Compass

[Dnaber]

Silly question... but would a boyscout compass work for diving?

Don

 

[Sieg@VU]

Guessing that they probably don't carry any kind of depth rating.

 

[Tony387]

Not really made for submersion.

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[fisheater]

Also, those really need to be level, so the needle can swing freely. Level is hard to achieve while diving, especially in surge.


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[PfcAJ]

Yes.

I use a Silva Polaris for cave survey. Works just fine, and its been on a few deep dives.

Now, it wouldn't be my 1st choice for OW stuff. A proper wrist mount compass is a better choice. Suunto SK7 is my recommendation. Its less sensitive to being at a weird angle, is easier to read, and it glows in the dark. Its not as precise as an orienteering compass, but precision isn't a huge deal for most scuba applications.

 

[knotical]

If a compass is not fluid-filled it will either crush or leak at depth. The boy scout compasses with which I am familiar are not fluid-filled, but some such as the Polaris mentioned above apparently are.

So, the answer - as with so many questions - is: "it depends".

 

[Subcooled]

A liquid filled compass will of course not compress/crash. So yes it is usable. Don't bring an air filled compass from the 1920s. The biggest problem with ordinary compasses is that they need to be kept level (as explained in an earlier post) and also that they have no sighting slot. You want to keep a bearing, a constant reading, not just recheck where north is right now.

A Suunto SK7 is great. Even better with an appropriately adjusted bungee mount.

There's nothing better than bungee cord when you want to mount something easily. Or readjust. Under water.

Suunto SK 7 with DSS Mount - Northeast Scuba Supply Store

Just make sure that the "window" is along the arm so that you can point your hand at a target and aim along your arm. It's a bit awkward but it's repeatably accurate. Tilt your head a bit. No compass should be brought close to the face when viewing. You get all sorts of parallax and other stuff making accurate readings difficult if the compass touches your nose. Three feet is a nice distance.

 

[DivemasterDennis]

In a word, no. A quality underwater compass designed for diving will cost less than $50.00. You can mount one in a gauge console, get one on a wrist band, or my preference- one than clips on your bcd on a retractor. I have owned a "boy scout" compass, and truth be told they aren't all that reliable on land. Using quality equipment when diving ( or hiking) makes the activity much more fun and less stressful.
DivemasterDennis

 

[miketsp]

..snip..
The biggest problem with ordinary compasses is that they need to be kept level
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In a word, no.
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I did a couple of dives once with a standard, oil damped compass.
It worked just fine until the spring that operated the ratchet of the rotating bezel rusted and jammed.

When I forced the bezel to rotate the spring broke up and came out in pieces after which the bezel rotated freely.
For me the bezel function is a fundamental part of compass usage so soon afterwards I bought a real one (SK7).