I like the idea of small compasses that can slide onto a watch strap. I figure that if I do end up having put the compass to use I'd have somewhere to keep it.

That said, a ways back I picked up a Coughlan's wrist compass for a backup (shown in this thread), but unfortunately it didn't last. I had packed it into one of my small kits and when I went through it recently I noticed the compass was no longer working; the disk in it was jammed and no longer rotated. I've seen the Suunto one Mark mentioned and thought it might be a good replacement, but haven't picked anything up yet.

On a related note, I've been practicing using the sun for direction using my watch and that'll have to suffice for my back up for now. Of course, in addition to my real compass I usually have my GPS (no built in compass) & powered-off iPhone too, so going without the button-sized backup maybe isn't that big of a deal .

yeah denis, there's always alternative ways to determine a general direction, my thoughts on keeping the button compass around are when those alternative methods are not available. I'm thinking specifically of heavily overcast/rainy days or nights, when the sun, shadows, and stars are not available for navigation or determining direction. Or when you're in thick forested areas such as our area, a favorite local saying is "they have to have sunlight pumped in"

What's a PSP? Anyway, if your compasses from China are not fluid filled, then they're not the same. There is a difference in performance.

PSP = Pocket Survival Pak

yeah the ones I ordered are liquid filled, but these days, I look at anything made in, and especially items on e-bay or other sites shipped directly from, china, as suspect in quality, esp when they look exactly like items costing 10 times more

Me too. The problem is almost everything is made in China. Even iPhones are made in China.

Where I live, no declination adjustment is needed, so a pocket watch type compass is all I need for a primary and a liquid filled button compass for a backup. In the northern part of Minnesota, magnetic compasses don't work reliably, no matter the cost or complexity, due to the four iron ranges there.

I carry a simple base plate compass in my pack for planning with a map, an old pocket watch style compass in my pocket for hiking, and a button compass or a pin-on bubble in my small survival pack. I only need to know the general direction to walk the old logging roads or prairies.

When out grouse hunting, I use the pin on bubble to insure that I took the right turn on the logging road intersection. I only need the button compass as a secondary backup. I buy them a dozen at a time, sprinkle a few around the vehicles and various packs, and give the rest to little nieces and nephews.

I have only had one button compass totally fail, and that came mounted in an Eddie Bauer hiking pole that I use on the county hiking trails near home.

maybe I'm just being paranoid, after hearing how quickly some of the button compasses degrade, but I'm thinking I'd give each one a check for accuracy before I added them to any kits or gear stashes.

Let me explain about the accuracy check a moment. I don't mean to compare them to another compass I think should be accurate. I mean to compare it to a known direction. Sun rises in the east and sets in the west, for my area I know which way is north, it's a fairly quick and simple thing to take each button compass and test it.

This is the thing about these gadgets. One almost always has a "general sense of direction," even on the water (wave set, wind) in fog. When you pull out the compass, you generally need a more precise determination. On one occasion, I needed to differentiate between 40 and 20 degrees, something a bit tricky with a tiny little button thingy....

There are lots ways of orienting,many of which are less susceptible to error than a compass. Just think of all the many ways a compass, any compass, can give an inaccurate reading.

Here I must disagree. We have a lot of forrest in my country. Very easy to get lost. And hard to tell any direction when the sun is covered by clouds. Here the wrist compass comes handy.

Also when in an unfamiliar city. A few times I have come out of the metro station in Stockholm and did not have clue about directions. Well that is, until a look on the wrist compass solved the problem.

And with the suunto wrist compass it is possible to take readings with 5 degrees accuracy.

The Suunto wrist compass is a good compass, but it's not a button.