COMPASS CORNER: DEGREES VS MILS

A must have for any bug-out bag is a good compass - and I'm not talking about the one that guides your morals. I'm talking about shooting that bearing to safety, and walking on it until Zack is just a distant memory.

But are you having trouble navigating your way through the endless options that are out there? Do you need someone to point you in the right direction? Well lucky you, because bearing this in mind, I have put together some quick Points to Consider. This will orient you on what you may want for a basic, functional compass, for those of you who couldn't navigate your way through a whorehouse with a fistful of fifties.

Point to Consider #1: Military mils is superior to degrees

Now this point requires a little bit of background reference if you haven't touched one of these magical spinning circles before. Most compasses you find at MEC are in degrees, meaning there are 360 little ticks that make up your full North-East-South-West circle.

A compass in military mils, will have 6400 little ticks that make up your full circle, meaning it's approximately 17 times more accurate than degrees. That's why the army trusts it to drop explosives on people.

As a military member, I exclusively use mils to find my way out of the bad bush (and Tinder to find my way in - giggity). And I spit mad haterade on anyone who uses degrees - it's an inferior system and has no purpose in today's age - especially in a society that embraces the metric system.

If you want to see a good example of an affordable option, check out the compass in my personal Soldier Survival Kit