Survival Instructor Explains 5 Most Common Navigations Issues Most People Face

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and as always....
Stay in the Woods,
Dan

[@britebooy]

Thanks for the tips! I’m a surveyor and I learned something. BTW it’s bisect not dissect. 😄

[@seansmart3440]

I attended Dan’s nav clinic last year. It is a fantastic class and I learned a lot more than I had expected. Dan and his instructors are great.

[@gregmortonoutdoors]

Hand to cheek method has worked for me for years when shooting an azimuth but the important thing is you have to find what works for you. Land navigation is an art once you get the basic principles down.

[@shastaham7630]

While I don't use a hand-to-cheek method, I do have my compass close to my face. Probably like you, I need a consistent frame of reference.

[@Hkpirate11]

I learned land navigation in the army in 2004. Its sad that in 2017 when i got out 99% of Soldiers and NCO's were not capable of completing land nav courses. 2 people finished within the alotted time in my company. Those 2 people were me and a Soldier who tagged along with me. (I turned it into training for the Soldier he before did not know how to read/orient the map, shoot azimuths, and had zero clue how to identify land marks, didnt know what a pace count was either. With me teaching him we were still the only ones to complete the course.) During the AAR I brought up how sad this was and the response was sad as well. "We dont need this anymore, we have Blue Force Trackers now."

[@cardiacbob]

I'm a 22 Year USMC & US Army Vet and I taught Land Nav to a lot of Infantry Soldiers (and ROTC Candidates and Boy Scouts) over the years. My lensatic compass lanyard was always looped through my top BDU button Hole and NEVER came off (if you lost'em, you had to buy'em!). I used the Army's Steady hold (both pointer fingers alongside the Compass like a pistol) method and made sure my wire line bisected my pivot point. Even though I considered myself (past tense) an expert in Map Reading and Land nav, its good to get a refresher, b/c its a perishable skill. Thank you. (SFC, USA Retired).

[@speakeasydoorman4966]

Appreciate you sharing your knowledge What compass would you recommend if a person is not in the military? Of your recommdation of compass why that model(s) Thank you for your reply

[@davisriddle4482]

As a Forester, I use a Silva Ranger 15. I keep the lanyard through the top button hole in my shirt and keep it in the front pocket when I'm wearing a cruising vest. When wearing the vest, it goes through a loop-hole designed for a compass. Set declination properly and get used to reading the needle while level and you'll always keep the compass level. I always line the needle, the reference line, and the sight notch on the top of the mirror, sight on the object furthest away I can see, then fold the compass away and walk towards that point (pacing). When I get there, repeat the process on another point.

[@1caseyk]

Same here.

[@ElmoUnk1953]

Singing and Compass twirling got a laugh and thumbs up! 🤣😂😁 One my Scouts twirled his compass and broke it on a rock. His fellow Scouts ribbed him mercilessly. I had my own Ranger Compass and a GI Lensatic Compass. Semper Fi!

[@TheScoundrel70]

The lanyard trick is a new one to me (the reason behind it, that is). It seems really obvious now, but I had never considered it before. Very cool tip! Dan is my friend, he said so! I'm having some proud now!

[@youtube.commentator]

It's always good to know where you're going

[@earlshaner4441]

Good morning from Syracuse NY USA brother and thank you for sharing your thoughts and adventures

[@oldsoldier181]

So, after probably more than 35 years of land nav, I just learned something new. Using a lanyard as a distance limiter. I came from 20 years using a lensatic compass in the army, and am still most comfortable with it. BUT, I have gone to a more civilian one, and never once thought of using the lanyard like that. Gonna work on that with my civvie one!! Lensatic still works best cheek method :).

[@hagman1077]

I was in for 22 yrs and would of never thought to stretch the lanyard to the lensatic.

[@radforduniversity6424]

Another helpful tip. NEVER let the butter bar run nav drills

[@asmith7876]

We had one LT that was a master at it! One, out of 4 years LOL.

[@StrategicSelfRelianceDefense]

Good basic info for people Dan. Thanks for sharing. Quick tidbit of info for you......the furthest from a road a human can get in the entire state of Pennsylvania is 2.7 miles. It’s roughly a 2 hour hike one way from the most remote spot in the state out to a road. Enjoy sir and stay safe!!

[@SonsOfLorgar]

Same thing in most parts of Europe.

[@herbsmith6871]

Good stuff Dan 🤠

[@papaschuette]

Killer Tips Brother. Nice and straight forward. They will definitely help people for sure.

