Dead Reckoning for Land Navigation

When navigating Dead Reckoning is a crucial skill, akin to walking along a compass bearing for a predetermined distance. This technique enables precise navigation to designated points while also offering a means to determine one's location. Dead Reckoning is essential for area with limited visibility, like nighttime exploration or traversing dense forests as it provides a reliable navigational toolset. Whether you're an outdoor enthusiast or an adventurer seeking to enhance your land navigation skills, mastering Dead Reckoning ensures a safer and more confident exploration experience. In this video there is a brief introduction to this skill. If you have any comments please post them in the comments box.

[@WestcountryWalks73]

I love your inclusion of historical facts. These things make the walks so much more interesting.

[@philware1546]

Best bloke on KZbin. Keep it up mate 👍 It's great.

[@martinbobfrank]

Great work. You should write a book about navigation and surviving outside, as I guess you have already written/put together all the materials.

[@BigWillaayT]

The Ultimate Navigation Manual is a great accompaniment to these videos, reading the book and then watching these amazing videos really solidifies concepts

[@davehumpleby3440]

I admire how quick you do calculations in your head on the fly. I guess it comes with preactice; which is something I should do more often.

[@TheMapReadingCompany]

I went to school before calculators were allowed in school maths lessons 😊

[@davehumpleby3440]

@TheMapReadingCompany So did I, but it doesn't show. I'm a walking advert for 'use it or lose it'. I lost it!

[@MikeDay-kj4ei]

You are the Keith Floyd of navigation. Brilliant presentation 👍

[@kodymartin8609]

Started watching your videos to help me out with backpacking and I am pursuing a military career as well. There are so many videos out there on how to do land nav etc but yours are so simple and straight forward.I applaud the way you make it so easy for viewers to follow with examples etc. These have proven invaluable to me. I watch a few per night and rewatch anything I need to brush up on. Thanks again !

[@TheMapReadingCompany]

Thanks Martin and Thank You For Your Service.

[@MikeDay-kj4ei]

Military career .Dont walk up any streams😉

[@doughobbs7706]

as always - brillant, brilliant video, a real human and please keep up with the waffle....we all love it, its always useful and interesting!

[@philware1546]

Your advice is so like a book.. You really should consider writing a book

[@lonewolfgeoff]

that was amazingly clear! now i understand yet another map reading skill! i'll never be able to get lost 😂 (well locationally challenged anyway!) and never... more like not as likely get lost! 😂😂

[@deepstate8474]

Greetings from masono/judeo America. Love the lectures, best ever! Thank you for your service to education, teacher! Best regards!!! Later.

[@BCVS777]

Excellent as always! Your maps are so detailed! It is as though they’ve built history right into the map!Our USGS maps of the southwest show terrain quite well but very few of the features are actually named. Of course, the features are all named but if you want to know you have to ask a local.😊

[@philware1546]

You are a brilliant educator.

[@tomconway8881]

Well done. Clear and concise.

[@guillermojacques6671]

Useful information well presented. As usual on this channel.

[@banksarenotyourfriends]

I don't know how widespread the practice was, but the spoil heaps at my end of the Pennines were also being washed with cyanide to improve the yield of the ores. I was told that was why nothing grows on them, rather than the lead, but I could be wrong.

[@flintstone1667]

Thank you for all your fine work and video productions. Enjoying your lessons as I watch the snow fall (Western Canada) and wait for Spring and my outdoor treks! Wayne

[@davemc1944]

I was walking in that very spot last Monday! Thanks for the videos Wayne.

[@jeffdege4786]

For me, the most important thing is keeping track of how large my error is. If I pace off 600 meters, how far will I have walked? It's not 600 meters, it's somewhere between 580 and 620 meters, or between 500 and 700 meters, depending upon the terrain. Similarly, if I'm following a bearing of 83 magnetic, what course did I follow? Between 80 and 86, or 78 and 88, again depending upon terrain. When you finish your leg, you might be 50m from your destination, or 200m, depending. Don't expect everything to happen perfectly. Expect there to be an error and plan for it. If you're aiming for a spot on a linear feature, intentionally aim to one side. That way when you get to it you know which way to turn. Don't follow an 800m compass bearing trying to find some point in an open field, walk to the closest identifiable landmark and plot a compass bearing from there.

[@tHaH4x0r]

Thats a good point actually. What if you do not end up exactly at the point where you want to be? Perhaps a video on search techniques is in order!

