I still have my Silva "Ranger" compass that I bought back in 1971, and it still works great. I guess it's an antique by now. (Even has the little metal tab for setting declination).

Did you know that you can get many topo maps online now? I remember linking to some for Naemanson when he was headed to California to visit last year. Of course, printing all of those sheets of paper and affixing them together is a risky business if you're going someplace where compass navigation might be necessary--few maps are going to be as reliable as the USGS maps.

DG, I suppose you know that if you can find older versions of USGS maps to compare to new versions that a lot of things have been purposely taken off though they still exist on the ground. This is common practice in National Parks that don't want people trying to drive on old roads now contained within wilderness areas. Rather than leave this stuff alone so people who need that information can use it, they remove it so the fools on their ATVs won't go looking for them and tear the place up. Compensation for the lowest common denominator of map readers has compromised maps for all of us.

SRS