ND51600-BRK Sighting Compass with Mirror

Very impressive compass for the price. Well-designed and appears to be very well made. I like having all the scales and rules. This is also quite large, about half again as large as my old Silva, which after forty years of use is pretty grungy. There are good instructions included.

This compass arrived in a store hanger card with clear plastic hugging the compass. Near the mirror hinge the baseplate is marked with "NDuR" & "Taiwan". On the outside of the hinge is a lanyard hitching bar of unknown strength. A tiny lanyard cord is included in the package. The instruction sheet included is one of the better I've seen with low-cost compasses; reasonably clear & complete. In the instructions is reference to 'luminous'; there is no luminous on this compass. All the baseplate markings are impressed into the plastic, so they can't rub off; which is important when using maps, since there are no feet to raise the compass off the paper. The markings are clear, but a bit more bold would be better. The lens in the baseplate is inset molded into the baseplate to keep it above any flat surface. The lens itself is very clear & when used as a magnifying glass up to about 3x (a couple of inches above the paper) there is no central distortion. The lid with mirror snaps down securely, but to raise it you'll find your finger rubbing across the lens, giving a potential for scratching. The hinge is tight enough that the lid will stay at whatever angle you choose. The mirror is entirely free of distortion and is marked with a centerline. I'm certain this mirror is glass; when looking toward the sides of the mirror in bright light, shiny irregular scalloped edges are visible; typical of glass scoring and seperating. There is also evidence of a layer of copper on the back, which is common on glass mirrors. The bezel assembly has a clear top which is unmarked, and a clear bottom which contains an arrow outline; variously called orienting arrow, North-bracket, & shed. This bezel is held with just the right resistance to turning; which allows a set bearing to be maintained during activities that may jiggle or bump the bezel. Unfortunately, the resistance to movement is irregular; the plastic parts grab as they rub together. Fortunately, a drop of oil lubricant can be dripped sideways into the fine gap between bezel & baseplate from both left & right sides. Rotate the bezel several times to spread the oil inside; the movement smooths out nicely. Finally, wipe away any visible oil. The compass needle demonstrates an interesting effect that I've seen in a couple other compasses. After cleaning around the dial face to remove my oily fingerprints, the North end of the needle drooped far downward and the needle could no longer rotate. I'm guessing from some effect of static electricity. I found I could cure this droop by gently rubbing a few circles around the perimeter of the clear face. The notch on the edge of the lid is the only sighting option provided. However, there is another method that can be at least as accurate as using the notch; and makes the bezel easier to set. Turn the compass so the mirror is nearest your body, then lean the mirror back toward you. Look down with one eye centered over the compass dial, adjust things to see a reflection of the landscape viewed across the top of the dial. Turn toward your destination. Keeping the mirror's baseline centered in the view (splitting in half the side-view of the dial\bezel) turn the bezel to match its' N-bracket to the needle's North. With the bracket always aligned with the North, and the mirror still toward your body, travel in that centerline direction forward. Read this degree bearing at the centerline mark between bezel & lens. If a periodic check of the compass shows you off-course, correct your bearing by turning your body, not the bezel, to again bracket the needle's North. Read up on compass navigation and corrections.Overall, usable with no serious flaws. This is another NDuR product that seems to offer a better buy for the price.

Good

this compass is not good you can not set the magnetic declination