hand bearing compass

[jbfraser]

I've used a weems & plath and have a plastimo puck. Great for RC work. One subtle difference between the two: the plastimo is designed to be held close to your face to be able to read the prism (but optically it looks further away, so reading glasses not needed, I think.) while the weems & plath is designed to be pulled away from your neck and held a few feet away pulling on the neck strap.

I think both designs work well enough, but it can be a surprise when switching from one to the other. Very happy with my plastimo to save $$$.

 

[Monkey]

I've used a weems & plath and have a plastimo puck. Great for RC work. One subtle difference between the two: the plastimo is designed to be held close to your face to be able to read the prism (but optically it looks further away, so reading glasses not needed, I think.) while the weems & plath is designed to be pulled away from your neck and held a few feet away pulling on the neck strap.

I think both designs work well enough, but it can be a surprise when switching from one to the other. Very happy with my plastimo to save $$$.

Oddly that was one of the reasons I spent the extra money for the W&P. I like having the compass out in front of me while doing the good old “string on a stick” wind readings. I can see the string and the puck at the same time.

I’ll also admit those useless rubber wings on the Plastimo just annoyed me. Did it ever occur to them that we might put it in a pocket? Either way, they’re both great compasses.

 

[Monkey]

Not so much for racing, but for RC, these two toys are probably the most critical things besides a radio.

 

[beercanned]

Vion user here. They're super steady and easy to read.

Have two, one on the boat, one in my nav bag for when I'm racing other people's boats.

 

[Crash]

I liked the Autohelm ones. Could store up to 9 bearings. So for a 3 point fix I'd click button 3 times on first point, 3 more for second time, 3 again for last point.

Then when reading them out you can look at the first 3 and take a mental average. But it has a fluxgate compass that must be kept very flat or it gets inaccurate.

Nowadays I use a hand bearing compass for collision detection and sometime clearing bearings on an obstacle (like clearing a reef)

I still have Autohelm! Still works great. Also have a hockey puck as a backup.

 

[slug zitski]

I had one of those autohelm electronic, flat like a mobile phone hand bearing compasses

nice tool…

but the battery was always dead because I forgot to turn it off

I finally broke it…stepped on it…crunch ..bummer

but it was a nice tool

 

[mckenzie.keith]

I had one of those autohelm electronic, flat like a mobile phone hand bearing compasses

nice tool…

but the battery was always dead because I forgot to turn it off

I finally broke it…stepped on it…crunch ..bummer

but it was a nice tool

Actually I had one way back when, too, now that you mention it. It was cool. But for some reason I used a "pistol grip" non-electronic one most of the time. Don't remember who made it. I remember it being kind of cockeyed when we got to Australia. I guess due to the vertical component of Earth's magnetic field pointing in a different direction or something like that.

 

[sAiLiNg AnArChY]

The W&P has an infinity prism that allows you to view it at arms length and not required reading glasses. Handy feature!

Does the Vion have this? Can't tell from their web site. The Vion seems $100 cheaper.

 

[mckenzie.keith]

Thanks everyone. I just ordered the Iris 50 from Amazon for 80 bucks (80 US dollars).

 

[sAiLiNg AnArChY]

Thanks everyone. I just ordered the Iris 50 from Amazon for 80 bucks (80 US dollars).

Can you post the link? I see them only for closer to $100

 

[Kenny Dumas]

IPHONE has a compass, works ok.

 

[mckenzie.keith]

IPHONE has a compass, works ok.

My cell phone (not an iphone) has a compass but it sucks. I have the Iris now. I will see how it works out on the water before buying anything else. I played with it a little and it seems to be a quality item. The "infinity prism" allows me to focus on the bearing without reading glasses, so that is night. I am sure the iphone has no infinity prism. But it might have a hold reading button or something like that.

 

[mckenzie.keith]

Can you post the link? I see them only for closer to $100

Looks like SA automatically ads affiliate links. I didn't do that. Feel free to strip the link.
Also, and this is weird, the price in the thumbnails is different from what I see when I clicked on the link, and changes from time to time. Now I feel like I got ripped off paying 80 bucks!

 

[beercanned]

The W&P has an infinity prism that allows you to view it at arms length and not required reading glasses. Handy feature!

Does the Vion have this? Can't tell from their web site. The Vion seems $100 cheaper.

Yes, the Vion is also an infinity prism. Really good when sailing with contact lenses in.

 

[10thTonner]

I have a Silva my dad bought some 25 years ago but since I’m mostly sailing inshore I never use it. Might even leave it at home next spring.

However, I like it. It has a nice handle and it comes with a mounting bracket so you could also use it as a steeeing compass for a small boat.

 

[mckenzie.keith]

Davis. I have one on my boat that I bought in the 70's. I find it easier to use than the hockey puck. It can however be fragile, you can't just toss it down. I've glued mine together a few times.....

Today, going through an old go bag with expired flares and such, I found one of those in it. So now I have one of those AND a puck. My impression of the Davis is that it might be a little bit fiddly to have both a front sight and rear sight to keep lined up.

 

[JC522]

Mini 2000 Hand Bearing Compass | West Marine

Check out our Mini 2000 Hand Bearing Compass and more from West Marine!

www.westmarine.com

 

[CFS Klopas]

Surprised no one mentioned the lensatic compasses used by hikers that perform a similar function. $5-$30.

 

[Se7en]

Surprised no one mentioned the lensatic compasses used by hikers that perform a similar function. $5-$30.

Thanks - I was just thinking the same thing. I've got good use out of a silva hiking compass over the years. Take a bearing, set the compass to that bearing and check. Check again later, easy to see variation.

 

[Mid]

Do people still use and do you have a favorite hand bearing compass?

cocked hat .

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