According to psychologists, doom spending is when a person mindlessly shops to self-soothe because they feel pessimistic about the economy and their future. The practice is apparently a growing habit among younger generations in today's stagflationary climate. Zerohedge
I am looking at magnetic compasses based on the many comments on a recent post about Martial Law.
Golly, a person can spend a lot of money on a compass! The Lensatic feature is pretty cool.
We painlessly taught our oldest kids to use a compass and a basic "fieldcraft" comms method. It involved clipping a rolled-up dollar bill to the base of a shrub with a old (dark) clothes pin at a height of about 12". The shrub was about 100 yards from the starting point. The dollar bill and clothes pin were virtually invisible unless you were looking for it.
This can even be done days before the game.
Then our kid was given a compass and two azimuth-and-range readings. It was their job to navigate to the dollar bill which was the prize.
Note that the readings were "magnetic" and not declination-adjusted. I was proud when Southern Belle found three-in-a-row. The break-through was training her to make a 24" pace. I think that she also noodled out that the first azimuth-range reading was always at a prominent feature like a tree or a rock or a basketball hoop.
She was eight-years-old at the time.
I think it is time to invest in some more compasses.
Does anybody have any experience or opinions about this one or this one?
Also, has anybody ever considered inserting an Air Tag or something similar into their toddler's cuddle-toy? Is there any other place to put one that makes sense? I could see gluing it to the bottom of their water-bottle when they are older, but there also "smart wristwatches" that are even more likely to not be left behind.
I used to carry a house-key on my shoelace.
ReplyDeleteI recommend the second one. I bought several of them as they are cheap and work well. I put them in all of the family's cars and trucks and suitcases, so they are always available if needed and won't be left at home. And I also got state road maps to put in with them . ---ken
ReplyDeleteFamily members with younger children have used “bracelets “ that hold AirTags as well as clips that go on shoes or belt loops. There are tons of options.
ReplyDeleteKudos for teaching your Grandchild a vital skill. Too many of us depend on GPS and being directed to turn here and go straight for 1.73 miles.
ReplyDeleteThat house key tip above sounds like a good idea - just don't tell others what it is.
Air tags are really useful things (yes, I know, technology and all that). We regularly use them to track our luggage when we travel.
ReplyDeleteI am having to rebuild my B.O.B. as I left the main one in New Home for Na Clann. I will definitely re-add a compass (heavens, I hike occassionally as well. I should just have one).
I bought this one Silva Ranger 2.0 Compass for an intermediate go bag or get home bag. I like silva. Mapped my 1/8th of a key (island) with one in a class in highschool. I have previously purchased a hand full of compasses (5) to outfit my kids with their go bag substitute pitol belts. (they were little) . Point is the first choice you list looks just like that set of compasses with a little paint added. The lid popped off a couple of them. They were military surplus and about 5 bucks. After my above purchase I found this one "AOFAR AF-4074 Military Compass for Hiking,Lensatic Sighting Waterproof,Durable,Inclinometer for Camping,Boy Scount,Geology Activities Boating" It is still in my shopping basket. While interesting, I don't have time and it strikes me as to stinking complicated for a stressed situation.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tip on AOFAR. I will bipass "maybe later".
Delete"Doom spending" sounds like a term created to denigrate people who want to be prepared for disasters and other contingencies. Probably made up by those ostrich-people who like to bury their heads in the sand and pretend civilization will just continue (contrary to everything history teaches us) rather than deal with reality.
ReplyDeleteNot prepping, spending money for retail therapy
DeleteNever heard it called "doom spending" before. It was always "spending like there's no tomorrow." "The younger generation" does this for two reasons. One is that they DO feel there's no tomorrow. The other is that they have no fear of debt. The go in deep, and then walk away. they don't give a damn if it ruins their credit or not. They don't care if collection agencies harass their families out to the most remote cousin, trying to collect on the debt. They don't care that their behavior brings embarrassment on their families. They JUST.DON'T.CARE...
Delete...Speaking from experience here...
As for compasses, yeah, you can spend some bucks on a compass, but in the end, they do one thing, and one thing only; they identify magnetic north. I pin floated in water on a bit of Styrofoam will do that. I spend some for durability, but that's it. Face it; you're only going to use it if the SHTF.
Doom spender sounds like a term for people who can see the dollar will shortly be toilet paper and react accordingly. I am reminded of the German man during the Wiemar hyperinflation who, immediately after being paid, did what everyone else did- ran to the store to exchange rapidly devaluing Marks for tangibles, and seeing almost bare shelves, and desperate for anything that would retain value, ended up buying 50 bedpans.
ReplyDeleteExample in real time. I needed a tube of caulk for a household project. Got home from the store and found I already had a partial tube, and used that. New tube of good caulk was about 12 dollars. Now here is the thing- I kept the caulk rather than return it- what will have more value in a year- a useful tube of caulk, or 12 bucks?
One sees the charts of exponential inflation, perhaps a more accurate example to hold in mind would be the inverse curve-
You are walking along a bare rock mountaintop, smooth and polished- gradually the rock slopes away in the distance- now there is perceptible down slope, getting steeper and steeper and all of a sudden you can no longer keep your footing and start sliding toward the cliff edge, grabbing at the smooth rock face for purchase as it goes into the vertical. Toilet paper time.
"...Toilet paper time..." If there's one thing the Great TP Panic taught us... or SHOULD HAVE taught us, is that shortages are real, whether whatever triggers them is legitimate or not. The end result of the panic is an empty shelf and a shortage of whatever was panicked over. Though I had already been prepping for years before COVID, the Plandemic was a real eye-opener regarding what I really needed, as well as both human and government behavior!
DeleteI have both compasses the AOFAR Military Compass is large, well made and heavy. It does not fit into a pocket.
ReplyDeleteJust bought the AOFAR; mostly for a) price and b) inclinometer pretty good so far for chinois-made which I usually avoid. Still have several USGI which are the gold standard in my book.
DeleteBoat Guy
ERJ,
ReplyDeleteCompasses are critical bits of kit. Not something to skimp on IMHO.
Uncle Sugar issued Cammenga lensatic models. Quite useful. Accurate enough for navigation. Not as precise as the M2 compass used for laying mortars. Cammenga is a good choice, so long as you dont get a fake.
I also used a SUUNTO wrist compass for quick and dirty orientation. They’re not cheap and they’re worth every penny. Something to consider.
SUUNTO and SILVA are great compasses. We have SILVA now. They’re precise enough to follow a surveyed boundary line azimuth. That’s good enough for our use.
You probably already know about USGS map sheets and Gazetteer map books that include latitude-longitude and UTM reference lines. A compass with an accurate map is the killer app for movement.
-john
Kaw River Valley