Compass, Hiking Compass for Survival with Lensatic – Water-Resistant Durable and Pocket-Sized

Super supprised, has some real weight to it, nice heavy canvas case... for the money, exceptional quality...

I learned backcountry navigation when I took a NOLS course in Wyoming as a teenager. Ever since I have always packed a compass and map when hiking in the back country. This compass ticks all the boxes. It is easy to pack. It clear base allows easy alignment on maps. It has all the dials needed to adjust for magnetic declination. If you have the training, this compass will serve you well navigating the back country wilderness.

I love this compass. At first i didn't know it has a sight glass. I personally had never had a site glass. You look through the site glass to get the compass reading. Super easy to read through the site glass. I also love the Aluminum housing. it is very robust. I love that it has a centering bubble level. I have had other Compasses that didn't have this and the needle can get stuck without noticing your slightly out of level. Center the bubble and you know that the needle is free to move. I am going to keep this compass in my pack that i keep on my motorcycle for back up navigation. I wanted something rugged for this purpose. While the compass is not my prefered method of navigation (i prefer GPS) it is so important to have a backup compass when electronics fail.

I have to say, even though it does not come from one of the major brands, this is a well made and good looking compass. It is light but not flimsy, and provides several nice touches that are as good as the more expensive ones. First thing you should do is remove the sticker which covers the mirrored inner surface of the lid (a nice touch) so you can see through the sighting hole and at the same time see your bearing in the mirror. Second thing is to take the tiny tool provided on the lanyard and adjust the declination to match your area. This is easily done by using an app for example, which adjusts its compass automatically depending on your location. Now North is North. There are 3 little rounded "feet" along the bottom which allow it to slide over a map and not scratch the bottom, keeping it clear for reading through it, etc. The dial will glow in the dark a little bit but not for long. The direction of travel is supposed to glow too but I could hardly see it, although the two marks beside the direction of travel marks do glow ok. Another nice feature is that it also measures declination by using a "pendulum" arrow, which always points down, so you can estimate the height of objects up to a certain angle. The lid is roomy enough that I can easily fir a few pages of post-it notes and a small pencil, and I threaded a small keychain flashlight to the lanyard so it's easy to get light on the subject without fishing around. Just about the only complaint I have is that I wish they had made the integrated lens a little larger. Its size is only sufficient for finding slivers in your skin, but even then it's hard to hold it still on your objective due to its small size. Same for reading map details.

I bought three of these compasses, one for each of my kids and one for myself. We three found that each compass points true to north, if you give it a little bit of time to align. I don’t know if the magnet is not real strong or if the weight of the dial is a factor, but it doesn’t take long to find north, if your compass is level. Thankfully it’s got a 360° center bubble level to aid in this process. These compasses are extremely well built. It’s actually kind of amazing at this price point. I own another Chinese compass that was more than triple the price, and the only thing it has on these is an inclinometer. At less than eight bucks, that’s definitely not a deal breaker. Great for kids, adults, and in between. My kids are neurodivergent, and they both really liked using them at the park.