Clipper

Even though my watch does not have a metallic wristband, still caused a deviation of around 4°W which was a bit less than half of a division on the rotating ring (Not to be mistaken by declination or variation which is the angle between geographic and magnetic North). So, the deviation caused by the watch added to around 1°W local variation (depending where you are in the UK) it added up to 5°W which is just half of one division (10°) on the rotating ring. Taking those factors into account I can say this compass is pretty accurate. For just walking around I wouldn't even bother adding 5° to my true heading to find my compass heading but would probably be useful to add those factors if you needed to do some triangulation. Then again, unless you have bionic eyes and can divide the space between 2 marks on the ring in 10 parts, I'm pretty sure your triangulation won't be accurate and this won't be the right tool for this purpose, but in a real emergency.. who knows.. at least you would know roughly where you are. The build is solid, there's no bubble in the liquid, the needle is fast, the cardinal points are phosphorescent (they glow pretty nicely in the dark). The rotating ring clicks but the interesting thing is that it doesn't move every 10°, but rather every 7.5°, which means the lines only align perfectly with the arrow every 30° which is not really an issue. Something else to keep in mind... it is unusable inside my car as it only points to one direction probably due to the metallic body or some other magnetic fields. That won't happen on a bicycle though but if you just want to have a glance at your heading whilst riding just make sure you're not in a corner or accelerating or decelerating because as the compass is balanced (North Hemisphere in this case) the centre of gravity of the disc is offset from the pivoting point and that will cause turning and acceleration errors due to inertial forces acting on the centre of gravity. In summary it is nicely built, it's quite small which is what you want when having something attached to your watch and at the same time doesn't look cheap, so it doesn't spoil the look of your watch either. Verdict: I'm happy with it and I would recommend it.

Great little compass. Doesn't look very robust ( shame ) but, mines still going after 3 years on my pack ( Clip works great ). Would work well as a back up to a main compass. Or ( As I need it for trail hiking ) in an emergency ( Thankfully never needed ) Has rotating degrees for rough "direction of travel" Sadly mines developed a small bubble but still works fine. Bit over priced I think. Looks cool on your pack. And ultralight!

This is excellent and I've bought a few. Bit expensive though and could be tougher as I have dropped it sometimes and the top came off but does click back in and still works.

GOOD POINTS Very small, light and easy to read because the 'needle' is actually a very clear rotating disk. The bearing and the damping is excellent; I have never seen it stick. Although you can fix it to a map, it is most useful fitted to your LEFT cuff or watch strap, which is what it is designed for (There is a 5deg error when fixed to my S/S Milanese watch strap). An arrow pointing the way is moulded in at a diagonal so that it points correctly when you hold your LEFT hand comfortably in front of you. If you are used to a base-plate compass you will understand it instantly. All you do is set the azimuth ring so that your desired bearing is lined up with the moulded-in diagonal arrow then, with your arm in a comfortable position, rotate your body until the compass 'needle' points to 'N'. The moulded-in arrow now points along the desired bearing. OTHER POINTS There are NO negative points! The 'needle' (i.e. the disc) is luminous and is very easy to read in the dark. Unfortunately, the 'N' mark is not luminous and neither is the moulded arrow so use in the dark is limited to a general indication of North. That is better than nothing but it could so easily have been fully functional at night for penny's worth of luminous paint. It is more sensitive to influence by metal and electronics than my other compi; maybe because the magnet is not very strong? It is probably not a good idea to keep it next to your phone etc. Some may find it too small. Once clipped on it is fine but the size and rounded shape means it keeps slipping out of my fingers. The graduations are only each 10 degrees but most of us can't walk a straight line to within 10 degrees, especially in hills and woodland, so that is ample. If precise navigation is essential you would probably be going from landmark to landmark using a sighting compass or similar; my favourite is the Swiss-army 'matchbox' compass. It has no declination graduations or adjustment but in the UK that is ALMOST irrelevant. You can cater for that when calculating the heading anyway. VALUE FOR MONEY I paid £17.44 which may seem a lot for such a small compass but it is not a toy, it is a proper tool and very good value for money.

