Diving Compass

[Lorenzoid]

Good, because my DGE Deluxe Pro arrived a few days ago. So far, I've only used it to navigate a course around my living room.

 

[cmulvaney]

Wrist Mounted Oceanic Side Scan Compass for me.

 

[Ricky B]

For my money, I like the DGE better ...

Thanks for the review. Another plus of the DGE is that you don't have to get the compass capsule out of the Suunto boot.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

That was never an issue for me ... I used to order just the compass, with no boot. Buying it like that was still more expensive than the DGE compass with the wrist mount.

I still own three SK7's ... but they tend to break over time, and I'll be replacing them with the DGE compass when they do.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[CamG]

I have broken or wore out three SK-7 s.
I carry one every dive in OW conditions and have done whole dives using it.
It rides securely in a DSS boot on my left wrist.

Thanks fellow now I will have to purchase another DGE compass to compare and test!
I have used other DGE gear and it has done nicely.

CamG

 

[agesilaus]

I am looking to get a compass for diving. I have used them in College (Geology Major) and comfortable using them and keeping bearing with them. I have not taken a Nav course but plan to once the weather gets better and the water gets warmer. I was wondering from different people what the benefit of a wrist mount and a retractable one is. I think that a retractable one would possibly fall down into the way versus a wrist mount. I have a wrist mount computer now and I love it and would not have done it any other way. I feel like that the wrist mounted compass would have a benefit over the retractable one that would clip on the BCD.

Any feedback would be great.

My AOW class included a nav dive. It consisted of swimming a square with 15 kicks per side. You are supposed to end up near the instructor, I ended up about 10 feet away but this was off West Palm with the current. I was underwhelmed to say the least. Like you I was familiar with land navigation and this AOW dive was a complete waste of time. I can't imagine what a whole course would consist of. I suppose you could learn to calibrate your kicks like the SEALs do but I suspect that might take a bit more time in to water to acquire the skill than a couple of dives.

 

[crosshairs]

My AOW class included a nav dive. It consisted of swimming a square with 15 kicks per side. You are supposed to end up near the instructor, I ended up about 10 feet away but this was off West Palm with the current. I was underwhelmed to say the least. Like you I was familiar with land navigation and this AOW dive was a complete waste of time. I can't imagine what a whole course would consist of. I suppose you could learn to calibrate your kicks like the SEALs do but I suspect that might take a bit more time in to water to acquire the skill than a couple of dives.

While the nav class is not very demanding, if all you did was swim one square, you got short changed.....find a new instructor for any future classes you may take

 

[cmulvaney]

My AOW class included a nav dive. It consisted of swimming a square with 15 kicks per side. You are supposed to end up near the instructor, I ended up about 10 feet away but this was off West Palm with the current. I was underwhelmed to say the least. Like you I was familiar with land navigation and this AOW dive was a complete waste of time. I can't imagine what a whole course would consist of. I suppose you could learn to calibrate your kicks like the SEALs do but I suspect that might take a bit more time in to water to acquire the skill than a couple of dives.

While the nav class is not very demanding, if all you did was swim one square, you got short changed.....find a new instructor for any future classes you may take

The post stated agesilaus did the Nav Dive in AOW not The Navigation Course. They are very different. One is just a dive the other is actually a course.

 

[crosshairs]

The post stated agesilaus did the Nav Dive in AOW not The Navigation Course. They are very different. One is just a dive the other is actually a course.

Yes, but its still more than navigating one square....just going from memory, I believe there are 5 performance requirements....so again, if all he did was navigate one square, its no wonder he feels like it was a waste of time, because quite honestly it was.

 

[Hatul]

Now that I've used the DGE compass a bunch of times I'll revisit with a review.

First off, here's a picture of the two compasses next to each other ... the DGE Deluxe Pro on the left and the Suunto SK7 with DSS mount on the right ...

As you can see, the DGE compass has a slightly higher profile, a larger window, and I found it easier to read in low light conditions ... the card numbers just seem easier on my (old) eyes.

The SK7 is slimmer and has more calibrations between numbers.

I found them to be equally satisfactory in terms of how much "tilt" you can have and still get an accurate reading.

The SK7 with DSS mount typically sells for around $80 ... the DGE Deluxe Pro is $60.

For my money, I like the DGE better ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Another feature I value is the phosphorescence for night diving. Can you comment on this for the two compasses.