Button Compass
- Thread starter JamesWebb
- Start date
I can say i have tried a huge amount of the small plastic ones and they are not worth buying as a very very basic lost need some help to get a rough heading may be but i will say one was saying north for east lol , we put 100 on the dash with blue tack to see how many told the truth and 6 out of the 10 were roughly in the directions we head lol but omg if you need to hit a LZ or be bang on you would not do it lol .
I am sure if you pay large sums you might get a good one
Mmm... interesting; I've never had any problems at all with the small oil-filled plastic ones! To use them you have to make sure they are level and tap them a few times; the torque in the magnet just isn't strong enough to overcome the fluid resistance without the tapping (just basic mechanics). The ones I have are very accurate and reliable - also waterproof.
If you had all 100 on the dash at the same time then it's more likely they were all causing interference with each other, not to mention any nearby metals and wires that could have been beneath the dashboard.
Although the general point that button compasses are next to useless and in some cases can even be dangerous, still stands.
Derr... it points North! I have never bought a pack of 12 or 20 for a few quid so I guess I may not have experienced any really bad ones and I've stayed clear of the needle ones. But, if used properly, an oil filled one will work! It points North as well as any of my Silva compasses - just it's too small to take an accurate bearing with.
Would I use one if I had better ways of navigating? No; do I have one in my tin? yes
Thanks Broch i will look at the ones you have
@Wander sorry that was a type o if you look i do say 10 and they were fairly spaced out on the flat top part of the dash , our genuine orienteering one was spot on hence i went off that to compare the other , but as Broch says these were cheap ebay ones and the old saying is right you get what you pay for .
I will try the tap on the top Broch and see but i just figure they were duff
@Wander sorry that was a type o if you look i do say 10 and they were fairly spaced out on the flat top part of the dash , our genuine orienteering one was spot on hence i went off that to compare the other , but as Broch says these were cheap ebay ones and the old saying is right you get what you pay for .
I will try the tap on the top Broch and see but i just figure they were duff
Hi is that really a plastic one , where did you get it if you do not mind i know you say highlander it looks a lot better made than my cheap ones , i do throw them in pockets on rucksacks just incase
Remember when K&M Match Cases had a difficulty sources decent compasses for their match cases, they ended using Sun Company button compasses. But doesn't look like they making anything as small as 15mm.
suncompany.com
Mini Compasses
Sun Company is an active outdoor brand that designs and builds unique accessories for the great outdoors. Family-owned for more than 45 years, our goal has never changed—to design and deliver innovative and intelligent products to you, while providing the highest level of service and product...
suncompany.com
Ah, sorry, I turned the brass case out of compression pipe fittings myself; the actual compass is this one (to the best of my recollection):
Decent range here
edcgear.co.uk
Compasses Navigation & Signalling
Survival, Outdoor EDC Compasses, singalling mirrors, emergency whistles, Glowring Compass, CountyComm Companion Compasses, SERE Compass, Brass and Titanium Compass. TOPS Signal Mirrors and Whistles.
edcgear.co.uk
@Broch thank you so much i will grab a couple each month for the next couple of months and replace the ones i have , the ones i got came at £3 for 10 so hence why i say you get what you pay for , some do work but as a basic this is north type may be a few degrees out and so on
@Jared i will look for that brand to never hurts to look , the wife tells me that each time i want to go i nthe gun shops you can look put i got the credit card lol , hey been with her 37 years and yup she is the sensible one lol , hence when we go to the bushcraft show she said i can look as much as i like but there is a budget , i am also looking forward to coming along to the moot , i love to talk to like minded people
Thanks for the link Broch
@TeeDee the wife just said you got put on the naughty stepp lol i went to the site and my eyes lite up lol
@Jared i will look for that brand to never hurts to look , the wife tells me that each time i want to go i nthe gun shops you can look put i got the credit card lol , hey been with her 37 years and yup she is the sensible one lol , hence when we go to the bushcraft show she said i can look as much as i like but there is a budget , i am also looking forward to coming along to the moot , i love to talk to like minded people
Thanks for the link Broch
@TeeDee the wife just said you got put on the naughty stepp lol i went to the site and my eyes lite up lol
Last edited:
I’ve never bailed out of a Wellington over Germany, extracted compass from my uniform button and started for France. Some items are to critical to skimp on quality or secondary priorities ( to often based on Walter Mitty romanticism.) I have two Suunto MC2 on my person and rucksack.
I compensated for the horrific bulk and weight by eliminating the cast iron Dutch oven from my cook kit.
I compensated for the horrific bulk and weight by eliminating the cast iron Dutch oven from my cook kit.
Keep getting tempted to replace my CountyComm SERE, I lost it somewhere.
Compass candy store:
edcgear.co.uk
Compass candy store:
Compasses Navigation & Signalling
Survival, Outdoor EDC Compasses, singalling mirrors, emergency whistles, Glowring Compass, CountyComm Companion Compasses, SERE Compass, Brass and Titanium Compass. TOPS Signal Mirrors and Whistles.
edcgear.co.uk
Well i could say i got better than that , my wife is going through what was called the change years ago lol , and she said on the days i annoy her most days lol i can boil her water shall we say lol .< Spoken in the accent of Michael Nyqvist >
Good call on the Dutch Overn , We used to have a guy here that could boil water in his boots..
Boil water in his fricking boots!!!
I saw that one nice and i ask how well it worked i know it says used by aircrew but that means little to nothing as they don't always give our service personnel good kit the SA80 being oneKeep getting tempted to replace my CountyComm SERE, I lost it somewhere.
Compass candy store:
Compasses Navigation & Signalling
Survival, Outdoor EDC Compasses, singalling mirrors, emergency whistles, Glowring Compass, CountyComm Companion Compasses, SERE Compass, Brass and Titanium Compass. TOPS Signal Mirrors and Whistles.
It’ll be American service personnel, CountyComm are government contract suppliers, their stuff is highly rated by the EDC community. Only a few years ago CC gear was unavailable in this country and they wouldn’t export to here. I had to use Miles Stair at his Survival Shop to get it forwarded.
For what it’s worth, mine was faultless for many years. I never did much orienteering with it, but often checked its accuracy. Just so you know, these are not liquid filled.
Gear Review: CountyComm SERE and Thumb Tac Miniature Survival Compasses
CountyComm compass, personal survival kit (psk), miniature compass
rockymountainbushcraft.blogspot.com
Wow! Just seen the copper Maratac AAA is £59 now. I’ve got one in my pocket I paid half that for.
Last edited:
Similar threads
