Watches With Compass?

[+GeoBlank]

I would have searched....

 

...anyway...

 

Who has experience with digital watches with compass' in them?

 

I know casio has a pathfinder and timex has an expedition.

 

Do they work? When I am in the rough my GPS knows where I am and where the cache is but its orientation gets whacky. If I know how to hold my GPSr then I can continue tracking the stash.

 

I was wondering what people thought about compass' in wrist watches...

 

Pros, Cons, Brands...

 

Thanks!

[+briansnat]

I have a Suunto Vector. Read my review on Todays Cacher.

[+StarBrand]

I have a Casio Pathfinder. As long as you orient your wrist so the watch is mostly level (horizontal) the compass works great. I have used it while Geocaching many times. Very handy in dense tree cover where GPS signals or not consistent. Keeps me moving in the correct direction until I find a break in the trees. No problems ever.

[+pwcorg]

I also use the suunto vector. I have also owned an older pathfinder, but found it's lack of leveling bubble made it difficult to get an accurate reading. I have found the vector to be close enough if properly calibrated. I would like to try the suunto with integrated gps but it's a little expensive.

[+JohnnyVegas]

I also have a vector from Suunto, As long as it is calibrated it works great.

[+Freebee & 007]

How timely of you ! ..no pun intended

I got a chance to check out my Christmas present today.

We did 7 caches I used the compass on my Casio Sea Pathfinder.

The compass proved to be dead on when compared to my hand held $9.00 Silva.

There is a calibration adjustment for North, True or magnetic. It has a bidirectional calibration as well.

Holding your wrist horizontal seems to be the trick for accurate readings as someone already mentioned.

It is BIG not heavy..just big like a 53 Chevy hub-cap big. I have not measured the diameter but I could do so if you request it.

This one is equipped with a thermometer, barometer, tide graph, lunar phase calender etc.

 

I will use it, but I will still always carry my Silva in the woods when I go.

I am old and don't completely trust anything batteries.

[+Fergus]

I had a timex watch with digital compass. It was a total piece of crap. I would never trust it ever. I think you are better off with a normal hand held compass.

[+briansnat]

I am old and don't completely trust anything batteries. wink.gif

 

That's how you got old. Young people should take note.

[+Freebee & 007]

That's how you got old.

 

LOL..Not a doubt in my mind.

[Jeremy]

I have a Suunto Observer. I like it since it is a stylish silver and I'm a geek. I give off a lot of heat so the thermometer is at least 10 degrees off the air temperature, so it is mostly worthless for that unless you take it off while camping. The compass, once calibrated, is pretty useful though I always have a backup liquid compass on the trail.

[Tahosa and Sons]

Mine is basically a wrist oranment, because I have a compass on my hiking staff, one in my pocket, one in my pack, and a sense of direction in my main noodle under my winter hat.

[+Fathergoose]

I have the NIKE Oregon series watch. It has a compass, altimeter, barometer and thermometer. The compass is very accurate, but needs to be recalibrated sometimes after a long flight (But that is very simple). The altimeter is incredibly accurate and Rairly needs to be calibrated even after time on a plane (on flights it never goes above 9,000 ft due to the pressurized cabin but adjusts quickly upon landing). With the thermometer it is the same issue Jeremy mentioned, useless unless taken off for a while. The barometer seems fairly accurate, but I don't really use it that much. I do recommend the watch.

[nobby.nobbs]

i'm with fergus. i've tried a casio one and it was hopeless. a handheld compass much cheaper and much much more accurate and reliable.

[+fizzymagic]

The altimeter is incredibly accurate and Rairly needs to be calibrated even after time on a plane

I'm sorry, but this doesn't make any sense. Barometric altimeters need calibration every time you use them because of variations in atmospheric pressure.

 

As an extreme example, if you had calibrated your barometric altimeter using nominal pressure at sea level (29.92 in Hg) and read your altitude using it while sitting in a boat in the eye of Hurricane Katrina, it would have indicated an altitude of around 2700 feet at sea level!

 

Even going cross-country in a plane, the altitude displayed at the destination tends to be significantly off because of differences in atmospheric pressure. That's why airports always tell pilots the barometric pressure correction before they begin their descent.

 

FWIW, I have a Casio Sea Pathfinder, and the electronic compass works fine. I don't use it very often, though, because my GPS usually does just as well. The cool thing about my Pathfinder is that it recharges using light, so it will never need a replacement battery. And it doesn't have a barometric altimeter; it has a depth gauge instead, which I find more useful...

[+StarBrand]

....The cool thing about my Pathfinder is that it recharges using light, so it will never need a replacement battery....

Given the size of mine (I assume yours is equal in bulk) - only us geeks find these to be cool. My wife and a few friends tease me about the size of my watch.

 

[+Fathergoose]

The altimeter is incredibly accurate and Rairly needs to be calibrated even after time on a plane

I'm sorry, but this doesn't make any sense. Barometric altimeters need calibration every time you use them because of variations in atmospheric pressure.

 

As an extreme example, if you had calibrated your barometric altimeter using nominal pressure at sea level (29.92 in Hg) and read your altitude using it while sitting in a boat in the eye of Hurricane Katrina, it would have indicated an altitude of around 2700 feet at sea level!

 

Even going cross-country in a plane, the altitude displayed at the destination tends to be significantly off because of differences in atmospheric pressure. That's why airports always tell pilots the barometric pressure correction before they begin their descent.

 

FWIW, I have a Casio Sea Pathfinder, and the electronic compass works fine. I don't use it very often, though, because my GPS usually does just as well. The cool thing about my Pathfinder is that it recharges using light, so it will never need a replacement battery. And it doesn't have a barometric altimeter; it has a depth gauge instead, which I find more useful...

As with most things, I don't know how it works only that it does.

[+dino_hunters]

I have a SUUNTO vector and it works great. but... why not get a gps with built in compass, like the etrex vista???

[+denali7]

i am on my third timex with digital compass (i'm kind of hard on stuff). i love them and find them to be quite accurate when calibrated correctly.