What is a good, basic compass to throw in a survival kit? I want something affordable but more than a button compass I can count on in a survival situation.

Jeanette Isabelle

I have a Silva Field and the Silva Ranger S. I am satified with both. I carry them in a pocket (one at a time).
If you can afford it a compass with a global needle would be good. It makes use easier as it allows more room for error when leveling it.
It would be a good idea to actually use the compass prior to the survival situation. The Silva Field is cheap enough to own more than one. SO one can dwell in the kit and one can be carried for pratice.

I like the idea of a global needle, but it would price the compass beyond what I wanted to pay. However, since you brought it up, I decided to look, and though it's a different brand, I found a global needle at a price I'm willing to pay.

https://www.survivalmetrics.com/store/It...ring-base-plate
https://www.amazon.com/Brunton-TruArc-Ba...76&sr=8-114

Jeanette Isabelle

Or, if it's better to get Silva at the expense of a global needle, there's the Silva 123.

https://www.survivalmetrics.com/store/Item/id-silva-123-compass-baseplate
https://www.amazon.com/Silva-Starter-1-2...741&sr=8-91

Jeanette Isabelle

Suunto A10 used to be the inexpensive basic base plate compass, though doesn't have a global needle variant.

Have a Suunto MCB for a small backup mirror compass.

Silva Ranger Sl

The Brunton TruArc 3 compass is pocket-sized (I carried an older version when at Florida mega parks so I didn'tget turned around), has adjustable declination (very important in my view), and a global needle for a low price. It's not a high end compass, but it will point to true north so long as you've set it with the magnetic declination for your area. Listed for $24 at REI.

I'm pretty sure they're made in the U.S. if that is a preference for you.

I'd go with Silva Classic(similar price to 123) or Silva Expedition(a bit more expensive) over 123 to be fair, both are excellent.

In my opinion having a compass with adjustable declination is important because depending upon where you're located in the U.S. magnetic north can be as much as +/- 18 degrees off from true north. The Silva Polaris/Classic/123 compass has an aid drawn on it to help do the adjustment with each use, but with that I think mistakes can happen, especially if stressed.

Magnetic declination is more extreme at the northwest and northeast corners of the continental U.S., and close to zero near the Mississippi River. It's always a good practice to look up the current magnetic declination before you head to an area (it varies slowly over the years), and pre-adjust your compass' magnetic declination. Also make sure your GPS is set to display true north, and know how to find the true north on your paper maps.

If going to a global area for which the compass isn't designed for, then having a global needle necessary. If, for example, you buy the compass in the U.S., and have no plans to use the compass outside of the U.S., a global needle is not needed. On some Suunto compass models I find the non global needle much easier to use than its global needle counterpart (the red/white coloring is much more clear).