| Suunto M-9 Wrist Compass | 
 enlarge | Brand: Suunto
Category: Sports
List Price: $29.95
Buy New: $23.31
You Save: $6.64 (22%)
New (3) from $23.31
Avg. Customer Rating:  2 reviews
Sales Rank: 17250
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 11.5 x 5 x 1.3
MPN: 51-M9
Model: M-9
UPC: 045235209002
EAN: 0045235209002
ASIN: B000FEWA7M
Availability: Usually ships in 2-3 business days
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| Features:
| • | Handy and reliable wrist compass for navigating around town or the country | | • | Employs Suunto's two-zone system for reliable readings in northern hemisphere | | • | Serrated bezel ring turns easily even when you're wearing gloves | | • | Ratchet mechanism for setting direction; jewel bearing and side reading window | | • | Measures 1.6 x 0.6 x 1.9 inches (W x H x D) and weighs 1.2 ounces; lifetime warranty |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
A handy and reliable wrist compass for accurate navigation in town or country.
Amazon.com Product Description
Navigating around town or through the countryside has never been easier thanks to Suunto's handy and reliable M-9 wrist compass. Featuring a serrated bezel ring that turns easily even when you're wearing gloves and a luminous card that's legible in dimly lit conditions, the compass is great for hiking, biking, and a host of other activities. More significantly, the M-9 fits conveniently around your wrist like a wristwatch, so you needn't worry about rummaging through your pockets for a handheld compass each time you want to take a reading. Add in a jewel bearing, a side reading window, and a ratchet mechanism that helps you set the desired direction and you have a great "in a pinch" compass. The M-9 employs Suunto's two-zone system to achieve precise, accurate readings regardless of location. Previously, most compasses functioned well in only one of five geographic zones. That's because the compasses were balanced differently based on the zone's inclination, i.e., the vertical intensity and direction of the Earth's magnetic field. However, as people began to travel more, it became clear that globe-hopping adventurers needed compasses with a greater geographical range. Suunto's two-zone system, by contrast, considers only the northern and southern hemispheres. In practice, this means that a Suunto compass designed for the northern hemisphere--as the M-9 is--will still work for a fair distance into the southern hemisphere and vice-versa. Suunto is one of only two compass manufacturers to offer two-zone compasses. The M-9, which sports a secure brass buckle on the strap, measures 1.6 by 0.6 by 1.9 inches (W x H x D) inches and weighs a mere 1.2 ounces. It's also backed by a lifetime warranty.
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| Customer Reviews:
 Best Bang for Buck Compass out there ... June 18, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
If you need a compass, bigger is best, but just how big can big be? Reason is, the aiming accuracy and capability gets better if you have a large stable platform and sight. OTAH, getting a wrist compass to do the same thing is difficult to achieve, and the M-9 meets this role well. With GPS being the principle guide these days to terrestrial navigation, compasses are mostly for backup and rough heading use, so best accuracy is less practical these days in lieu of compactness, ruggedness, and light weight. Underwater, the M-9 is as good as a dedicated SCUBA compass.
I've used an M-9 since 2001, and it finally died, the plastic case cracked, some liquid leaked, so a bubble that formed keeps the pointer from spinning freely.
This is my 3rd M-9, as I've bought two, keeping one as a spare. I use them both on surface and underwater to as deep as 260' ... although not rated as a diving compass, all fluid filled devices are non-compressible and should take great depths without issue. Diving capacity has been proven for the years I've owned this compass and others who use it similarly.
Pros
Very free spinning and accurate
Light weight
Rotating degree bezel
sighting capacity
transparent case, easy to check for defects
Usable underwater to depths at least to 260'
Velcro strap binds very well underwater
Cons
If not leveled during sighting, pointer will lock [fix: flick it with your finger, and a proper direction will not change much with movement]
Plastic case, will not last forever
Summary:
I've seen a number of compasses for field use in the middle of nowhere, and for so simple a device, its amazing so many are unreliable [whatever magnets they use don't hold its magnetism permanently], inaccurate markings, or poor construction. If you get lost because your compass doesn't work when you need it, its not worth any amount of money.
Suunto has made a name for itself in compasses, and what seems cheap looking is very well engineered, yet simple.
If you need a compass for general use, the watch mounted Clipper works best. I use those underwater too to 260', to backup the M-9.
 Good compass for the city May 28, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I bought this so that I could easily figure out which way is north after I get off the subway. It really comes in handy. The compass isn't really steady all the time, it tends to sway a little, but so far is has reliably pointed me in the right direction each time I hold it level and steady. The only thing is that the strap is like a cheap velcro material with a plastic buckle. It works fine, I just expected something a little nicer based on the price and from looking at the picture. For some reason too, the compass arrived seperated from the strap and it was pretty annoying to figure out how to put it on at first, and there were no directions to explain how to do it. The material that came with it that explains how to read a compass (& map) was pretty informative and useful though.
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