I have a compass that I consider my "go to" navigation aid. It's an original Vietnam era lensatic, Tritium Army issue. It includes the original pouch dated 1962. However, I wanted an inexpensive backup and I thought I'd get a "two-fer" in this unit. This is copied and pasted directly from the product description: Two handy outdoor instruments in one A liquid filled compass with luminous dial and a thermometer that features °F and °C scales Compass and thermometer hinge to close for protectin and ease to carry and store A belt clip and lanyard are included and there is "Homefinder" instructions on the package Let's consider the salient points in the description: 1.) Liquid filled compass 2.) Luminous dial 3.) Thermometer 4.) Belt clip 5.) Lanyard 6.) Instructions on the package Now, to address each point: 1.) The extra couple of seconds that it takes for the dial to settle leads me to believe this is true. The movement does seem to be dampened. Where it fails in it's most basic function is twofold. First, you must hold the compass almost perfectly level or the dial will get stuck. Tipped at about 5 to 7 degrees, I turned a full 360° circle and the arrow continued to point in the direction I was facing. Second, the bezel is moveable, obviously, but when turned, it dragged the dial with it. No big deal, you would think, as it is liquid filled, you are turning the volume of liquid and would therefore expect the dial to move and then settle back to North. The problem is that when it moves back, it is up to 15° off. Turn the bezel back and the error repeats on the other side. As a compass, it simply cannot be trusted. 2.) Yes, the dial is luminous, but it's not self luminous. For eight to ten bucks no one in their right mind would expect it to be. I took this into a dark closet, shielded my eyes while I shined my LED Mag-Light on it for about ten seconds then turned it off. When I looked at the dial, it was glowing brightly, but faded to dark in less than two minutes. The luminescence is SO poor that you're better off just using a flashlight to begin with. 3.) Two simple tests and it failed both. First was the accurate ice water method. Crushed ice in a bowl, stirred and allowed to sit for several minutes. I took the compass/thermometer, placed it inside a Zip-loc bag and immersed it in the water for thirty seconds. It dropped to 60°. After two minutes it read 50°. After five minutes it was still at 50°. Next was the heat test. Obviously, I couldn't dunk it in boiling water, so I settled on placing on top of the furnace. (The same type they use in motels, not like a blast furnace...) I turned the thermostat up all the way and in about a half an hour, my apartment's ambient temperature was over 80°, so you can imaging how much heat was pouring out of the heater. The thermometer never registered above 72°. 4.) Belt clip? Seriously? It's a hinged piece of hard plastic that flips up ninety degrees under NO spring tension whatsoever. None. Zip, zilch and nada, as they say. There is nothing remotely "clippy" about it. 5.) Lanyard, huh...? Not so much. In fact, there isn't anywhere on this thing where you could even attach a lanyard if it had actually included one in the package. 6.) Homefinder instructions on the package. Yeah. That's a great place to put instructions. On the part that people throw away. Now to be fair, mine came with the instructions printed on the outside of the case. That's really about all they got right with this. If there were an easy way to magnetize a needle, float it on water AND carry it with you, then I'd make this a one star review. However, as much as it pains me to say it, something is better than nothing, hence the two stars. Just for the record, I picked up a five dollar liquid filled ball compass from Gander Mountain today that is self leveling, settles in less than two seconds and tracks beautifully. Bottom line, I would beg you not to consider this as your primary unit and would urge you strongly to avoid it even as a backup. My intention is to make my Army issue compass my backup and buy something along the lines of the Cammenga Tritium to use as my primary.