[@shovelhead8]

Great mini-course, Dan. Thank you. Stay safe and stay cool

[@FiveElementsTactical]

Great tips. Land Nav is one of my weaker links. Always looking for tips to help me improve. Thanks again. 🙏🏼

[@jonpatterson5668]

Don't feel lonely, my brain just doesn't grasp the concept for some reason

[@FiveElementsTactical]

@@jonpatterson5668 Thank you so much. i think it’s one of those things, once you get it, you can’t understand how you didn’t get it before lol. I’m getting better for sure. But still A LOT to learn. I need to just practice more, and some lessons would only help me speed up the process.

[@tribalismblindsthembutnoty124]

laminated map. Pick one up for your area, throw it in the glove box

[@richardglickman7203]

Great tips. I know how to use a compass but hadn’t thought about consistency. I figured I would always do my sightings consistently by habit. Now I know how to assure they are consistent. Thank you.

[@troybranaman316]

Awesome video Dan! Very useful tools ! Take care and stay safe my friend!

[@russelrogers2540]

Good advice. Somethings I had not thought about. Keeping the compass level should be self evident.

[@TheTechPrepper]

I wish could give you two thumbs up. These nuggets of info are pure gold! Thank you.

[@moradin99]

I always add a small lenght of orange fluo flagtape on my lanyard. Nearly all compass are dark and camouglage very well with the ground, so if one use it on a map to get a bearing, there is little chance to 'forget' it on the ground with that bright color flagtape. I learned long ago to put flagtape on all my field accessories, it is always a pain to go back because I have forgot the notebook on an outcrop 100 yards before. :P

[@base12productions]

Thanks Dan! I learned something new today. Details matter.

[@asmith7876]

With the tritium lensatic compass we were issued in the Army we were taught to hold it up to our face, holding it like a pistol...but it has a wire in the sight window to use, performs the same function as the line down the mirror. Another tip, don't hold your knife in your hand either! LOL Or any metal object nearby!

[@timhahne3894]

Steel pot will give you a no go at this station.

[@michaelballinger6419]

Yeah actually he covered all that stuff in an older video on navigation, actually it was a series. Belt buckles, phones, an axe head it's an easy one to forget and then you're wondering why the compass seems to keep changing its mind

[@bob_the_bomb4508]

@@geobloxmodels1186 or standing under a pylon line…

[@joshbomar7162]

Great land nav tips for the cranial toolbox. Im looking forward to seeing more videos on map reading & compass navigation. Thanks Dan

[@quinntheeskimooutdoors6234]

Thanks Dan, take care.

[@jeffechols5302]

Excellent tips thanks Dan

[@bendyparanormal]

I would have never thought about the lanyard use beyond just keeping it around my neck! I recently bought my first compass and I'm still trying to figure out all its features. There is no mirror on mine, but it does have a level...so, bubble in the center of the circle and I know it's level. That's one feature of mine that I greatly appreciate.

[@jimstewart5739]

Good stuff, Dan - thankee!

[@mat-ventures]

Thanks again Dan for the useful tips!

[@joeday4498]

Awesome tips. Thank you so much.

[@randybradley7427]

I learned to read A compass in 4 th grade. We had to go from point to point. Got friends in their 50's like me. They have no idea how to use one. Very simple but great piece of gear. Get out of truck see where your at, no matter where you go you can get back

[@jstep100]

Great tips! Thanks much

[@DraussenundBushcraft]

Very good tips. Especially for using a mirror compass. Outdoorers from US often make the mistake to use a mirror compass like an old lensatic type as the military cammenga. Hand to cheek method or trying to read the bearing while aiming are not recommended with a mirror type compass.

[@OldPackMule]

Good practical tips. Thanks.

[@hagman1077]

Good tips Sir. The lanyard to compass one is real cool. Keep up the good vids-

[@GreencampRhodie]

Great tips.

[@LGSkywalker82]

Brilliant Dan, thanks! 💯💪

[@mikejones1141979]

My kids got me a MilSpec compass for Christmas. I had one while I was in the service and I love that model.

[@stillnocouch]

Something to write with and write on are also darn handy to have!

[@jonfisher9214]

"Use 2 or 3 fingers" That's what she said.... But seriously, always learning something new from your videos.

[@danieljones2183]

Excellent

[@0Hillbilly]

Land nav is my favorite, I taught land nav in the Army for awhile. You covered great beginner points. I would love to see you do a series on land nav. Compass reading, pace count, map reading. There is so much to learn. I love it!

[@sport07-o2l]

My son’s army. Loves land nav

[@0Hillbilly]

@@sport07-o2l I thank you both for your service. In the Army it seems you're either very good at and love land nav or you're bad at it and hate it. No in between, that's my experience anyway. Again thank you both.

[@JJ-JOHNSON]

Thanks Dan.👉🏞🛶⛺🔥

[@kennymonty8206]

I'd like to know more about navigation. These are some good tips. Thanks for the video.

