Bushwalk Australia

Article highlighting an increasing use of magnets on clothing and personal gears that may affect our navigation compass.

https://www.grough.co.uk/magazine/2018/ ... ur-compass

Which brings me to the question I've been meaning to ask for ages. Is there any problem carrying the compass next to anything that affects it at all, when not actually in use? Like a phone (without the magnet on the case), cameras, GPSs etc. I've always thought - perhaps wrongly - that it could affect the polarity if it's there long enough. With a camera in one pocket, a phone or GPS in the other, magnetic bits and pieces in my bumbag, it's almost impossible to keep it clear, even when it's on a cord around my neck. Is this an imaginary problem?

I think it’s all relative to the magnetic strength and the susceptibility of the compass needle. Some needles are real magnets while other cheap models induced magnetism. As such, those cheap ones could easily be erased of their magnetism and polarity. The big risk these days is the widespread use of strong rare earth magnets. Guess the rule is to avoid as much as possible but a phone/GPS won’t be a problem.

I'm now very conscientious about where I put my compass having had it depolarise in the past. It was a Silva Ranger so not a cheap one. I'm still not sure whether it was something in my pack or a magnetic rock that I might have placed my compass on...Thankfully we had other compasses in our group that we could use. When I got home, I managed to repolarise the needle myself with a strong magnet and haven't had any issues with it since. By slowly moving your compass towards metal items, you can gauge the point at which the needle becomes affected and starts to flutter. You can then maintain this distance when the compass is packed away by wrapping it in something non-magnetic (mine lives in the top pocket of my hardshell).