What's the lowdown on compasses? All the same...or do name-brands matter?

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Mark IV

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Location
Georgia
# of dives
2500 - 4999
I've long been a huge fan of having a compass on hand, and have recently been looking into them again, and have been surprised at how expensive the little bastages have gotten !!! (sadly, I am on a budget here).
A plain module is workable with my console, but one with a wrist-mount strap is more ideal.
I'm seeing some on ebay that look identical to all the rest (which I realize means nothing) , running about $25 delivered, which seems to be the best deals around.
Are the mystery/no-name units any good, or do they gotta say Oceanic,Sherwood,Aqualung,etc. on them? What's the story on this California ebay seller called ScubaChoice? (they apparantly brand their own compasses, likely Asian made, I would think).
Thanks for any good info.......
 
Well, I bought one of the cheap Chinese knockoffs very similar to DGX's $25 model, and from the top, it looks and works just fine. But the devil is in the details: when you use the sight window with an extended arm for more precise navigation, you discover that the window is aligned too high and you can't see the numbers. Doh! One more Chinese manufacturer unclear on the concept.

Caveat emptor.
 
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I am on my third suunto, just can't seem to get them to last.

Have had better luck with the oceanic compasses, although they aren't as high tilt.
 
Thanks guys. I'm not worried about any precise navigating, I've always just used them for general orientation. I'm just looking for an economical unit that will hold up to normal use/abuse, and reliably point north.
I checked out DGX, and their most economical compass was $25, and looked to be the same as the no-name ones on ebay for the same price, while and their "good" ones ran a good bit more.
I just took a "best offer" swing at a name-brand, EYE-talian made unit on ebay. Fingers crossed.
 
I am on my third suunto, just can't seem to get them to last.

Have had better luck with the oceanic compasses, although they aren't as high tilt.
I gave up after the second one.
 
BADDA BING ! That was fast !! I found a virtually new, Italian-made, Mares-badged compass, with a cool little hose boot, for $35 delivered, and I ran $25 by him, and he took it! I'm assuming these italian-made units that are badged with various big names are likely all the same manufacturer. Regardless, I'm confident I did better than paying the same price for a Asian no-name, mystery manufacturer.
Too late to sweat it now !! :D
Thanks again to all for weighing in.
 
One of my suuntos developed a leak and the card stopped moving at depth on the 2nd. No bubble and works fine at the surface still.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/perdix-ai/

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