SUUNTO A-10 IN Metric Recreational Field Compass

THIS is a very useful compass and will perform exceptionally well in all situations. It is durable and easy to learn how to use the compass to get you safely to your destination. The baseplate is big enough to draw lines on maps and to locate your position by triangulating position. Do not discount this compass and forsake it for more complicated and expensive models. Once you learn how to use this compass you will find it can do exactly what the big boys can do. Is it as exact as those that have sighting morrors and can measure to a half degree. No it can not. Walk 50 meters and take another bearing and you will find it is how well you can walk to your next position that really matters not so much how well your compass points which way. It doesn't do much good to be a half degree + or - if the territory you are hiking throws you in a drift situation where you may be walking a sidehill and being pushed left or right with every step. Yes the big boys have there place but so does this compass. it's definately a great back up for your GPS or just in case you happen to need a great 2nd in an emergency. THIS COMPASS can get yuo to the fun spots and back home.

I got this for my search and rescue pack check, and for the orienteering quiz they gave us as part of the field certification.It worked beautifully and I keep it in my pack now in case I want to go off trail to find some cool, unvisited lake in the mountains... and not only not get lost finding it, but be able to direct myself there within about 30 feet accuracy.It is small enough to fit in all but the most ultralight pack, and it will also fit in a glove compartment for driving assistance (for those of us Luddites who don't use GPS devices to drive).And yes, if you scout around you will probably be able to find an A-10 for a little bit less than what it costs here. The price difference was small enough for me to skip that errand. I've been really happy with this, and part of why I like it that its inexpensive - if I lose it I'm only out $13.

If you need a knock-around compass for general navigation or orienteering, this will do the trick. I've used this in Vermont a couple times, and actually keep it in my gear just because I don't want to be a Nav-cripple. It is clear, durable plastic, with the demarcations and annotations easy to read in daylight. At night its a little tougher, but geez, its dark, right? I illuminate the map from underneath at night to solve that. The bezel ring is sturdy and has endured 100's of miles of abuse inside and outside my coat. Only draw-back to the purchase is the cheap lanyard. I'd advise Suunto to just skip the silly red string, decrease the price by a dime, and tell you to buy your own. When not around your neck, I stuff the little guy into a sock although it is durable enough it doesn't need the extra protection.

This is more of a professional compass and not just a gimmick. What i mean is it is not the crap you get on a key chain, or that "survival knife" you paid under 50 bucks for, or that thing on the plastic water proof storage box you bought.This will get you where your going if you know how to use it (comes with good direction) not hard to master once you try it out. I bought this to add to my emergency bag because i know it won't take me in circles.Fun fact: Keep anything metal away from it when you use it. Why? Because it will point at whatever metal your holding since it has a magnet that is what points to "magnetic" north.Story time: Some hunters through history have walked in circles because they held this next to there gun barrels.When Hitler's army was trying to build the first self guided unmanned missle he used compasses to guid them where to go...his first few kept crashing since they detected the metal around it. He put the compasses in a fancy wood box to fix that...btw don't worry he only used a few successful before the good guys stopped them. (The last story i heard from PBS i think it was...im going off what they said talking about the war and technology)

This is more of an first impressions style review as I've not had it in the field and tested it under sufficient conditions to rate its overall performance. I will update it as I have more experience with it. All in all, it appears near perfect with one tiny caveat. More on that later. Impressions:1) No bubbles. Very good.2) Points north. Every time.3) Housing is robust and has good heft to it for plastic.4) Markings are clear, legible and styled correctly for map use.5) Not PARTICULARLY fussy about level hold and angle. Get it close to level and as long as the needle doesn't bump the top or bottom of its housing, it points north.6) Excellent directions included. Very thorough. Very detailed. Good stuff to get you started if you're unfamiliar with mapping.7) Comes with a lanyard and a clip for the lanyard and has a lanyard hole. The clip is unlike any I've seen and, as a result, this is my caveat. Figuring out how to position it on the lanyard was beyond my skill set. Granted, these sorts of things often puzzle me temporarily (I tend to over think things) but this one still has me stumped. No matter. I can replace it with a cord lock or, (gasp!) nothing at all. The lanyard is long enough to wear around your neck or if you want to tie it on your backpack, cut the cord some. No big deal that the clip doesn't work for me. Like I said, I am dense about such things.8) I've owned many compasses. Most of them were cheap; a few were decent. I cannot compare this to a $70 Swedish compass because I lack the experience. But compared to off-the-shelf compasses at sporting goods stores, this seems to me to be a very good compass value.Based on these observations, I would not hesitate to use and rely on it in the field and that's about the best recommendation I can give short of rigorous field tests. Will update more following my spring trips.