Small Compasses

I am looking for a good quality compass as small as possible. I dream of owning a 10mm compass some day. If anyone knows of a source let me know please.

16mm, but close. http://www.tadgear.com/x-treme%20gear/compasses%20main/sas_compass.htm



Mine crapped out on me after about a year though. Neat novelty item, but the first qualifier for a compass is reliability, IMO.

You'd be surprised at how accurate the button compasses are at Wally World and other places. When I buy like a combo compass, whistle, thermometer, and magnifying glass, I check it against a good compass on the same shelf. If they both line up I buy it. I still use a good Silva for my main compass though.

Charles

I have to agree. I have yet to find a better compass than these that is in the same size range. I keep one in the handle of my CRK Shadow III which I never venture in to the woods without. Not even on the shortest most familiar trails. I have tested these compasses using a high quality compass as a benchmark and I have been very impressed with their accuracy!

How do you expect to use the compass? The type of compass you need depends on the answer to that question.

>>To figure out which way is N/S/E/W: then a simple button compass will do just fine. Others have given recommendations for those.

>>To follow a bearing and/or use with a map: the a button compass is simply too primitive. Suunto makes a very nice little liquid-filled compass called the Suunto Gem. It is 30mmx54mm and has a rotating bezel and a straight edge for using with a map.

One way to test a compass is to let it point north, then turn it on its edge and twist it round 180 degrees, then make it flat again so that it is now pointing south. It should swing around back to north. The speed and confidence with which it does so is supposed to be a good indication of the quality of the compass (faster is better).

(Of course, for an accurate bearing you need something physically big.)

I don't know if this is kosher here or not, but I am only answering a request.

I have several Brunton 10mm and 15mm compasses. They are liquid filled, which some people don't like, but they point towards N. I couldn't find any a few years back so I called Brunton and got the minimum order amount, which was a bit more than I needed. <img src="/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" /> Contact me at

alloyaddict@gmail.com

if interested. I really don't know what to ask for them, and I have to dig up my papers to see what I paid for them. Less than the SAS compass, that is a given.

Mine also went south after less than a year. The needle would properly attract to any magnet; but, it seems that the pin bearing (or whatever it's called) had soooo much frictrion that the needle could not overcome that friction in seeking magnetic north.

I am not sure how small you mean other than the target of 10mm but you might want to check out the ones that Tru-Nord makes at www.trunord.com I found them by accident when I was looking to buy one of the compasses made by the Marble Knife Company. The Marbles had just switched to liquid filled and even though I’ve handled them several times I’ve yet to lay down the cash for one because they do not feel as good as the old ones. I’ve read about the Tru-Nord and heard good things about them. When I send money it will probably be to them. I have a thing for well-made American items that come from mom and pop shops that are small enough to care about their customers. Anyway enjoy the hunt!!

hmmm, here is an idea maybe. I have some little survival cards made by Brunton that have a removable disk that if placed in a pool of water or a cup of water will float and point North. About as effective as a button compass and as flat as a piece of thin plastic can get, Other than that there is a US military SERE compass if you can find one, they are tiny, work well and when new actually glow in the dark, tritium markers. One model has a lanyard and one has no lanyard hole. I have one from the military days, trit is dead though <img src="/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

I love my USAF survival compass so much that I am halfway afraid to carry it! The tritium is long dead on mine, but it is great.

I really want a TruNord compass too, but have put it off due to the price. They certainly receive great praises.

Let me also add that my previous post regarding Brunton compasses is incorrect. I wrote that from memory and upon checking the compasses out I realized they are actually 15mm and 20mm. Sometime today I will respond to the emails I have received.

the other advantage to those is that you know its laying flat since it's floating on water.

Paul D,

Triple Aught has the keyring model on sale for $9.95. I just ordered one the other day:

Tru-nord Compass

I just bought a Tru-nord Compass . For $17 I'm willing to see if it's all it's cracked up to be.

Has anyone ever heard of the compass that is only 1/8" in diameter? It was used by the military or spies during the cold war.

