Coghlan's Map Compass

Some people who are more into 🧭 than I am have left some pretty harsh reviews of this product.1st: It's a little over $5 and its perfect for what a basic compass is used for. If you want something more complex then go buy something more complex and invest more money for it.2nd: It points north which is what a compass is supposed to do.3rd: it does have liquid in it. The description says liquid dampened...and some people expect the whole thing to be floating in water. But if you look you can see the liquid in the center of the compass.Lastly, I use these for testing wireless items. If the compass goes crazy i know to keep it away from my body. And this item did react to every single wireless and Bluetooth device i have giving me a good idea of how much is changes the magnetic pull on my body's cells.Overall, this item is perfect, multi-use, and budget friendly.

Easy to read and fairly durable and has a decent accuracy.

I bought this Coughlan Map Compass almost two years ago (in May 2014). I had no use for it immediately so I left it in its package until today, when I opened it to use to align my TV antenna.The good points are: (1) it's cheap, I paid five dollars and forty-seven cents for mine and now the price is only five dollars and two cents which is a real bargain for what you're getting; (2) it's 5.5 inches long -- plenty long enough to reach between most map points when plotting; (3) it has a magnifier lens in the middle to help you see small parts of the map in greater detail; (4) the bezel rotates relatively easily and stays where you set it; (5) it comes with a poly/nylon cord that's long enough to slip over your head and thin enough to not cause problems when using the compass on a map; (6) it comes with basic printed instructions in English and French; (7) the needle points North, moves freely, and so far hasn't gotten stuck; (8) it is very accurate.Now the bad points: (1) false advertising: it says "Liquid dampened needle" but there is no liquid in this compass; (2) the bezel rotates easily which COULD mean that it won't stay where you last set it, although for my needs I may never experience this; (3) false advertising: it says "Scales: inches" but there is no inch scale on this compass; (4) it does not have a magnetic declination setting so you'll have to make this calculation in your head or on paper when necesssary.I would have given this compass a 5-star rating if it weren't for the two "false advertising" points noted above -- especially the non-existent "Liquid dampened needle" since this was an advertised feature that made me decide to buy it. I hate it when manufacturers don't bother to update their product descriptions or flat-out lie about a product's features. Fortunately this compass has a LOT going for it, and in fact it works well enough -- even without the liquid dampening feature -- that it deserves a 4-star rating.When the manufacturer and Amazon stop making false claims about this product I may have a reason to come back and give it another star, but I honestly do not expect either of them to change a thing ... although it would be nice if they surprise me!

Edit: Our troop continues to use these. We've lost 5 over the years. This photo is from spring 2024. They still track north accurately. I highly recommend these!Original: June 2019, I bought 20 of these for our new Trail Life troop. I tested several and found EXTREMELY minor variations between very few. For our purposes these past 6 weeks of short orienteering courses they've worked accurately for the paired up boys. They have been kicked, dropped, and stepped on but all 20 are working fine. I will spend the money on a better compass for orienteering, but these are meeting our needs for basic training.

I have two Silva compasses, and I ordered Coughlan's Standard Map Compass as an inexpensive alternative for my grandkids. I wasn't expecting it to be anywhere near as good as my Silva compasses, but I was happy to discover that I was wrong! Coughlan's Standard is absolutely outstanding in build quality, simplicity, accuracy, and durability, and I expect it to last for years.But I don't understand the significant price fluctuations over a period of about ten days. In early September 2023, it was a little over six dollars. A week later, it was less than five, and it was at that point that I bought four of them. I was so happy with it, I was planning to buy a couple more, but the price had gone up to over ten dollars! It started at 6.50, then 4.75, then 10.50. Or in terms of percentages, there was a 27% decrease followed by a 120% increase. Meanwhile Coughlan's DELUXE Map Compass is just over six dollars. This is just plain nuts! I guess I'll have to upgrade to the Deluxe version if I want to save money!One final note: Throw away the "directions" that come with the compass. Apparently they were written in French and very poorly translated into English. Even allowing for the language differences, they are needlessly complex, thoroughly confusing, and just plain wrong in places. "Be Expert With Map and Compass" by Bjorn Kjellstrom (3rd ed.) is a good introduction to using a compass.

I ordered 11 of these for our girl scout troop. 10 work as expected. One has reverse polarization and will be exchanged.UPDATE: Return and exchange was really easy and super fast! I had a replacement compass within 2 days of dropping off the returned item, and the new one works great!

Good, cheap compass. Made in Taiwan. Should be $4 - 5. This is a workable compass. Good for occasional use. The plastic base is somewhat thin, so I question its durability. Good to throw in a pack if you just want to find basic N-E--S-W. Designed to be used with maps. I would like it better if the base was thicker plastic. Bought this for trail hiking.