Coghlan’s Outdoor Compasses – Lightweight, Durable Navigation Tools for Hiking, Camping, Orienteering & Survival with Map, Wrist, Lensatic, LED, and Carabiner Options

I have two Silva compasses, and I ordered Coughlan's Standard Map Compass as an inexpensive alternative for my grandkids. I wasn't expecting it to be anywhere near as good as my Silva compasses, but I was happy to discover that I was wrong! Coughlan's Standard is absolutely outstanding in build quality, simplicity, accuracy, and durability, and I expect it to last for years. But I don't understand the significant price fluctuations over a period of about ten days. In early September 2023, it was a little over six dollars. A week later, it was less than five, and it was at that point that I bought four of them. I was so happy with it, I was planning to buy a couple more, but the price had gone up to over ten dollars! It started at 6.50, then 4.75, then 10.50. Or in terms of percentages, there was a 27% decrease followed by a 120% increase. Meanwhile Coughlan's DELUXE Map Compass is just over six dollars. This is just plain nuts! I guess I'll have to upgrade to the Deluxe version if I want to save money! One final note: Throw away the "directions" that come with the compass. Apparently they were written in French and very poorly translated into English. Even allowing for the language differences, they are needlessly complex, thoroughly confusing, and just plain wrong in places. "Be Expert With Map and Compass" by Bjorn Kjellstrom (3rd ed.) is a good introduction to using a compass.

Wanted a good compass like I had once, but had lost. This one's a quality design, works right when used correctly. Similar one I had years ago was made in US, but a nice bonus is that this is made in the free country of Taiwan.

Anyone who ventures outside their home for any distance requires a compass. This one is great. The directions state that you must not use it near your electronic devices it won't work correctly. I first used it inside my home and it did not point to north. I left my home and walked outside my door and...it immediately pointed to north. I LOVE this new compass. I won't be getting lost if it's with me. This one is REALLY NICE and comes with excellent instructions.

I ordered this Coghlan’s standard model Map Compass (8162) for backpacking and hiking outdoors. The 8162 is made in Taiwan by the Chuan Ching Mechanical Industrial Co. Ltd (C.C.) The company was established in 1980, and began exporting compasses in 1983, so it's been in the business for a long time. First, despite what some reviewers have stated, this compass DOES have a liquid-filled capsule to dampen needle movement, a fact I verified with the manufacturer. The kerosene-based fluid used to settle the swing of these tiny magnetic needles is ultralight in viscosity, so you won't notice it unless you drill a hole and watch it leak out. Overall, this compass is well made. I tested mine against another compass of known accuracy to ensure that it does point to magnetic north. The dial (bezel) is reasonably sized - large enough so you can read the degree markings easily, yet small and light enough to fit in a shirt pocket. The needle isn't the most stable I've ever used, and flutters a bit before stabilizing, but functions well enough. The compass dial's fit to the thick acrylic baseplate was good - not too tight, and not too loose (if sloppy, the dial will rotate with the slightest bump, altering your course heading at the direction-of-travel arrow). The needle rides on a synthetic ruby jewel to reduce friction, a feature almost never found on compasses of this price category. Unfortunately, there is no luminous dial to take bearings in low light or darkness. Overall, this compass is impressive given its very low price. Since quality control inspection of many low-cost compasses is hit-or-miss these days, you should always test the one you receive to make sure it 1) points consistently to magnetic north, and 2) has a proper fit of the dial to the baseplate. That said, this is one of the very few compasses under $30 I would trust for backcountry navigation.

I ordered 11 of these for our girl scout troop. 10 work as expected. One has reverse polarization and will be exchanged. UPDATE: Return and exchange was really easy and super fast! I had a replacement compass within 2 days of dropping off the returned item, and the new one works great!

I bought 3. 1 of these point slightly further east consistently. I think the 2 which point in the same direction is more accurate, but I don't have something good enough to compare it against to say for sure. So ... maybe a good educational toy, and good enough for not walking in circles. Can't really recommend for serious use.

I was a bit skeptical buying this because of how cheap it is and looked but once I received it I was very pleased to find it was better than expected. I tested it against 2 of my SUUNTO's (MC2G & Wrist Compass) and it wasnt as accurate or sensitive as the MC2G obviously but outperformed the SUUNTO wrist compass, also tested it against my Garmin Etrex 32x and Garmin Instinct Solar watch and it was pretty solid This is great as a secondary or tertiary compass For the price of $7 I am very happy with this and will be getting more I got this mainly for an emergency kit for my friends and family so this hits all the marks for that!

I bought this compass to throw in my eyepiece bag for my telescope to help identify the direction when I am stargazing. It is easily viewable under a red light. The compass is very high quality and would serve as an excellent compass for hiking and outdoor adventuring.