[@stpetie7686]

Thanks for another great video. I always get something out of them.

[@scrapperstacker8629]

Great real world navigation video. Thanks for the information.

[@JCJ7754]

Only recently discovered this channel, a great find! Great video, look forward to the search techniques video soon 😀

[@barneykennett9282]

Excellent...👍.

[@realityimaging8385]

Excellent teaching. Good, refresher thank you.

[@muhdamsyar4800]

Thank you

[@richarddaugherty8583]

Love your presentations! I had only heard of Dead Reckoning in a seafaring context, e.g. if you don't reckon it correctly; you're dead! I grew up on C.S. Forrester's Hornblower Saga and other seafaring stories. As an avid hiker, this is very useful! Love that map protector too. Cheese and onion sandwiches sound marvelous! You should try some of our Georgia Vidalia onions. I'm told they're sweet enough that you can eat them like an apple. Sadly, I don't live in Georgia, I live in the Desert Southwest of the USA.

[@billy4072]

Cor, could have placed a few rocks , and started a baby cairn. 😢. I’m feeling a bit sad.

[@TheMapReadingCompany]

Good idea. I didn't think of that.

[@ralphr9218]

In July 2023, Yosemite National Park requested that cairns be "knocked over" to preserve the "Leave No Trace" philosophy. Cairns have guided hiker in the high country for years and I hope the "knock over" request doesn't spread outside the park.

[@everythingnerd7168]

A lot of people make these in random spots either for fun or or to leave their mark. They are often misleading. I’ve knocked one over that would have guided someone off a cliff. Interestingly that was in Yosemite but this is common in state parks in the US and very frustrating

[@ihcfn]

Hello, came across your videos a while ago and find them really informative. As a newbie however I find OS maps to be rather busy at times (bought a couple) and I worry about not recognising features or even trails. Could you possibly do an introduction to common map features and what they actually look like in real life please? To you they are obvious but I lack confidence, I know it could be a time consuming project so if it's not possible I understand if you can't. cheers, Tom.

[@mihailvormittag6211]

👍

[@jamespadeljr007]

Nice camera hope own like this one someday😢

[@WillieMakeit]

Thank you. My true problem is having a map for an area before I even start. I tend to deca short road trip to a natural area on the fly. Therefore I tend to not be prepared with paper map.

[@littlepacificstudios]

Question? Once I adjust my declination for where I am at then it’s good for a year in that same area? Also am I to always adjust to map north when they made it when using maps? Or do I just go with true north after declination adjustment. Just curious what you think about that?

[@minisynthcollective7822]

Really easy teaching yet again. Do you teach the mnemonic DD Craps. Maybe that would make a good vid mate.

[@TheMapReadingCompany]

Just for you: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oYOplK2VrbKVrc0

[@autoscanremaps]

Quick question please...when you put the compass on the map at 6:15 did you align the base plate to your current location and the cairn ? Thanks !

[@TheMapReadingCompany]

No I didn't. To orient the map place a compass on the map and rotate both (the map and the compass) until the north arrow of the compass is pointing directly up the map. I made a video about just this topic last week: kzbin.info/www/bejne/d4jMfolqiZqehsUsi=ArPbIHrrlk9px9d-

[@autoscanremaps]

@@TheMapReadingCompany Cheers, just that when I orientate a map I use the grid lines and the needle in the house (turn the map). Didn't know it could be done with the base plate anywhere and rotate till the needle is top of the map, brilliant. Thanks again !

[@aaronschwark]

Can u make a vid on how to make a map ? For example u got compass and some unmaped land. Would be interesting and helpful

[@TheMapReadingCompany]

I wouldn't use a map and compass to create a map. If you want to make your own map and you have a windows PC, with a good amount of RAM, do a google search on QGIS. Once you get used to it it's quite simple to use.

[@aaronschwark]

@@TheMapReadingCompany not wat I ment , make a map without modern tec .like they would back in the old days

[@wonsiidrice3426]

Is it possible to navigate in a forest only with a campass without a map

[@TheMapReadingCompany]

You can follow a compass bearing / azimuth just using a compass. But to get the direction in the first place you would need a map. Also a map will tell you if you gone off the intended direction.

[@user-gp9bt6fy4b]

somethings are on a map but not in reality so that the map companies can catch people copying their maps without consent.

[@Jason-ke2nj]

I really appreciate your efforts. 🫡