Thumb compass

Type of compass

Thumb compass on left

A thumb compass is a type of compass commonly used in orienteering, a sport in which map reading and terrain association are paramount. In cases of homogeneous terrain with few distinct features, a bearing between 2 known points on the map may be used. Consequently, most thumb compasses have minimal or no degree markings at all, and are normally used only to take bearings directly from a map, and to orient a map to magnetic north. Thumb compasses are also often transparent so that an orienteer can hold a map in the hand with the compass and see the map through the compass.

Thumb compasses attach to one's thumb using a small elastic band.

The first commercially successful orienteering thumb compass was the Norcompass, introduced by Suunto in 1983.[1]

Placing an even greater emphasis on speed over accuracy, the wrist compass lacks even a baseplate, consisting solely of a needle capsule strapped to the carpometacarpal joint at the base of the thumb; the thumb serves the function of a baseplate when taking and sighting bearings. It is often used for city and park race orienteering.

## See also

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* Protractor compass
* Hand compass

## References

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1. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-24. Retrieved 2009-04-03.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

## External links

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* Silva 6 Jet Spectra, a typical modern thumb compass
* The Internet Compass Museum gives comprehensive information about all sorts of compasses and how to use them.

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Orienteering

* History of orienteering
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Sport disciplines|

| IOF-governed|

* Foot orienteering
* Mountain bike orienteering
* Ski orienteering
* Trail orienteering

|

IARU-governed|

* Amateur radio direction finding
* Fox Oring
* Radio Orienteering in a Compact Area

Other sports|

* Canoe orienteering
* Car orienteering
* Mountain marathon
* Mounted orienteering
* Rogaining

Related|

* Adventure racing
* Alleycat race
* Fell running
* Relay race
* Transmitter hunting

Equipment|

| Event|

* Control point
* Course
* Map

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Personal|

* Compass
* hand
* protractor
* thumb
* Eye protectors
* Gaiters
* Headlamp

Exceptions|

* Backpacking
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* Whistle

Software|

| Proprietary|

* OCAD
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Open-source|

* OpenOrienteering Mapper
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Video games|

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Non-sport related|

* Adventure travel
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Competitions|

| Foot orienteering|

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Ski orienteering|

* World Championships
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Mountain bike orienteering|

* World Championships

Trail orienteering|

* World Championships

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