I like to have a compass clipped to my watch strap. Looking back at my order history I see I have had seven of these over a number of years! If in a sale or a promotion they are (relatively) good value. Pros - Consistent and accurate when compared with a full size compass - Clear markings and the luminosity at night is good (if you shine a torch on it in the first place to get it to glow) - Clip is open sided so you can slide it on and off. (On a metal strap I use a piece of Velcro wrapped on the strap to which I clip the compass). - Durable (but see Cons) - You might not depend on it (or use it) for orienteering but it is more than good enough to give you a quick direction fix and/or use to move in a constant direction. - It does not need batteries! Cons - Pricy for what it is, even when on a promotion. - The biggest con is that it forms air bubbles, and once one forms it is impossible to get rid of it (all the "cures" on the Internet - e.g., putting in an airing cupboard for 24 hrs - provide only a temporary fix). Once started the bubble grows and eventually interferes too much with the reading. The trouble with a bubble is that you are never sure (without checking with another compass) that it is not affecting accuracy. I have had the problem with four out of seven and had to throw away two of the four affected.

I was optimistic if this little compass would achieve what I needed as Suunto is a recognised good company for quality products. I was not disappointed, I have tried a few compasses recently and they all have bad defects, the one major problem is accuracy and how easy it is to take a quick reading when you are on the move or coming to a standstill, waiting for the needle to settle. In the pic, I had to re magnetsie the needle to make it more receptive to north and its OK but still quite a bit out unless you fiddle with it, even the phones GPS is erratic but eventually they all settled to true north as I have already found using Google earth. This compass is great, its about 3-5 degrees out at any one time but generally its quick to maintain N when viewing it on my cuff like a watch. I had two map compasses with me today, just to check both accuracy and time taken to settle, the button compass beat both quite easily. In fact during my orienteering course today, after three checkpoints I kept with the Suunto and used just that for the rest of the day, it was accurate enough to orientate the map and get me heading in the right direction. Its small and compact, the clip was strong enough to stay on my cuff with twigs and low branches brushing against me the whole morning and just generally walking/jogging along. I didnt use the bezel once, didnt need to, its a bit stiff to begin with but loosens after a few twists but unless I'm taking a bearing to the next point of reference in difficult terrain, its not really applicable.

Initially i was happy with this. Sadly after 15 months of very very occasional use the top rotating bezel popped off and the compass came out of its housing. Pops back together easily but now its loose and easily falls apart again. And somehow the unit was compromised and it has become full of little bubbles which compromise its function. Not the longevity i was expecting and very poor value for money.

Little, compact compass. Absolutely great for my edc. I was tired of smartwatches so that it’s a perfect addition to my quartz watch! Great quality over Chinese equivalents! The only thing I had to do was trimming sharp edges of mounting clip as they were digging into my wrist ;)

Comes in professional packaging. Yet to use but seems fabulous

Kompas po jakimś czasie się odkleja od obudowy. Miałem dwa i dwa razy to samo 🤪

I had so many compasses by now, I stopped counting. Yes, I never go outdoors without one. Yes, I rarely use them. So why do I always carry one - learned the hard way. Many years ago I got so lost among rolling hills deep in a Canadian forrest that if I did not have my latest Silva with me (which I put in the poket as a joke) I would likely not be writing this now. With this purchase I got the Sun Company MiniComp II and the SUUNTO Clipper Compass. Why? A momentary lapse of reason. They look so cute and the price allowed me to satisfy my curiosity I love them both, so I will keep them. Quality is top! Both are liquid filled (important). Can they be used for actual navigation - absolutely! They look like toys but are not. They are accurate and have everything needed to navigate. I am fluent in operating a compass and the tiny size is, in my case, an advantage. If you never operated a compass these might confuse you (depends). I do like the Sun a bit better. The bezel is easier to rotate. The longer base makes it very intuitive to use, like a Compass Bonsai :) I really love the free floating design. There is no needle to bang against on long hikes or motorcycle rides. It is a serious tool that takes itself not too seriously. The SUUNTO is very nice too! But the bezel is unnecessarily tight. The lack of “body” makes it a bit less intuitive. However it can be clipped to a wrist band, where the Sun cannot do this. It is a serious tool that takes itself too seriously. Yes, there is a needle, but it is in liquid, so from a functional and longevity stand point - needle or free floating - we are splitting hairs here. So - bottom line, I can now carry both discretely, have fun, and the kids will not roll their eyes … Ah … the compass … again :)

It's pricey for the weak/brittle plastic attachment point. Which BTW if broken you have no other way to attach the the compass to anything. The Compass part is on point. Good quality, what you would expect from Sunto. As well the bearing indicator dial is stiff as you would want. I used it on a week trip to Spain. It worked well in unfamiliar city's and mountain hikes.