I need to purchase a handful of reliable button compasses. I'm not looking for TAD gear coolness, just reliability under rough use. If it attaches in some useful way such as to a zipper pull or watch band then that would be great, but it's not a general requirement as I'm pretty good at glueing stuff to other stuff. Mainly I'm looking to replace a Prometheus Design Works model with the little rubber holder that I've been using. It could take a beating and was always dead on when checked with my good real compasses. I had two and gave one away so of course I lost the other one and PDW doesn't currently have any in stock.
tough call! a lot of the button compasses have really crap reliability. Event he NATO/DND/Air Force button ones are hit and miss......due to multiple MFG's and crap MFG quality....
TRUNORD accurate, tough as nails. You have regular button, one that goes on a watch band, one that can clip to stuff. Brass or steel case. They are too notch quality but you pay for it. The cheaper marbles ones aren’t bad but not as durable
My uncle used to wear a watch compass all the time but I am not sure of the brand. A trick I heard (but never really tried) is that you point the hour hand of a watch towards the sun. Find the halfway point between the hour hand 12:00 and that direction is South. I heard you are supposed to put a stick in ground to help see the shadow/direction of the sun. Obviously this only works during the daytime when it is sunny though...
Tru Nord are well made, but I've found the one I have (Western compensation) to be off by about 15 degrees. Not enough to worry about for basic "point me in roughly the right direction" emergency orienteering though. The only other button compass I fully trust is the Francis Barker produced NATO Survival compass.
Here are a few I have scattered around different kits. The Sun is a nice mini baseplate model. The Suunto Clipper, with tape over the crystal, is a good option. The one in the silicone holder can also be put on a watch strap. I posted a link below. If I’m not mistaken they offer replacement of the actually compass piece if it breaks. https://prometheusdesignwerx.com/products/expedition-watchband-compass-orange
ya those are the best but due to DOD/Nato regs they are not allowed to be exported outside the USA. I've tried to buy them. "WARNING: This is a full MILSPEC military compass and cannot be exported outside the United States unless the buyer has the appropriate valid export license issued by the U.S. Department of State as prescribed in the International Traffic in Arms Regulation."
County Comm offers a few good quality options that might be in the neighborhood of that you're looking for: https://countycomm.com/search?q=compass
I’ve got three, two are fairly accurate compared to my Suunto forestry compass, one is off quite a bit
Well, they're made in the UK and are available there, the US, Australia and locally... I really like mine.
I keep a Suunto on my watch band. Been happy with it for general guidance. Also have a couple of County Comms brass button compasses that seem as accurate.
So, I can totally understand the draw of having a few cheap versions of these laying around. But, once you get passed 10 bucks a pop, why not just start stashing something like the Sunnto A10 or A30 as a backup?
Yes, absolutely. Or go with the Suunto MCB NH, which is a compass with a decent size so that it´s really usable and also its so light, it won't make that much of a difference - but you have a usable tool.
This. I use one of these and am happy with it. Accurate, cheap, light, and easily attaches to your gear. https://countycomm.com/products/rugged-anodized-aluminium-compasses
I have larger compasses, but the purpose here is something small that will let me do quick general navigation while out for a long run or hike when I won't be carrying much stuff. I picked up a few options and am currently using the Cammenga tritium wrist compass the most. It's accurate enough and gives me quick feedback when I need to do a quick check.
