Navigation
Orient your map
Turn the map so it lines up with the land around you.
5 stepsWallet size
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Orient your map
Turn the map so it lines up with the land around you.
- Step 1: Lay the map flat on a rock or your knee.
- Step 2: Set the compass edge along a north-south line.
- Step 3: Turn the map until the red needle points to map north.
- Step 4: Allow for declination, using the note on your map.
- Step 5: Match big landmarks on the map to what you see.
Conditions change fast. Turn back if it doesn't feel right.
All 4 navigation cards· swipe
How this works
Where the steps come from.Each card condenses one of our guides, and names it under Sources with the date we last checked it. Every card is reviewed by a person before it’s published, and rechecked by its review date.
Offline.Your first visit saves every card on this device in the background. A “Ready offline” chip shows once that’s done; after that, cards open with no signal. Phones can clear saved pages, so print the ones that matter.
Printing. Wallet cards are credit-card size, six to a page. Cards with more than five steps, or long steps, print large instead: 6 by 4 inches, two to a page. Cut along the dashed lines.
Sources & last checked
- Henricks Outdoors: Navigate with a map and compass (opens in a new tab)
Steps for Orient your map, Find yourself on the map, Take a bearing, Follow a bearing
checked
Source: Henricks Outdoors: Navigate with a map and compasslast checked
Every source we use is on the Credits page.
Next step
Field Dispatch
About this tool
Knots and navigation basics that fit in your pocket and work offline.
More about this tool
Pocket skill cards are short, step-by-step reminders for the outdoor basics: knots that hold and navigation with a map and compass. Each card fits on a phone screen. You can also print any card, a whole set, or just your saved cards at wallet size for your pack or glovebox.
Tap Save on the cards you want. They stay on this device, with no account. Once you’ve opened the cards on your phone, they usually keep working with no signal. Phones sometimes clear saved pages, though, so print the ones you can’t do without.
Every card says where its steps come from, and we recheck those sources on a schedule. The cards work best as reminders for skills you’ve already practiced at home.