[@johnwyman5939]

Good points on using a compass...

[@bruceallen6016]

Good tips that when thought about should be common sense. Thumb up.

[@AronFigaro]

Thank you for reminding me to drill navigation even when I'm hiking familiar spaces. I've gone a few YEARS without needing those skills at this point, and they've definitely slipped. Thank you.

[@savage22bolt32]

Yeah, it's good to practice in familiar territory in case you screw up badly & get lost forever!

[@JBreeze4598]

Great Vid, Thanks

[@tendraftsdeep]

Would also be great to see a video on navigation without a compass. Sun, moon, stars, moss and insect locations, etc

[@Collin_Calling]

This made me remember the Boy Scouts. Thanks for the great vid. Also, the words you forgot are accurate and perpendicular.

[@Collin_Calling]

Immediately I think I'm wrong on the second word.

[@johnpeters2788]

Great tips I never realized before. Kind of like learning to shoot a recurve bow. Repitition and consistency in compass holding form and you will have a better shot. Or should I say " best" shot. Thanks for the great vid. I will be working on these tips. God bless.

[@richardstone5241]

EXCELLENT

[@ianwilkinson2744]

Excellent tips, but there is only 4. Still i am new to this, great stuff

[@markcummings6856]

Tip # 6, never swing your compass around.

[@joshmontgomery4040]

Good stuff 👍👍

[@sunbladerr]

These are things that I haven’t seen before. I thought that leveling and squaring your vision would be self evident, but not everybody thinks of those things. The consistency of site pictures using the lanyard around the neck never occurred to me. I have studied the astrolabe and like things like that. Have you done a segment on distance? Be Well and Good Journey Richie

[@notademonrat]

wow an actual useful channel on youtube would could have imagined

[@terrychrist1383]

Thank you 😊

[@riversendoutdoors342]

Good content.

[@pnyarrow]

Hi Dan. I'v been teaching navigation for years but thank you for the new information. Stay safe. ATB. NIgel

[@timothyrothrock4173]

Never saw a compas with a mirror. Always had a lid with a clear lens and line. That mirror would be awesome to line up with. Great, I'm sure I will get one in my arsenal.

[@gypsymark5779]

Thanks for that... All good advice 👍 🌲⛺🔥🤪

[@mikebox]

Good basic methods.

[@LaurelHill2024]

wow. good video. I just learned a lot. thanks! new subscriber:)

[@darylsarbaugh3491]

Great tips. Could you do a video on actual map reading. 5 major and 3 minor terrain features, contour lines, legend, and declination angle?

[@gwendolynnowlan2427]

GOOD VIDEO

[@johnnybushman651]

Thanks Dan good video, in the Army we did a lot of map reading and navigation in the day and a lot at night . Through the woods and the swamps . Does anybody remember those days ?

[@Vincent13997]

Had to pass land nav in all the NCO leadership schools. That was way before GPS for me. Although, in 1984 NAVSTAR started testing the first GPS systems on Ft Campbell while I was stationed there. The first units were a little bigger than a PRC77 radio. Only one vehicle in our infantry company had GPS in Desert Storm.

[@RiverbendlongbowsOutdoors]

Good stuff 👍

[@jamesadams8572]

Always great tips and to the point. I do t believe although has been a while that these issues were ever talked about in the siva Bjorn compass navigation book, although it's been along time since I have read it. Learned truckers hitch by your video..could figure it out using other people's methods, your a great instructor. Do u recommend this particular compass? Or do you prefer another. Ive though of getting an intl compass but I see a lot of negative reviews of the Santo intl needle sticking etc? Thanks again for all your reaching.

[@mf3361]

Great tips 👍👍

[@savage22bolt32]

I second your comment.

[@chrislnflorida5192]

Great video 👍👍. Still trying to get use to your introduction, Very Intense!

[@redriver6541]

I don't see or hear of anyone doing orienteering anymore..... When I was a kid we had navigate in areas like LBL and out in rural areas....kind of like a treasure hunt. Then we had to bring back the items we found....and do it fast....to "win". Usually for something like a better meal at dinner at camp....or a candy bar. It was a blast and a fun way to learn.

[@FidoHouse]

Thank you! Now I know!

[@theprophetez1357]

In the Boy Scouts I always won the map and compass courses. Then as a Scoutmaster I taught my Scouts how to navigate with a compass. I made it fun by turning it into a game and offering a prize to the winner. They tried really hard in order to win a nice full tang knife with leather sheath and a sharpening stone.

