Silva Ranger been using one for years.  For high country adventures I'll throw in my altimeter.  And of course and appropriate map as necessary.

I like to carry 2 compasses just in case for some silly reason one gets lost.Don't really have a favorite.I like the pin on ball type but be for warned some cheap made in China one's the pin is brass plated steel and sooner or later it will get messed up.Another thing to watch for is if you use 2 way radios don't get them near your compass it may never read the same again....probably a cheap one again LOL but I've seen it happen

If ya use a GPS carry extra batteries AND an extra compass.....hey ya never know

Any good map compass Sunto or Silva, topo map of the area, basic knowledge of navigating.  I also carry a Garmin 60csx gps unit with area maps loaded in the unit. Extra batteries for my flashlights and gps.  There are a lot of programs that allow viewing of topos,aerial maps and google earth on line where you can sinc information with the gps and then print out your own maps of the area. I happen to use a program called expertgps.  I prefer the scale of the printed maps 1:24000 over the gps maps which are at 1:100000.

I just use a coleman. I have a few of them around.

We tracked a deer this past year in the dark and I am always amazed how easy it is to loose perspective.

If you use one, always trust it and not your instinct.

Silva Ranger, had one for a long time and used it exclusively until GPS' came out.  I now use GPS to navigate and compass to stay on track.

Big cedar swamps are a bugger.  I've been turned around too many times in them not to carry a compass.

Mike

Get a cheap silva.  the military ones are heavy and expensive.  I use a compass, map, and gps to navigate.  Nothing like being able to mark something for later and using the go to function in a pinch.

Everyone has their favorite. Mine is a Marbles pin on compass. It stays pinned to one of the shoulder straps of my Bison Gear fanny pack so it is never left at home. It is right there in the open where I can glance down at it regularly. I also carry a Buck compass in the pack.

We always "USE" our compass, my brother and I were taught how to use one before we were taught how to shoot. We grew up using a Marbles pin-on, always in your view and easy to constantly check. But now that they are "made in china" we are using the TRU-NORD pin-on's, they are made in Minnesota,USA.Great compass w/lifetime warranty. Cindy & I are trying very hard to stock items made in the USA when possible.

I agree with Dirtguy. I teach Orienteering classes as well as organize competitions. I carry a GPS (Rhino because I like the radio aspect) extra batt. and a compass. When leaving a known landmark I ALWAYS take a compass heading and a GPS landmark. That way if the GPS fails I at least have a general idea of the direction I want to go.

I think every outdoor person should take an Orienteering class. Its fun and I guarantee you will learn something. My first Question is always "How many North's are there?"

"Captain's in the chart room
Navigating on a star
Can't tell where we're goin'
Cuz he don't know where we are..."
-Joe Walsh, The James Gang/Eagles

I always bring a GPS. If there is an emergency, med-evac type situation for me or my hunting partner, I want to be able to call in the exact co-ordinates NOW not rely on my woodsmanship skills to build a stretcher etc. That being said I have taken "Compass and Survival Training" though realistically most need to practice their skills and most don't so they don't really have them when they need them.

I use a Brunton 54LU compass. This baseplate map compass features in-vial sighting, which gives you an instantaneous reciprocal bearing. (Best of both worlds-lensatic/baseplate). Very useful when you are crossing a wide open field, get a little "confused" and want to find your entry point to reorient. Extremely accurate, the 54U has a +/- 1/2 degree accuracy. I have two but only because I cracked one. I also have one on my key chain and a bubble compass. Hell, I have a GPS in my truck!  

I have seveal of the "pin on" compasses made by Burlinton. They are small and work just fine.
When I hunted Idaho for elk I also carried a gps etrex Legend by Garmin. One night after dark I used it to get to a spike camp. I used my compass to get to the trail head but when I got there I wasn't sure to go left or right. Turned on the GPS amd went left for about a two miles to camp. I think it is a good idea to carry both compass and GPS.

I'd never recommend being in the woods after dark without a compass      

I've been harping to my Shrew Crew up at camp to carry a compass. I learned many years ago that it comes in handy after you hit a deer. I once made a shot on a buck, he whirled and the arrow took him back in the guts. I could hear the deer as he ran through the woods then I heard a crashing sound. I took a reading with my compass to pinpoint the location/direction of the sound.

There was no blood at all but I found the buck within 100yd's in the dark with my flashlight using my compass. The broadhead went in the gut area, and up through the diaphragm and didn't exit. A intestine plugged the entrance hole and all the blood was inside. Without the compass it would have been a lot harder to find him and I may not have found him at all. Things look a lot different on the ground than from up in a tree.

If you do go by compass dial in a deliberate error so that you know you will end up north of your truck on that trail as an example.

I have a small ball compass pinned to my left arm just above my elbow.  It is suprising how handy and useful it is even in the small patches of woods I roam.  Like Jacobsladder stated earlier, lots of time in the dark hunting coons taught me the need for a compass.

Dennis

don't know how you feel about technology--but I thought this looked interesting.  My GPS is more complicated than I need.  This is very simple.  Get you to your stand, or back to your truck.  Only stores 3 waypoints.  That would be enough for me.  I would still carry a compass as a backup though.   Mike

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jsp?_DARGS=/cabelas/en/common/catalog/item-link.jsp_A&_DAV=0314_gps-search_redir&id=0062794229625a&navCount=0&podI d=0062794&parentId=cat21350&masterpathid=&navAction=push&catalogCode=2UG&rid=&parentType=index&indexId=cat601233&hasJS=true

Watched a show where they had a competition with team A using the traditional map/compass and team B using map/gps.  All were well trained in their devices.  

Team A smoked them. . .  GPS team got all tied up.

GPS are way cool, but not the complete tool.

Get a compass. .

I carry a little ball compass (or three) at all times in the woods. It doesn't take long to get twisted around on rainy overcast days or at nite and just knowing which way is north can get you back to the main road. ...( if I am north of an east/west road just gotta head south). Have a Cammenga military to use with real maps in real backcountry ...to many years as a jarhead in the middle of nowere to ever trust anything with batterys.

I have a Brunton professional pocket transit. It will work any where, any time,water proof,even north of 60 where your needle wants to point to the ground. Has declinometer as well for those mountains. I plan to get a gps but i never leave without the compass. Some things stop working at -20 to -50. My compass does not.
Rob

A quality name ball compass is on my coat at all times. VERY easy to look down and tell what way you are going and what way is back.
ANY compass a person has on them and they USE is the one to have.
A gps is a great locator but as been said BATTERIES.
DEATHMASTER

I use a Silva