Compromised compasses - Warning!

To all of my outdoor friends - A basic compass has probably saved us all from a night in the woods over the years. But in the last two years I've had no less than three of them get compromised. Couldn't figure out why. Then, this past Sunday, while conducting a nature tour with the Schwerdfeger Family in Florida, we discussed the issue. Seems that about two years ago I started carrying a Faraday flashlight in my survival kit. That's the kind you shake to get light. Mr. Schwerdfeger, who teaches orienteering classes, advised me that they have heavy duty magnets in them that can influence, or even demagnetize a compass. Bingo!!! I've always carried a backup compass in my survival kit, along with the flashlight. I'll be keeping them seperate from now on! How did I get to be this old and not figure that out? :-) Hope you also learn from this. Enjoy the great outdoors - safely!