Importance of compass on the console?

[UrbanJungle1966]

I am not a fan of consoles. I use air integrated computer, compass on a retractor and a backup SPG as my integrated air failed once.

All I can suggest is don't cheap out on your compass. I get lost/direction disorientated constantly so rely on my compass to get back. Nothing worse than having to do a big surface swim. Yet to do one but have watched many groups with amusement .

 

[dumpsterDiver]

If you use the compass a lot and for precise navigation it works better on the wrist. If you only use it occasionally, you will be quite likely to forget to strap it on- when you really need it.

If it is on the console you can not forget it. If you are using a console, I think it makes sense to have a compass on it.

 

[KeithG]

depends on where you dive. a compass is generally not needed in bonaire, or bequia, or dominica, or belize, or the caymans, or .... many other high viz dive sites where the terrain has a very visible slope that runs in a single well known direction.

BUT: i have used my compass on several occassions to "prove" to my direction challenged dive buddy that i knew where the boat was - dispite a flock of divers finning away in the other direction. pointing st my compass and wiggling my fingers randomly seems to boost her confidence in my navigation skills.

i also use it pre-dive for liveaboard night dives to figure out which part of the swing the boat is currently at. based on compass reading we may wait for the boat to swing to a "better" location.

sometimes at night on flat terrain i do need it to figure out were the boat is. so i keep it.

mount it wherever works for you. mine is on my ancient console, but i use it so seldom that i am considering jamming it in a bcd pocket.

 

[Storker]

If it is on the console you can not forget it.

Good point. But is that really an issue if you have a kit bag?

For me, it's just so much easier to navigate with the compass on the wrist. I bought my Suunto SK7 (pretty darned good compass, BTW, I can recommend it!) as a console mount, but after just a handful of dives with it I got a bungee mount for it. Much better (for me). OTOH, my son prefers to have the compass console mounted, so obviously everybody's MMV.

And, BTW, I always dive with a compass. It's much too easy to lose your direction underwater, and I've lost count of the times I've checked my compass and found I was heading in quite another direction than I believed I was heading.

 

[DeepSeaExplorer]

I generally don't need a compass to navigate, but I have both console and wrist mount. So, I frequently have one on me, but almost never actually use it. I use my surroundings instead: current direction, contour of the bottom, movement of soft corals, ripples in the sand, angle of the sun, visual on the wreck, etc. Only once in a while do I have to use a compass, which of course means that will be the one time I left it behind. For that reason, I think a compass on the console is the best option. It's always there and the one time you really need it, it'll be there. My favorite is the Oceanic Dax Max Pro Plus with the optional compass, a nice compact easy to read unit.

One point on the compass, if you don't have some idea of where you are, it won't be nearly as useful. Most people only think to get out the compass AFTER their disoriented. If you don't have your initial bearings before you get in the water, then all the compass will do is tell you were North is. While this may be helpful information, if you didn't notice which way you were swimming when you left the boat, it still may not tell you where the boat is.

I know an instructor that takes students on a circular dive and brings them right back to the starting point. Then with the dive boat directly overhead asks everyone to point in the direction of the boat. Everyone's looking around and pointing in different directions, not realizing they're directly under the boat. Hilarious.

 

[keyshunter]

I NEVER dive without a compass. I prefer a wrist mounted compass and give it a quick check quite often just to make sure I am headed in the direction I intend. And, I make sure that it is never left behind by looping it over my octo between dives.

 

[Storker]

I generally don't need a compass to navigate, but I have both console and wrist mount. So, I frequently have one on me, but almost never actually use it. I use my surroundings instead: current direction, contour of the bottom, movement of soft corals, ripples in the sand, angle of the sun, visual on the wreck, etc.

That depends a lot on the underwater terrain. I've dived quite a few sites where it's really difficult to navigate by just your surroundings. And viz of course plays an important role; I'd like to see someone try to navigate in 3-4m viz without a compass.

I've made a habit of taking a compass bearing on my planned direction as one of the things I do during my pre-dive check. It's prevented more than one embarrasing incident...

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[BDSC]

depends on where you dive. a compass is generally not needed in bonaire, or bequia, or dominica, or belize, or the caymans, or .... many other high viz dive sites where the terrain has a very visible slope that runs in a single well known direction.

And that is why I took my compass off my console and haven't dived with one for years. The need for a compass, for me, is truly dependant on where you are diving. The majority of my diving has been in tropical waters or off the coast of NC. Haven't needed one in any of those situations.

 

[Oldbear]

A compass should be just as important to a diver as a gas pressure gauge, depth indicator, mask, fins and regulators. Not only is it over looked quite often as "essential gear" its training is even more ignored as "essential training." I am happy that there is a quick brief on navigation in the PADI Open Water and AOW courses. But if a student gets an instructor who is not as adequate at UW navigation as they should be, then the student possibly won't even use a compass. (This could be said for any skill taught.)

The sense of direction just not as acute underwater as it is on land. Every year hikers get lost in the woods, walking in circles. Well it happens to the best of us underwater too. Without a compass a diver is limited to the level of visibility based on the turgidity of the water...and no sun or stars for direction it is very easy to get disorient. Terrain analysis might help but even that is not as reliable as a compass.

As a pilot you learn very early in your training to trust your instruments not your visual senses. It is hypothesized that JFK Jr. got disoriented at night, possibly clouds, and flew his aircraft straight downwards into the sea.

I find it easier to get lost in the sand or the blue. I have swam in large circles without even noticing it, just like the lost hikers. There have been times I swore my compass was wrong and every time I followed it, regardless of what I thought was the correct direction, my compass as always been right.

I like my bungee mounted compass on my left wrist. But having one and knowing how to use it is more important that where you carry it.

 

[nolatom]

"Don't leave boat without it".... ;-)

Even on a perfect-vis dive, if you spot something you want to return to, or describe to someone else, you'll need at least a rough compass direction from something else to do it.