SUUNTO M-3 Compass: Quality, precision compass for demanding conditions

Brilliant Compass that eliminates all the troubles that you have ever had with a cheap compass. Global needle can be used anywhere in the world. You can set declination which means not having to faff around adding or subtracting a few degrees for each bearing. Easy view clear to see degrees. Dial has raised points so you can turn the bezel easily and accurately even with thick gloves on and the whole thing lights up like a christmas tree in the dark after shining your torch on the illuminous markings. Stays glowing for hours. Good tilt angle on the needle doesnt get jammed easy and the liquid inside prevents the needle from wobblying in inclimate and freezing weather. I was a bit weary about paying more than what I thought for a compass but this is well worth the money. Well thought out piece of kit.

This is a robust and well-made compass, ideal for trekking and exploring. The markings are very clear and the rotating bezel is smooth and easy to operate. The declination adjustment is simple to make, using the supplied small tool, which I keep on the same lanyard as the compass. The only reason for 4 stars for accuracy is that as a hand held compass it's never going to be as accurate as, say, compass binoculars, but it's certainly accurate enough for general use.

I have used a variety of compasses and after failing to take the plunge on another Silva (reading that quality has dropped slightly) I opted for this Suunto instead. I will start by saying this is a Great compass, it feels robust and it does what it should. The plastic is clear and the markings for scales and measuring have a fine clarity to them. The magnifying glass is effective and the luminescent parts hold a good source of light for a long time. I quite like the protractor although I honestly cant say I have used it, It may come into its own when its taken into avalanche territory. I also like the declination adjustment as someone who works with older maps. The Bezel is nice and chunky with a good 'housing grip' meaning a gloved hand can take a sighted bearing easily. bearing increments are easy to read with a clear indication point and the compass features line up nicely to the eye for this task also. when using the compass on the map, the rubber 'feet' do a great job of holding it in place. There are a few things I was suprised about being a £48 compass (especially as people had commented on such a high quality product). Firstly the needle sometimes sticks slightly meaning care should be taken to ensure its came to rest before taking or walking on a bearing, this also occurs on the protractor but can be remedied with a slight tap. some of the printing around the bezel for the N,E,S,W are not completely printed this can be said for some of the luminescent markings too (not an issue as such, but we are paying £48). My main issue is the bezel can have 'stiction' when i am trying to make fine adjustments, it should be smoother, otherwise you rotate the compass on the map loosing your bearing or you rotate your hand when taking a sighted bearing. i understand this may be a side effect of having a housing that feels robust and reliable but its something to bear in mind if you are trying to take very accurate bearings. I do however, on balance, think this is a great piece of nav kit and it will certainly remain in my pack until further notice. The robustness and easyness of reading make it a good winter compass (operating to -30°C). I also like that the supplied lanyard has a half clasp that attaches for quick release from the compass (but strong enough to not be accidently pulled away) and that the declination adjustment tool (located on the lanyard) can also be used as a map pointer. Robustness 9/10 Readout ease 9/10 Ease of use 7/10 Features 9/10 Reliability 8/10

I originally went for the 'Silva' brand name and purchased a Expedition 4-360. A big mistake - the quality was terrible with the compass constantly sticking. I returned it and bought the SUUNTO M-3 Nh Compass which is far superior in terms of build quality and functionality. This is a great compass, easy to read and so far robust in the field.

