Compass Caddy Review

Compass Caddy Review

Here’s a clever little Kickstarter project called the Compass Caddy. It let’s you carry your baseplate compass right on your trekking pole so that it’s easily accessible and ready for navigation while you’re hiking. The Compass Caddy is the brain child of Peter Knight an avid backpacker and hiker from Hadleigh, England.

Fits all sizes

Compass Caddy Review

Peter designed the Compass Caddy to accommodate different makes and models of baseplate compasses that have varying widths as well as attaching to different diameter trekking poles. This means that you can get the perfect fit for your particular compass and trekking pole combination. The image above shows a dummy compass being used in the same Compass Caddy that my Silva Polaris fits into.

Peter very kindly made a 3D printed version of the Compass Caddy to work with my Gossamer Gear LT4 trekking poles. Despite my Silva Polaris compass not being the perfect width for this prototype it still holds very securely in place and the attachment to my pole is solid with no movement.

The Compass Caddy in use

Compass Caddy Review

Having your compass handy at all times is the obvious advantage that this clever device provides. An unexpected advantage for me was the benefit of my trekking pole in aiding navigation. Once I have a bearing set on my compass I would usually sight a point off in the distance (snap a line) and hike toward it. Doing this with my compass attached to my trekking pole is like having a sniper scope for compass navigation.

The pole adds an additional level of precision to compass sighting that helps me more quickly acquire my next navigation way point. It’s so simple I wish I had thought of it!

Compass retention

Compass Caddy Review

I consider my compass to be an extremely important piece of gear, as such I usually have a length of cord attached to it so that I can’t accidentally lose it. I was initially concerned that I might lose my compass off of my trekking pole if the Compass Caddy was not a snug fit. I tend to be heavy with my trekking poles and thought the continual impacts might dislodge my compass from the caddy – amazingly that never happened. As an added precaution I used my existing lanyard to attach it to my trekking pole.

Kickstarter campaign

I wish Peter every success with his Kickstarter campaign and hope that some of you help him fund his project. I’ve had several conversations with Peter and exchanged ideas and suggestions for future enhancements. This is just phase one of the Compass Caddy and I am confident that it will continue to get better with each iteration. There’s a bright future for this clever little device and I think users will love it once they use it.

What are you thoughts on the Compass Caddy? What would you change or do differently?

The post Compass Caddy Review appeared first on Brian's Backpacking Blog.



from Brian's Backpacking Blog http://ift.tt/1cNygcq via Northern Camping

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The ‘BGET’ Esbit Tray Stove is Now in Production

Image
Every since I first posted about my frustration with Esbit fuel tablets (more than four years ago now) and my eventual solution of developing a more efficient Esbit tray stove , I have received a steady stream of emails from readers asking if I could make them a stove and sell it to them. Despite giving away the instructions, a step-by-step guide, and a template, some people simply didn’t want to fiddle with making the stove themselves. That’s fine, I totally get it. For a while I tried making my Esbit tray stoves for those that asked and sold them for a few bucks just to cover shipping, but I didn’t have enough materials or the time to do it on a frequent or scalable basis. Successful DIY Builds Others have been making my stoves themselves and sharing their results via the Backpacking Light forums . John Abela of HikeLighter.com posted a wonderful, detailed review and analysis of my Esbit tray stove via his blog. John was the one who first coined the term “BGET” or Brian Green
Read more

Merrick Backcountry Raw Infused Dog Food

Image
I’ve noticed that as my chocolate lab Coco has gotten older her eating habits have changed. We rescued Coco as a young dog approximately two years old so we never really had her as a puppy. When she was young she would devour any amount of food that we put out for her as soon as the bowl hit the ground. That led to us splitting her food into two servings during the day so that she wouldn’t eat her entire quota of food in the morning and be hungry and begging for food the rest of the day. Now, as an eight year old “senior” dog Coco has lower energy needs than those of a young pup. She tends to eat when she wants and only as much as she wants. Some days she’ll still eat all two cups of her kibble right away, other times she’ll snack when she feels like it, and sometimes she’ll look at it and look back at me as if to say “The exact same kibble again dad? Really?”, and proceed to wait me out to see if she gets offered something better – she usually wins :) Recently she has slowed down e
Read more

Everest Movie Prize Pack Giveaway

Image
Everest is the ultimate bucket list destination for many of us. A dream that is out of reach for all but a few. The closest many of us will come to experiencing Everest will be through documentaries and photos. That’s why I am excited about the release of Everest, the new movie from Universal Pictures. You can experience it in IMAX 3D starting September 18 and see it everywhere September 25. I can’t wait… Inspired by the incredible events surrounding an attempt to reach the summit of the world’s highest mountain, Everest documents the awe-inspiring journey of two different expeditions challenged beyond their limits by one of the fiercest snowstorms ever encountered by mankind.  Their mettle tested by the harshest elements found on the planet, the climbers will face nearly impossible obstacles as a lifelong obsession becomes a breathtaking struggle for survival.  The epic adventure stars Jason Clarke, Josh Brolin, John Hawkes, Robin Wright, Michael Kelly, Sam Worthington, Keira Knigh
Read more