Hi,
Get yourself a Suunto (I spell it wrong I think), Recta or Silva small fluid filled button compass.
KEEP AWAY from cheap stuff and also DON't get the BCB (British company) button compass.
I bought some for fun to be included in small "survival" kits for my Scouts and of the 4+ button compasses 2 developed a air bubble that big that the magnetic disk did not rotate freely anymore.
I've been writing since October last year with BCB and allthough Mr Field (the boss) wrote to me that replacements where sent out to me in December 99 I never received them and worse my subsequent emails were not answered anymore and no replacements were sent.
Mr Field wrote about the airbubbles:
"1. Button Compasses
All Button Compasses are manufactured with a minute air bubble, to allow for expansion and contraction of the liquid.
In certain circumstances e.g. in the hold of an aircraft, or extremely low temperatures, this bubble will expand out of proportion.
Usually the bubble will return to its original size and the compass will function satisfactorily. In some instances where extremes of temperature and air pressure are outside normal usage, some of the liquid may seep through the walls of the compass, resulting in an oversized bubble which does not return to its normal size.
I can only assume this is what happened to the two compasses you mention."
Well we didn't fly and we didn't freeze but it's good to know that they can fail, these "survival" compasses when subjected to cold and high altitudes. So don't "survival" there.
Keep away from these cheapos, get the button compass from a known manufacturer.
Cheers,
Bagheera
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