Compass

[No vice]

Might seem a daft question? I mean a compass, is a compass, is a compass.... right?

Did a search and couldn't see any obvious thread.

Thought I'd ask as during a recent trip to Wales I dropped into Llanberis. Whilst there I HAD to go to the Joe Brown shops .

I bought a compass years ago. Can't remember where from. Its a typical perspex rectangle with scales on the outer edge a 'direction of travel' arrow and a bevel round the compass itself. Probably cost me a fiver from Millets.

So there I am in the shop with a wall display of various instruments with no blatantly obvious differences apart from the price tags, which ranged from about £10 to £30+

Is there any great discernable difference between a £5 or a £30 compass? Is it down to features or just quality of build?

[IanDarkpeak]

Might seem a daft question? I mean a compass, is a compass, is a compass.... right?

Did a search and couldn't see any obvious thread.

Thought I'd ask as during a recent trip to Wales I dropped into Llanberis. Whilst there I HAD to go to the Joe Brown shops .

I bought a compass years ago. Can't remember where from. Its a typical perspex rectangle with scales on the outer edge a 'direction of travel' arrow and a bevel round the compass itself. Probably cost me a fiver from Millets.

So there I am in the shop with a wall display of various instruments with no blatantly obvious differences apart from the price tags, which ranged from about £10 to £30+

Is there any great discernable difference between a £5 or a £30 compass? Is it down to features or just quality of build?

there will a a talk on kit at the Acellerate shop tonight although it may be a bit far to come.

What you are probably getting is a bigger base plate perhaps with a roamer, magnifier, different scales etc luminous bits to help in the dark. the £5 one was probably not dampened so will be harder to hold and take bearings.

I would say minimum to look for is this

[DazTheSlug]

I would say minimum to look for is this

that's the exact one I've got!
I've even started to actually use it recently

[Darth domain]

i have the silva 4, has romer scales and long plate on it. Some expensive compass also tend to have a needle that settles down quicker when moved .So you are not stood there for ages waiting for it to settle and having to keep turning left and right etc.

[Epocian]

I have a Moscow compass which is ultrafast in settling
Compasspoint sell them if you're interested

.http://www.compasspoint-online.co.uk...ml%23aM8L#aM8L

[The Navigator]

I would say minimum to look for is this

Yup - the good old trusty Silva 7 is the one I use

[No vice]

Ta guys,
Thinking of getting mountain navigation for runners (sent fatlad a PM)
Meantime I've been scouring abouts online. Found this:
http://www.geocities.com/k_o_dionysu...compasses.html
Which along with the associated pages looks interesting. Guess the more reading I do, the more tips I get

Looks like I will get another compass as well

[IanDarkpeak]

Ta guys,
Thinking of getting mountain navigation for runners (sent fatlad a PM)
Meantime I've been scouring abouts online. Found this:
http://www.geocities.com/k_o_dionysu...compasses.html
Which along with the associated pages looks interesting. Guess the more reading I do, the more tips I get

Looks like I will get another compass as well

I'm thinking of running a Nav course for runners, probably from Langsett. I'll keep you posted

[Grouse]

A couple of my recent silva compasses developed bubbles which I always thought was normal if they were quite small but they got bigger and in one was definitely affecting the functioning. I presume it is leaking fluid - how common is this, should it happen?

[The Navigator]

A couple of my recent silva compasses developed bubbles which I always thought was normal if they were quite small but they got bigger and in one was definitely affecting the functioning. I presume it is leaking fluid - how common is this, should it happen?

It does happen over time - I've had a couple develop bubbles over the years. Small bubbles are OK, but I usually bin the compass if the bubble gets bigger than 10mm or so.