Cheap Compasses, Yes or No?
Kevin Felts 01.17.18
In 1979 there was a war movie released called “1941,” which featured a number of well-known performers, such as John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, and Slim Pickens. “1941” has several different plots going at the same time. One plot focuses on a Japanese submarine looking for Hollywood. Once they find Hollywood, they are supposed to blow it up. The problem is, the compass on the submarine does not work.
Slim Pickens is captured and bought into the sub. While going through the items Slim has in his pockets, a box of Cracker Jacks is found and tossed on the table. A Japanese sailor notices a package inside the box. The sailor reaches down, picks up the package, and opens it. Guess what’s inside, a compass! The submarine crew is excited that they now have a compass. Slim Pickens, being the hero he is, grabs the compass and swallows it.
Moral of the story (besides the movie 1941 being awesome and everyone should watch it): when in need, even a cheap compass will do.
Here is the submarine scene from 1941.
Guess I answered my own question. Then again, how many people overlook cheap compasses?
The other day, I was browsing through Ebay for some low-cost survival items, when some cheap compasses came up. Why not? Let’s look though them and do some shopping. I settled on 2 compasses for 99 cents, with $2.00 shipping from China. Rather than ordering just two, I bought six of them.
Specifications
- 1 inch X 1 1/4 inches.
- Weight 6 grams or .2 ounces.
The backside of the compass has a clip that can slide over webbing, and a hole for paracord to go through.
Something this size can be woven into a paracord bracelet, dropped into a backpack, clipped to the outside of a pack, etc. I currently have one clipped to the outside of my three day assault pack.
The main question is, is it worth 50 cents to have a spare compass in your pack?
