The 10 Essentials - What You Don't Need to Carry

I came across this post from the Appalachian Mountain Club's web site.  The writer discusses why you really don't need to carry a compass.

The post starts out by stating:

The Least Useful Item in the Ten Essentials?

I recently wrote about the Ten Essentials,

which includes quite a few extremely, ahem, essential items. But which is the least useful? From my perspective, it's the one I've carried for more than 20 years and barely ever used: a compass.

Why do you need a compass?
A compass allows you to very quickly orient yourself if you become turned around in dense off-trail woods; during low-visibility, fogged-in conditions; or for other reasons.

 

To read the rest of the post go here. 

 

Well let's think about this. 

 

A compass weighs next to nothing.  It takes up little space.  It's vital when you need it.  Sure you can use terrain association and good map skills to fix you position when on the trail. 

 

Take a look at some of the comments that follow the post.