[@savage22bolt32]

In my Scout Troop, we made bamboo backpack frames. The knot tying knowledge was the crux of the lesson. I can still tie a clove hitch & a bowline. Now that you got my memories churning, I feel like volunteering with my old troop, if it still exists.

[@theprophetez1357]

@@savage22bolt32 Savage the Scouts did a lot for me so I tried to pass on some of what I learned, including the very important act of knot tying. At the Jamboree at Andrew's AFB my troop was voted #2 out of 38 troops. I was pretty proud of my guys.

[@savage22bolt32]

@@theprophetez1357 Girls should not be in Boy Scouts & visa versa. I know when I was in junior high, if we had girls camping with us, the whole experience would have degenerated.

[@theprophetez1357]

@@savage22bolt32 We had an area where the Girl Scouts camped on one side of a lake, and the Boy Scouts on the other. We did canoe over, but were told not to go ashore, and we didn't.

[@ronnyhuysmans4120]

very informative in hou to use a compass thank you :)

[@bigrobbo7874]

And here i thought i knew it all. Thanks

[@bendebeer8607]

Look up on the internet: tiny spider on /in cracks of bark of trees: Dictyna arundinacea, DIctYna sp..... ALWAYS on the EAST side of trees

[@Benwandeer]

Great rips. BUT..... it got too model centric. How do you do these things using a lunatic style compass? Or the solid plastic base/w rules that doesn't have a wire? Might add 3 minutes to video but apply to more people.

[@greedygringoprospecting6941]

tell the stay away from brown spots on rocks (most likely rust) throws you way off i have a brunton tru arc 3 and 5 a brunton type 7 (nexus) and a brunton 9077. and my gps , spare batteries no screwing around. its a lit of fun but going home is mandatory have a good day

[@sparkybadger3594]

Great Vid…would love to see a more in depth use of a compass…compass to map and just compass

[@sparkybadger3594]

T22. I found your old vids

[@phillipadams4738]

Nooooo. Your supposed to say stay in the woods!!! What the pickles. :+)

[@krishoogstraat6866]

👍🏻👍🏻

[@Bob-lt5hf]

All good tips, but why not show the how to sight and set a bearing on your compass???

[@asmith7876]

It wasn't presented as a tutorial on basic compass use.

[@Bob-lt5hf]

@@asmith7876 Basic compass use is to teach how to sight on a distant object and set your directional bearing! I all ready know how to hold a compass. 🤣🤣🤣

[@MetalBuddhaHead]

Check his playlists... He has several on that topic..

[@Bob-lt5hf]

@@MetalBuddhaHead I will thanks!

[@garydeaver6169]

Don't forget to set your Declination ; )

[@deanoboland]

👍👍👍

[@reneelosie2644]

Navigation Nation.

[@dougbotimer8005]

“Rangers in the night, exchanging azimuths …”

[@rickkerans8485]

Really appreciate the tips. Navigation is a subject I really need to learn along with topo maps. I obviously need a better compass as well. Mine was inexpensive and has issues. Don't think the one on my phone ok quit laughing is any better.

[@poisonousbadge126]

First! KZbins notifications worked today

[@quinncovington6118]

For me too!!!!!

[@xploration1437]

Is your boyfriend impressed that you’re first?

[@poisonousbadge126]

@@xploration1437 NO IT ACCAUTLY IDENTIFYS AS ATTACK HELICOPTER SO

[@marctolbert6941]

Any chance youd start posting on Rumble? Love to see you over there

[@jbelme1]

I’m a land surveyor. Sometimes we use a hand bearing compass to establish angles for line cutting. I’ve got an eye condition(?) that causes my readings to many degrees off. I can’t recall the name of the disorder, but it’s embarrassing.

[@bob_the_bomb4508]

I think it’s called ‘2nd Lieutenant Syndrome’

[@bobhunt4402]

Never dissect the axis pin of your compass needle. You'll never get it back in its place. Bisect it instead. (Apologies. I couldn't help myself.)

[@wmluna381]

You got a chuckle out of me with that one.

[@kekistanirefugee]

I never use a compass in DAYZ. Even with very low light you still cast a shadow. That's all I need for dead reckoning with a map.

[@neil2809]

What is the right way to use a Compass that does not have a merrow

[@ebony5766]

All very good tips that I have never heard before!

[@butchbinion1560]

✌️👊

[@Carepedoit]

It’s a parallax, you dig? You move around, the small gets big.

[@dannythomas648]

HoooaH. Good to go

[@erikmetal666]

I have that compass, it's nice but it feels a bit flimsy, now i see how you open it and close like nothing, i feel like i would break it if i open it too much xD

[@Ghost_Os]

Did anyone find Mr. Wheelhouse?

[@TheFrog767]

🍻👏👏👏