or in conjunction with, map and/or compass using sun, stars, watercourses etc., how to think graphically and accumulate data, and how to move and behave sensibly.
Others wander into extensive desultory discussions of compass design, magnetic anomalies, map projections, tables and graphs. Of a large class I once attended, nearly half the participants brought new baseplate compasses that could not compensate for declination, and not one of them realized it. I can't offer a comparison to similar books because I chose carefully and bought one. My limited experience with others isn't enough to say this is the one for you, but I can say that of them it's by a wide margin the one for me. The subject at hand is not getting lost, or if necessary getting unlost. (That's the "Wilderness Navigator" part).
Above a certain price, their statement is accurate, but novice shoppers can't count on it. It espouses a cogent philosophy I'm going to sum up in three aphorisms: pay attention to where you are and visualize where you've been; practice and theory are both essential (more of one doesn't make up for less of the other); and, if lost, thinking is a better strategy than hoping.There's the obligatory cursory examination of GPS and a nod to Orienteering, each blessedly brief because neither can be usefully addressed in anything less than more than this entire book. What's left, though, demands close and repeated attention as it's precisely to the point. However, they say more than once that among its advantages is that almost all baseplate compasses offer built-in declination adjustment. So it spends half its column-inches explaining how to use a map, how to use a compass, and how to use them together, in a progressive, logical, concise style. Declarative statements, simple illustrations and prescriptive exercises will get you thinking and navigating expertly, if you're willing to do the work.One small note: the authors recommend, correctly, acquiring a baseplate compass. It's only ~170pp but there's scarcely a wasted word or unnecessary idea in it.
You can ignore those bits without penalty, and you can merely read other pages dwelling on peculiar difficulties without offering peculiar solutions, or recounting illustrative anecdotes. It's an intelligently organized instruction manual for the use of our basic tools.Where this book excels, though, is that while embracing technical assistance (map & compass) it begins and ends with a deep appreciation of the myriad clues available for determining position if we see and understand them. This book mentions each, says about it what pertains to the subject at hand and moves on. That's what I bought it for and I think it performs that function admirably.
The appendix lists other books and sources of related information. There were numerous illustrations to help explain the text. The book is well organized and informative. Although I have not yet finished reading the entire book, the parts I have read were well written.
I reread certain chapters over and over, finding I have glossed over something that is more important than I originally thought.If you want to trust a compass this is the book for you, but plan on spending some time with it.I am buying this book for my son-in law as he relies exclusively on a GPS.I guess the only thing I disagree with is a statement that a compass almost never breaks, as I have several that have been retired over breakage. I find that what I think I have learned is easily wrong when out in the field so I now carry it with me and practice the stuff I am unsure of. Some people think this book is wordy but I find it fascinating. I have been using a compass for many years but I always thought there was much more than I knew. I carry 2-3 with me now as I guess I'm not disposed to trust any one navigational instrument. I purchased 3 books on compass usage a couple years ago after my wife and I broke my GPS during a snowstorm in the mountains of Colorado leaving us in a bad mess.I quickly ran through the other 2, and although they were good they were not as complete as this one. I went to using GPS for all my navigation a few years ago. I have carried it with me for 2 years now.
This book is rambling and wordy. For those looking for a concise guide to map and compass use, look elsewhere.
If you are inclined to read more than one book on any subject you're interested in, then this may be helpful as one of the first books on navigation you might read. It is a good introduction in that sense. For some readers this may be enough. The relaxed, conversational pace of this book may appeal to some readers. But it is unlikely it'd be your last. If the writing were tighter, the details would stand out better. It strikes me otherwise, and feels wordy, and in places little more than fluff. Those details are there and worth getting.
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