I bought a Suunto M3 Global. Very nice compass, but rather expensive. NOTE : Neither of the models are designed with 1:25 000 or 1:50 000 ROMER users in mind - the only complete Romer scale being 1:24 000 I bought the Global version - which is just over 1/3 more than the Northern Hemisphere version, partially because I am a bit of a compass nerd and fancied the movement, but also because the ROMER scales are even worse on the NH - being just single lines. If you are thinking of the NH, have a good look at the pictures, because for 1:25 000 you will have to measure twice using the line, or measure in mm on the edge cm scales and divide each by 4 to get your a decimal fraction of a Km. Yum ! I mostly use 1:25000 and the Romer scale for this on the M-3G is an partially elongated 1:50000 scale of 2mm divisions - all denoted by cross lines equal in length, but then you have to half it i.e. it is 20 x 15 of 50m , so measuring will not be convenient. Suunto added some halved measurements for 1:25000 on top of the line to make sure you notice - but they really don't help. The cm and inch edge scale are only on one side each also on this model, so not Romer friendly. None of the scales help each other - each is placed ( plonked ) in isolation. The 1:24 00 Romer is normal, the 1:50 000 is nearly OK, the 1:25 000 Romer is a sick joke and difficult to use. I only use Romers as an exercise not for artillery spotting, so I'll survive with this. Maybe the designer found out something in advance was thinking other thoughts. This messing about counting is EXACTLY what Carrol Romer designed his Romer to avoid though. Well, you should have a small spare compass with you anyway, so buy one for the Romers or buy a cheap compass and a scrap broken one and just keep the base. The needle is very sensitive and well damped. Make sure to store the compass away from anything which might mess up the magnetism cellphones and other electronics, even metal furniture. It is as easy to use as any similar compass - i.e. very easy and will point/indicate North accurately unless you re-magnetise it somehow. Always check your compass is actually behaving by ensuring it is actually pointing north, before relying on it. The luminous indicators are OK if it is actually dark, remember to "charge" them with exposure to UV or sunlight, if the compass has been kept in the dark. The magnifying lens is the standard suunto size of 2cm diameter. I need close up glasses to read the detail on a 1:25 000 anyway. The Base plate text and scale markings are in RED, and are much thinner lines than on my old suunto RA-69, so i think black with thin text would be easier to see. I used to prefer the red markings, because they were all etched with quite wide lines in those days, and I found the black a bit too much to look through. There is not much red on most maps, but plenty of black. If you use a red light source during night navigation ( because red light does not affect your night vision ) then you will need to lift the compass from the map a couple of mills to see the shadow - not so convenient. Good luck seeing any red lines, Danger signs etc on the map though. The cord is a bit stringy, with a snap off quick release clip, but I expect snap-off might be the term, so mine is staying on. At least it will probably detach if something tough catches on the compass. When I pull it out to length it is 45cm. I guess the cord is stringy because it has its own snap-in small-gap hook - so probably needs not to have much "give" and so probably needs to be thin to still be bendy. You can replace it with a normal loop and girth hitch. The toothed grip on the fluid cartridge means you can actually grip it to turn it. Your hands don't need to be very cold before your fingers can't grip, and it can take ages to warm them up enough. Gloves are a major survival aid because they give you your fingers back for other things too. So. On balance - I bought this because I use the compass needle ( and measure distances and count contours ) and wanted the compass which coped with dip as much to check out as anything. You don't need it for just around the UK anyway. I don't need to be able to tell people where I am on a map to 10m unless as an exercise; 10m anyway doesn't tell me where/which-is the gap in the hedge for the path I can't see is - I have to choose paths in turn and see what happens next to decide if it's the right one. If I need to give a map ref, I have to open out the map to see which Km square I am in anyway, so a faster Romer isn't a help there, especially if it's blowing a gale. Maybe this is why Suunto couldn't be bothered. That being said I can't believe how disappointingly bad the design quality of those markings is. Someone ought to tell Suunto.

Super Qualität

Superbe instrument.

ほぼ同じのシルバとどちらにしようかと思いましたが、 中国製とフィンランド製で、あっさりスントに決めました。 それ以外は甲乙つけがたいと思います。

This is a review of the Suunto M-3 NH, sold by DIPNDIVE, which I purchased for $31.45 in June 2018. The "NH" in the product name means "Northern Hemisphere". A map on the packaging shows that this model is not recommended for Australia, Antarctica, New Zealand, half of South America, or half of Africa. Also, since no ordinary compass will work well near the magnetic poles, the map seems to show that it is not recommended for the northernmost parts of Alaska, Canada, or Russia. Nothing on the compass itself says Northern Hemisphere. The advantage of the M-3 is its declination adjustment. In my area, the difference between true North and magnetic North is 14.3 degrees. With a regular compass, one has to remember whether the magnetic North pole is to the left or right of the geographic North pole. This gives a lot of opportunity for error. But with the M-3, the user can easily set the declination and all will be well for use in that area. The declination is set by turning a tiny screw. It is on the bottom of the compass at eight O'Clock in the attached image. The scale that shows 14 degree west declination is seen at four O'Clock in the same image. The compass comes with a small non-magnetic screwdriver attached to its lanyard. Adjusting the declination only moves the orienting arrow. The orienting lines do not move. The result is that the compass needle points to magnetic North as always, but the dial indicates true North. I have attached an image of the M-3 sitting on the compass rose of a nautical chart. The chart is "oriented"; meaning that I carefully turned it so that its vertical lines run North and South. Note how the dial is set to North, the baseplate points to true North, and the needle points to magnetic North, which is 14.3 degrees to the left. A negative review of the M-3 described getting a fake Suunto. The compass that I received did not have any of the problems that he described. The needle on my compass is fluid dampened and works nicely. It definitely has a jewel bearing in the center. (Putting a flashlight under the compass shows that the center of the needle is not just metal.) There is no bubble in the fluid. The whole compass is high quality and well made. The luminescent parts of the compass work fine. I suppose this could be useful in moonlight on open ground, where there might be enough light to walk around without a flashlight. But if the night is so dark that you need a flashlight, wouldn't you just use the flashlight to read your compass? The compass comes with a strong plastic clip to connect the lanyard. But it is not needed. It is just as easy to connect the lanyard with a catspaw knot as shown in the attached images. The M-3 is known as a "baseplate" or "Silva System" compass. I find this design much easier to use than a lensatic compass. The Cammenga military compass is more complicated and can be very hard to read. In my opinion, baseplate is the way to go. The size of the M-3 is about 4 5/8" by 2 3/8". The M-3 perfectly agrees with my old Boy Scout compass. I do not see even one degree of difference between them. The reason to buy a Suunto M-3 instead of a $5.00 compass from a big box store is the declination adjustment, and the confidence of having a high quality device that will be sure to work when you really need it.

Simple but adequate for most short distance navigation. It doesn't have a hinged cover and mirror which seem to break often. It has a magnifying glass, measurements to scale, a declination adjustment, and luminescent markings. We are using this for short distances at slow speeds, either hiking or canoeing. So it does not need to be super precise. It is not waterproof but will be kept in a waterproof map case except when it is being used. For our purposes, it has the durability and ease of use that we require.