I've been following this thread and doing a bit of research on the latest compasses. Seems the tried/true names are still the ones - Suunto, Silva, Brunton. I found mediocre reviews on all these brands and various models - making this not a cut/dried decision. I'm leaning toward the older Swedish Silva's on fleabay. I've had 1-2 of them in the past and they worked well. My main issue with compasses is whether they develop bubbles over time and at altitude. A tiny bubble is OK but anything much bigger starts messing with the arrow.
I have and have used the military style compass and have one I've been using for 30+ years. It has never failed me but is big and heavy. I've also tried the baseplate style and have broken the plastic face at least once when it rested against something hard. That liquid is oily and best left in the compass rather than the inside of your pack. Trust me on that......
So, I default to a compass with a cover (mirro/sighted compass) for extra protection. I can't say I've ever used the mirror for navigation but always thought it might come in handy as an emergency signal on sunny days.
A bit of narrative in this thread on why use a compass. Leaving all finger-pointing out, I use a compass for 2 main reasons - navigation, wind direction. I see alot of guys headed into the backcountry with a GPS and/or OnX or equivalent on their cell phone. All that works great - when they work. What happens when they don't? Knowing how to orient yourself with a map/compass is becoming a lost art. I carry a GPS, cell phone with OnX, 2 compasses, and a topo map of my area. I check my locations on the topo map often throughout the day to know exactly where I'm at. I religiously pull out my "devices" 1-2 hours before dark to identify EXACTLY where I'm at and plan my route out while I have daylight and before animals start their evening movement. I hunt till dark almost everyday of hunting season and routinely travel 1-4 miles out in the dark. I don't want to be guessing where I'm at when its dark, especially if I'm in new/newish country which is most of the time in elk country. I've been truly lost once in 40+ years of doing this and that was 30 years ago when I was hunting an area I'd hunted a bunch. Miscount ridges once and end up 8+ miles from your truck and you'll figure out another way of finding your way back.............
On wind, everyone knows the prevailing wind - right? How do you approach/hunt an area if the wind is not from the prevailing direction? How does the wind interact with the thermals? What happens when the prevailing wind overpowers the thermals? I pay extra close attention to the wind. I've had elk spook because of the whole prevailing wind overpowering thermals thing more than I care to admit. If I'm headed off to a basin and its a 1-2-3 mile walk, I really want to estimate if the wind is working in my favor or the animal. I use a compass and map to make those educated guesses. I'm getting too old to simply run over and check things out <G>
Sorry for the long post but wanted to give context to my "whys" of compass use and wanting a good compass. Most of the time, a Walmart compass will get you what you need. I'm not keen on "most of the time" mainly because being lost sucks. A bit of due diligence and preparation keeps me 'found'. Plus I'm too old and fat to spend my time wandering around aimlessly <G>
