Any Adventure Racers/Orienteering Folks around here?

J

jlouis976

Joined
Feb 25, 2008
Messages
396
I'm fairly new to the sport. I've only done a few races.

Basically what I am hoping for is that a couple people who lurk around here might have some tips for me. I'm looking for a new compass and possibly some gaiters. I'm going to be doing this race in July, and I'm sure that my gear has some holes that I need to fill.

I'll do quite a few more so I don't mind if I have to spend a bit on it- I just want to make sure I have good stuff that will last.

Besides that, any tips or comments/suggestions are welcome.

If I'm completely in left field asking this sort of thing in here, my apologies.

Thanks folks.
 
*raises hand* I used to be all about adventure races although I wish I were able to compete in more. I'm more creaky than I was two years ago but basically did this kinda stuff for my job and loved every second of it. I've seen people use all sorts of gear, there's lots of different ways about it. The guys that always win are navigation geniuses, they can look at a map and instantly know exactly where they're going, how fast they will be taking it, where they will stop and rest, and with a quick glance at a compass are on their way. Personally I'd take as little gear as you think you're going to need, you're going to regret every single pound by the end of the day. It is a blast though.
 
What type of compass do you recommend? It seems like most people use those thumb compasses but I kinda wanted something I could use while riding my bike.
 
jlouis976 said:
What type of compass do you recommend? It seems like most people use those thumb compasses but I kinda wanted something I could use while riding my bike.
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Gonna be way too bouncy to use one with any sort of effectiveness and it's completely up to you and based on your orienteering techniques. I use a Commenga just because they're so damn durable, easy to use and 100% completely reliable.
 
I just looked it up. My buddy who was a ranger uses the same thing. Do you use the lensatic or the wrist mount?

Compass_mn.jpg
 
Yup it's what I learned on in the military and I find it most efficient, so it's what I use for recreating too. It's nice because you can fold it up and stuff it in your pocket and know it'll be fine when you need it again. I use the lens alot, the country out here is rediculously big and there arent alot of defined markers in the high desert so it's always nice to be able to get super accurate with your reading.
 
Interesting food for thought. I really got hung up on those thumb compasses for a bit because of how you can constantly have them out. They have fast settling needles which make it pretty easy to do a quick bearing check without pulling anything out. Most of my navigation is done in thick woods so you are constantly having to check your bearings due to an inability to dead recon consistently. The only points you can pick to aim for are within 80 yards.

That Commenga is a beast. You could fight off a bobcat with that thing.
 
jlouis976 said:
Interesting food for thought. I really got hung up on those thumb compasses for a bit because of how you can constantly have them out. They have fast settling needles which make it pretty easy to do a quick bearing check without pulling anything out. Most of my navigation is done in thick woods so you are constantly having to check your bearings due to an inability to dead recon consistently. The only points you can pick to aim for are within 80 yards.

That Commenga is a beast. You could fight off a bobcat with that thing.
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drop it, run it over with a humvee, leave it in your swimming trunks on a freedive... I've done it all to my commenga and it looks factory new. The finish is super durable and the casing literally feels like a tank. I'm sure it's not as light as the Suuntos and some of the others out there but overall in my opinion I find it to be the most effective for on-the-go navigation and route planning. I'm sure other nav buffs on here will state the exact opposite, but that's just me.
 
My personal favorite is a baseplate model by Silva or Suunto (I use the Ranger). These are designed to be easy to use and you can integrate and transfer data from the compass directly to the map and vice versa. Other than some cheap lensatics this is all that I have experience with. A buddy of mine used to have a what he called a surveyor's compass that was super fast. It slid open like those old spy cameras. You looked through the viewer and there was a vertical crosswire that was superimposed over the compass dial. If you were on the move and simply shooting a bearing you could do it in less than 5 seconds. Transferring the data to the map was impossible though. You had to dead reckon it. Sorry, I have no idea who the manufacturer was.
 
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