Really enjoy these videos. Good useful information presented well. I was told that the belt of Orion rises due east and sets due West every day, everywhere in the world. You will need a good horizon and a clear sky, but it works out well. I was taught land navigation in the Marine Corps, but some of my best methods were taught to me by an old (88 year old) Ute Indian in Colorado in 1987. He showed me how to navigate the wilderness with nothing but your observation. Hard to explain in words, but it helps you become part of the land, instead of something walking on top of it. In the last 35 years of trekking through the wilderness, I’ve never been lost.
I recently came to learn the thing about ants congregating in the southerly direction. If they are the kind to form noticeable hills the longer/low slope will face more south. I thought this was a total lie at first, but looked it up and sure enough other resources verified that. I did recall an infestation of ants in an area of my work's parking lot and it was an area that the sun hit from the south. The direction was also confirmed by a singular giant tree that had the majority of its branches and trunk reaching in that direction as well. My compass thirded the confirmation. 😊 Really cool stuff when you see it all in action.
I think a lot of people feel overwhelmed by the complexity of map and compass work that they then fear even simple direction finding. As you point out, in many survival situations, just heading in a general direction and not going in circles is going to be very important.
Once more here there is a usefull and informative video Everybody laughs with "survival navigation" until they get in trouble where they cry because they never learned it. In my civilian life 3 times i got lost in a foreign land and i was able to find my way using these techniques. First time in Slovakia where nobody spoke English (and i speak no slovak) to tell me how to get to Vienna. So with these techniques i found where is west and in 4-5 km i was in the boarders. Another time we were in the middle of nowhere in Western Serbia inside a forrest when my car and there were no signs and no GPS signal. we got in a crossroad and again i found my way. Third time again in the boonies having got with some locals "who knew the area" and they experts got lost. Again i found my way. So do not underestimate the usefulness of survival navigation. everybody will need it whether he is military or civilian. GPS can always break, run out of batteries or not having signal. I still praise my instructors in the army who taugh me this
Glad you had the knowledge and skills to get you out of trouble. Thanks for your comments. There is way too much reliance on tech for navigation these days.
It is always worth magnetising your needles in your sewing kit, and any tips of things like screwdriver bits even if it is on your tool belt / leatherman :) Like the necklace btw :) nice. I saw someone use a gemstone that was magnetised once .... (off to go and research that ...) they were into Viking stuff and said thats how they navigated through fog at sea.
Excellent presentation. Suggestion. Instead of buying the "tool tube" how about making your own from straws? Choose your straw for the kit to carry. Cut the straw to the length required, seal it with an iron and then pack the kit inside the straw and seal the other end. You are limited by your imagination as to what you carry and where it can be carried.
This is a really interesting video! I hope this isn't a daft question, but would it be possible for you to make another video with more tips about using the Suunto clipper compass?
