compass position

hello-
I am a relativly new diver and will be taking my advanced open water cert. in april. I thought i would use some christmas money to get a compass so that when i do my nav dive i can learn how to use my compass and familar with where it is mounted. My question is where do you mount your compass? What are the pros and cons? Do you ever find it in the way? Is it easy to navigate with? Thanks

-Max

I use a Suunto SK-7 with a DSS wrist mount. While I find it to be very convenient there, and not difficult to navigate with. The SK-7 is readable when tilted as much as 30 degrees though. Other compasses might not be as easy on a wrist mount as with a console or retractor, but with a little practice they shouldn't be hard to use that way either.

I also use a Suunto SK-7 in a DSS wrist mount. I wear it on my left wrist.

It depends on what I'm doing.
On the "normal" recreational open water dive I carry the compass on the console, but I generally don't use a console when "tekking" so then it's wrist-mount. If surveying/mapping I have a slate mounted compass and use that.
"Best tool for the job" and all that stuff
E

I have tried both wrist and console mount. To me it is easier to maintain a straight heading on the console, plus my computer is a wrist mount, which I like. Just too much on the wrist for me. I would try to borrow one of each if you can and practice. It is more of a personal preference and what you are comfortable with. Most divers I go with prefer the console, since you check air there anyway, you can watch both at once. But as with anything.....answers will vary.

Some of my students have found an interesting problem with the console mounts on our university regulators. Students who have a "thicker" body find that the hose for the console isn't long enough to get the compass into a comfortable position to use. Just something to keep in mind. Personally I prefer a wrist mount and the students who had problems with hose length on the console mounted ones loved using my wrist mount as well.
Ber :lilbunny:

I've used both, and find I prefer the compass on my wrist in a DSS mount. I don't have any problem bringing the compass in front of me to read it, at least to any accuracy I require (or can swim).

Created a custom package; in a boot on a very small retractor clipped in a pocket.
Wanted one boot in particular as it seemed more secure and the smallest yet hopefully not cheesy retractor, both are heavier than the other options I looked at. (I use steel tanks so watching my weight.):blinking:
Messed around with compasses quite a bit to get something that was the most stable and I liked the face and side window - viewability – readability, there was a lot of differences. Told it was a generic same as Oceanic build and it also fit the boot best.
Original plan was to wear it on forearm but not a good thing for me, wouldn’t stay put and not bug me. I liked bungeeing it on a wrist but not comfortable with something else there.
Not a big retractor fan but it has come in handy when hands busy and seems to be holding up well.
Don’t use it a lot, or not very detailed, just to check where to turn in to shore or buoy line, pretty clear here. Don't seem to have trouble with stability I worried about. I imagine there are better ones though.
Happy with the set up for the price, sure lusted after the Suunto but it is really big on my person, don’t have a console.
So long as the whole thing has a place to stay tucked away most of the time but pulls out nicely when I want it, it’s working ok for my use.

SK-7 Suunto absolutely rules! Easy to read when tilted.
I was using a MustBeFlatToRead POS until an observant and thoughtful buddy generously put an SK-7 in my hands. Wow.. what a wonderful difference!

Compass is on my left wrist on dives with sufficient ambient light.

I've recently started wearing the compass on my right wrist for dark dives wherein I expect to need to reference it continuously throughout the dive.
Since I use a cannister light with the light-head worn on my left hand, I found it unwieldy to constantly move the light-head to my RIGHT hand in order to illuminate my compass in the dark. (These are mostly lobster hunting dives wherein we zig-zag the area but must know absolute direction to hunt effectively, or sandy-canyon mud dives at night, wherein gentle slopes and bad vis require compass navigation.)

So, my right wrist is busy at night:
Compass distal, depth-gauge/BT/computer proximal.

I like this much better than the console/retractor g'zahhberator I dived for a couple of years. I navigate better when the compass is available constantly and hands-free.

Claudette

Sk7/dss mount here . Probably pulling the DSS mount off and using the stock mount with 3 loops of bungy added.