Yea I had some information about them somewhere I think. They were used in WWII as well or similar ones. The pilots could swallow them to keep them secure until they were through the searches and into the POW camps. They also had buttons sewn on their pants that could be used as compasses if floated in water. They usually had a mark to indicate North on the back of the button.
Oh I just found one of the ones I was thinking about its called the Peyser-SGI and are sold at www.bestglide.com which sales survival gear and other things to pilots ect.

I strongly disagree. I've seen compasses not only not point to magnetic north, but almost directly south. Also, a "halfway decent" bearing might land you in hot water if you follow it long enoug.




The moss thing can tell general trends and be helpful, but not always accurate. I've seen plenty of ridglines that obstruct sunlight and change the formula a bit.

I've also wondered how much good any of these button compasses are without a decent map. <img src="/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

Another approach is to magnetise the needle in your sewing kit. Then either float it or suspend it from a thread. If you are carring the sewing kit anyway, you get the compass for zero extra weight/volume.

I've seen it claimed that you can magnetise in the field, using static electricity or even the Earth's own magnetic field. I'm dubious about that. You can do it with, eg, the magnetic screwdriver on a Rambler knife, as long as you know which end is north.

I don't know how practical these things are in the field. If you can stop, take a bearing and turn it into a sighting of a distant landmark which you can then walk towards, that might be OK. If it is foggy and you can't see more than 10 yards, and you have to walk with compass in hand, then I'd want something big and stable.

I went and dug out my $16.00 Marbles (from Countycomm last year) pin-on compass and I have got to say that you are right on the money. It had a huge bubble which was not there when I was hunting with it last year. I turned it over and the bubble disappeared--and it began to point TRUE SOUTHWEST. I turned it over a few times, the bubble reappeared, and it began to point North again.

It's crap--no offense to the Moderator but that's what it is.

I thought Marbles was a good-maybe the best-compass. Now I'm going to try out the Tru-Nord or maybe the SAS.

I'm also going to drill a 1/32" hole in the cover and drain the fluid out of it. Maybe it will work halfway decently as a dry compass.

My question is this: is there some great scientific obstacle to overcome before sombody can manufacture a magnetic mini-compass that will actually point to magnetic North instead of non-magnetic Southwest? One that doesn't require a person paying $50.00 for it? I'd really like to know.

Regards, Vince

Looks like the same compass that tdagear sells. Best button compass I have ever owned!

JOE, I could not find an option on that site to select the area of the USA for which the compass is compensated ( East, Central, or West). You are correct that the compass can be returned indefinitely for recalibration ($3.00 fee), but I'd like to at least begin with one that is compensated for my area. TruNord makes a fine product. [color:"red"] [/color]

When I was at Smokey Mountain Knife Works a couple of months ago I got to look at about a dozen of the new Marbles liquid filled compasses and noted that they all had a unique and personal idea of which direction North was. I was checking them against my Silva Type #27 that I modified to wear around my neck. There are liquid filled compasses that I have used with out problems but I don’t think Marbles makes one yet

I think Marbles must be relying on their "legendary" status too much. Teddy Roosevelt supposedly used them. Well if T.R. had used one of these new ones we might be reading about his charge DOWN San Juan Hill. <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I just bought a Tru-Nord zipper-pull and a pin-on.

Regards, Vince

On his old web sight it said that your compass would be balanced for your mailing address unless you asked for something different. I have not found it on his sight since he put the new page together but I am sure he still sets them for your address unless you spec something else for him.

I got my True Nord compass yesterday and let me just say I was very impressed. It's as accurate as any other compass I own and I own a few real nice ones. It's my new PSK compass now. For the record it was not calibrated to the declination angle of my mailing address and it in fact points to magnetic north but it did come with a card that said that I could send it in with $3 for return shipping and they would set it to any declination angle in the USA or Canada for me free of charge. Where I live true north and magnetic north aren't all that different though so I won't be worrying about it.

Brian,
If it's not too much trouble, would you post a couple of pics of your Tru-Nord compass and the button compass that you keep in your Shadow III, side-by-side, with maybe a quarter in there for reference.

Thanks,
Hutch4545

I emailed Marbles, described the problem, and asked them what they would do about it. They replied that a new compass is on the way at no charge. They are not requiring the return of the old one or any other nonsense. When the replacement arrives I'll probably use it as a backup to my Tru Nord. Perhaps the quality problems were due to a bad lot. Time will tell. I am happy to see that their customer service is still up to par and for this they should be commended.

