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Looking for a good quality, accurate compass with a Global Needle for the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. This will see some tough use in the mountains and will be replacing a basic Silva compass that is Northern hemisphere only. I need to be able to use it in South America.
Thinking about the Suunto Matchbox MB-6 Global but would appreciate real-life experiences and advice.
Last edited by FSJeeper; 11/11/19.
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Joined: Mar 2001
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Campfire Tracker
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Seems to me that a person ought to have enough sense to know what hemishpere they are in. A standard Silva or Brunton compass will point to the north anywhere on earth. The only exception being those few magnetic anomalies that seamen ocasionally encounter. If one end of the needle points north, then the other end points to the south. The Suunto Matchbox MB-6 Global compass points north on one end of the needle and the other end points south.
What am I missing here?
I suppose that if you wanted to you could paint a little S on the other end of the needle.
Wind in my hair, Sun on my face, I gazed at the wide open spaces, And I was at home.
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LOL, that's funny KC.
It is not about if it faces North or South, it is about the balance and function of the compass needle.
Take a northern hemisphere compass down to the southern hemisphere and you'll see the needle drag on the case bottom because it is not weighted/balanced for the Southern Hemisphere. A global compass has a needle balanced for both hemispheres and balances/floats the way it should.
Google global compass versus Northern and Southern Hemisphere compasses and it will become obvious. The fact that there is a market for and they make Northern, Southern and Global compasses indicates there is a demand for a solution to a real issue.
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Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
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So when an Australian goes out in the bush, he's always dragging his butt?
βIn a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act.β β George Orwell
It's not over when you lose. It's over when you quit.
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Joined: Mar 2001
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LOL, that's funny KC.
It is not about if it faces North or South, it is about the balance and function of the compass needle.
Take a northern hemisphere compass down to the southern hemisphere and you'll see the needle drag on the case bottom because it is not weighted/balanced for the Southern Hemisphere. A global compass has a needle balanced for both hemispheres and balances/floats the way it should.
Google global compass versus Northern and Southern Hemisphere compasses and it will become obvious. The fact that there is a market for and they make Northern, Southern and Global compasses indicates there is a demand for a solution to a real issue.
I think someone has been blowing smoke up your skirt. In 1987 I took a simple little Silva compass to the summit of Mount McKinley. A couple of years later, I took the same little compass to the top of Mount Cook in New Zealand. Had no problems with anything dragging. Do you think maybe I was standing on a tilt?
Wind in my hair, Sun on my face, I gazed at the wide open spaces, And I was at home.
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