compasses

[JDostal]

SK7 & Strap

Yes, the strap kinda sucks. Definitely a good idea to put the bungees on it. Myself, I've got drysuit rings permanently installed on my drysuit so I put my compass on when I first got it and it hasn't come off since, so for me the strap isn't much of an issue. I'm still thinking about the bungee's though just because they would seem to be more secure.

Night
That SK7 really glows once you light it up for a second or two w/ your dive light!

 

[hantzu701]

I didn't mean to infer that the Suunto was the only available choice. As Karl mentioned, Scubapro does make a nice large compass which you can put into a wrist boot or into one of their consoles.

If you look closely, the Scubapro and Suunto have slightly different bezels. I'm not sure how to explain it... usually when you nav, you have a I I notch on one side and a I on the other. You put the I I notch where North is and keep the needle between the I I notch to nav a straight line. Scubapro dispenses with the single I notch. The Suunto has both notches.

Functionally, they seem to be the same. I have the Scubapro, only because my LDS was willing to swap out the tiny Scubapro compass that I had bought from them.

 

[ReeseTD]

Im a Suunto SK7 fan also. Have one on my wrest and am thinking of getting a retracter one for back up.

 

[paulwlee]

Yeah! Suunto SK-7!

Love it.

 

[coberry7]

Having used compasses in the Army on land, and underwater, and while I currently use a compass on top of my SmartCom, I feel that to navigate in ZERO vis a better option is needed. To navigate in clear open water, the SmartCom piece is adequate.

Proper training is important.

What diving environment are you diving in Foamer? What will you be using your compass for?

Simply put, any compass is useless unless you know how to use it. The old adage about the guys with a GPS lost in the woods that know exactly WHERE they are, but fail to have in possession a map and compass comes to mind.

Underwater NAV is different than land based NAV, as there are no maps to use, and GPS doesn't work either.

Personally, a compass that I can shoot a good azimuth with, plot a back azimuth with, and read while swimming is enough. I am quite capable of doing this with the low end compasses issued with most computers or consoles.

A more user friendly compass might be needed by someone not used to using a compass in any condition. Although, the knowledge of how to use it better be there too!!

Colin

 

[IndigoBlue]

I recently bought a Suunto compass to replace my 20 year old Scubapro compass. I am quite happy with the Suunto. It is built quite well and is also easier to set than the old Scubapro was.

To set the Suunto you merely face in the direction you want to swim, on the beach or shoreline, then allign the single post with the compass card arrow point. To navigate out-bound, you keep the single post in line with the arrow point.

To return, you rotate yourself until the double posts (which are 180 degrees opposite the single post) are in line with the arrow point. "One going, Two returning" is easy to remember.

The old Scubapro did not have this feature.

I have seen the same feature on new Oceanic compasses. When I compared the Oceanics with the Suuntos, the Suuntos appeared to be built better. Several of the Oceanics had bubbles in them as well.

Therefore I agree with the others here who have recommended the Suunto.

 

[goatboy_k]

i agree on the SK7 i bought mine from LP, it works great and is even easy to use at night after you hit it with your light for a bit.

ditch the strap and rig bungees though, i use to small ones threaded through where the strap used to go

kurt