Regards, Vince

Brian,
If it's not too much trouble, would you post a couple of pics of your Tru-Nord compass and the button compass that you keep in your Shadow III, side-by-side, with maybe a quarter in there for size reference.

Thanks,
Hutch4545

I thought about this a while ago and think the explanation is this. The amount of torque the earth's magnetic field creates by pulling on the needle is proportional to the needle's length squared (R cross F integrated over the length of the needle, for you physics geeks) for a given type of magnetic material. So with a short needle you don't have much torque available. This torque must be enough to overcome the friction in the bearing. But the bearing friction is basically constant for a given type, or at worst proportional to the mass of the needle (i.e. its length).

That means to make a reliable small compass, you must either (a) get more torque by using an ultra-strong (i.e. expensive) magnetic material for the needle, and/or (b) use an ultra-low-friction precision (i.e. expensive) bearing to lower the amount of torque you need. It's far cheaper and simpler to just use a longer needle (lots of torque) and a cheap bearing.

If you're utterly cramped for space in a PSK, the idea of magnetizing a sewing needle sounds workable. You could put a tiny permanent magnet (nicely sticks to the side of your Altoids tin) in the kit, and rub the sewing needle against it (10-20 strokes all in the same direction) to magnetize it. Another idea is pry open a big cheap compass and remove the needle from it and just put the needle (permanent magnet) in the kit, suspending it from a thread or floating it to get a reading. I haven't tried either of these methods, so don't blame me if they don't work. I'd think either method would be a big pain if it's windy.

Rather than search endlessly for an ultra-small-diameter compass, maybe it's better to look for a larger diameter but ultra-thin compass. A compass could be made very thin and still have plenty of torque.

Paulr: Great analysis and extrapolation. Thanks for sharing. -- Bear

No problem at all. I'll do it this weekend. I can tell you off the top of my head though as I sit at my desk in the office with my PSK sealed up tight and no camera. This is my TrueNord model...



and this is the one in my knife...



Both are shown with a coin for size reference.

Wow! That's what I love about this forum. Even the rhetorical questions get answered. Thanks!

Vince

Check out 3 Rivers Archery, they have 3 small compasses (10, 14, 18mm). Pretty cheap too.

Mini-compasses

I have some in my kits and they work great!

Greg

Besides a regular compass that I carry in my shoulder pack I have a litlle pin on compass that I pin it on the flap of my shirt and that way I dont have to use any hands, I just have to look down. It is very accurate and cost me only about $1.97 in Wall Mart. I also have a combination wistle, thermometer, compass and magnifiying glass that I also but in Wall Mart for about $3.00

Lucky you.... I just e-mailed them and they told me I had to send both of them back!

James Kenney <jamesraykenney@gmail.com> Mon, Apr 11, 2005 at 4:30 PM
To: info@marblesoutdoors.com
I have both a model 001141 and a model 001147 compass.
The model 001141 is about half empty of oil and has a STRONG oil smell
to it(almost like gun oil), and has leaked into my bag.
The model 001147 has a large bubble in it.
The model 001141 does not work at all and the model 001147 works sometimes.
I have had these less than a year and would like some help with this problem.

Thanks:

James Ray Kenney
257 Berry Rd.
Beaumont, TX USA 77706
409 951-3321 W
409 866-7300 H


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
gbrink <gbrink@bellsouth.net> Mon, Apr 11, 2005 at 4:39 PM
To: James Kenney <jamesraykenney@gmail.com>
Cc: Cheryl Wendrick <cherylwendrick@marblesoutdoors.com>
Please send the compasses with a copy of this email to the address below and
we will replace them at no charge.

Sorry for your problem and we appreciate your business.

Marble's Outdoors
420 Industrial Park
Gladstone, MI 49837

I had bought two Tru-Nords already so I gave the Marbles replacement to my father. So far so good. I think that the oil is some sort of mineral oil. I took the old broken one and drilled a 1/16" hole in the casing to see if it would work as a dry compass. It didn't. <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Regards, VInce