Compass

Charles W. Bryant,

compass

You felt like mixing it up this summer so you splurged for a wildlife adventure tour in Africa. It was all leopards and lions until you got left behind by your tour group. Now all you have is a canteen of water and the compass your wife got you as a good luck charm. You're in business. With a compass and some orienteering skills, you may just be able to find your way back to camp -- where you can get a refund on your trip.

Compasses use a magnetized pointer in concert with Earth's magnetic field to calculate direction. If you have a compass on hand and know how to use it, you can use a map of the area to go wherever you need. If you don't have a map, the compass will still get you going in the right direction.

When shopping for a compass, look for tough, unbreakable Lexan models -- they'll last a lifetime and never lose sight of magnetic north. Some models come with a built-in magnifying glass -- intended for zeroing in on map details, but also useful for starting a fire and extracting tick heads and insect stingers.