Coghlan's Compass with LED Light

This is one of the best of the inexpensive compasses and I have many to use for backups to GPS and boat compasses. It is very tight when closed, the light is very good and you must hold the button to keep it on so as to not waste batteries. My favorite feature is the magnifying glass lid that is very good quality for this price range. When the lid is lifted, you can use the magnifying glass for anything. Of course it would light a fire in an emergency as well. I believe that many products from Taiwan are more of the better type Japanese quality products rather than Chinese quality. I synced this compass with an iphone compass and also a $50 Silva Ranger and they were within 1/2 degree of each other. Amazing what you can buy for less than $10.00 !

Got this to be able to following a bearing in the dark. I do NOT go far in the dark, but a short walk from the tent for midnight needs can be scary without a lighted compass.By using the the rotating bearing indicator in the compass during daylight I can set a bearing to see and use in the dark with the light. That is why I give this more like 4 starts than 1 overall.But if I want to tell someone what my bearing was, I rate this below 1 start. The markings are mirror-image from what is needed for the compass needle to point at the correct marking under north when the compass body is aligned to line of travel!It's a shame. The markings seem VERY accurate, even compared to my pocket transit or sightings on benchmarked landmarks. But as it is, I have to know that if the north arrow is directly over the "W" for 270 degrees, I need to convert that to 90 degrees for the actual "E" direction of travel.It works for what I most need it to do.But I'm sad that it is backwards. I would rate it 5 stars if it did NOT have that fault.

I love the light up feature. When in low light, you can press the button and it lights up. The light button can stick on, but if you test it out before hand, you can fix that by moving the metal tab.

This really covers what I needed. The light really helps if the forest is thick or if it's getting dark. The magnifying cover makes it easy for me to read it at a glance. I can attach it to the strap of my backpack easily.

This compass is relatively cheap so my expectations were not real high. What I really wanted was a compass where I could turn the light on at night and it would stay lit - this compass does not do this, you have to depress the button to have it light. To depress the button you have to open the flip case. This takes 2 hands - which was not always possible while I was using. I tried it out while paddling a canoe at night. While trying to open the case with one hand - the battery cover popped open and the little batteries popped out. I have still yet to find a good compass I can use that has lights. I'll keep trying. (BTW - I was able to retrieve the batteries and fix the compass - but it really is not suitable to my needs).

This compass did not work. It was inexpensive so I didn't return it as it would cost more for the handling, time and postage than it's worth. i would NOT recommend this product. It doesn't know where north is and that's a pretty important requirement for a compass.

It’s nothing fancy but it does the job. My son enjoys it and that’s what’s important. He has fun while learning.

Kind of a cheap plastic feel, but it works.