Binoculars - with or without built-in compass

[jewt]

Over the past 40+ yearsI have had two pair of Stiners, the first w/o compass and the current with. Go for the compass, will become much more usefull as you progress.

jewt S/V Bifrost-8
New Bern NC

[DeValency]

The built in compass is really important for the racing we do, but with today’s electronics on board (chart plotter, AIS, radar) I rarely use it while cruising.

[CKeller]

Originally Posted by NaClyDog

I've been looking at getting some actual "marine" binoculars and the most interesting model I've found comes with or without "built-in compass".


Is that a gimmicky thing or something that is truly useful to have for a bluewater / liveaboard cruiser?


Cheers.

not a gimmick!

My first cruising sailboat was a 23' wooden sloop. No electronics save for the running lights. I used my Tasco binoculars, a Steiner Commander knock-off with compass as my primary navigation aid (along with charts). Along with the compass it had a range-finder so I could estimate distance from nav aids with a known height.

[petermjdavies]

I loved my binocs with built in compass until I go old. I am short sighted and having the compass at the top of the frame doesn’t work for me.

[Island Explorer]

Maybe I missed it, but I don’t think I’ve seen the most important reason to have a compass built into your binoculars: it could save a life!

I spent my career at sea, and have pulled numerous people (and dogs) from the water. Especially in heavy seas, or poor visibility, it is easy to lose visual contact with something you have seen. If you immediately get the compass bearing, you can pass that info to another set of eyes while coming about, changing course, awakening crew, whatever.

Some of us have a great internal compass, but, many people don’t. I have a pair of binoculars that is strictly hands off to anyone but me, as well as another compass equipped identical pair that sits available for others.

Buy the set with the compass, learn to use them, and make sure others on the boat know how to use them as well.

[loneshark64]

Originally Posted by CaptTom

I think it depends on your background. If you've ever used a hand-bearing compass for shooting LOP's, then the built-in compass in the binoculars is great. Not only for piloting, but once you learn to use it you'll find all kinds of other uses. To be able to note the bearing to something, then transfer that to your chartplotter or radar, is great.

I like mine. I have the celestron oceana 7x50 with the compass. I have and have used a hand bearing compass but usually just ballpark a bearing using the pedestal compass in the ordinary course. When I am using the binocs to look for a marker or something I find it useful to be able to quickly see an accurate bearing.

[wingssail]

Thirty years ago our racing crew bought a pair of Fujinon's with compass (lighted, no less) because they got tired of trying to use the POS ones we inherited with the boat.

What a great tool they are. We are still using them. Pretty much beat up and the light is long gone, but the optical clarity is still there and the compass still works and is so valuable (and we used it in the southern hemisphere, New Zealand, it worked fine).

In which ways to we commonly use the compass?

• Taking bearings on smaller ships and boats which do not have ais
• finding a navigation aid which shows on the chart but you don't know exactly where to look.
• Checking bearings while anchored to make sure you are not dragging
• Following piloting instructions: "follow heading xyz until white house bears 180 degrees".
• Checking a competitor' bearing in a race to note the competitive status

Anyhow, they are always in the cockpit and always in use. The compass is invaluable.

[pendragon]

My 7x50 Steiner has a stabilized compass with red light built-in which is great for nights and a range finder.
The compass works fine even on a steel boat.
Quality or junk.........You get what you you pay for.....

[allatsea99]

Great in really good quality branded models but steer well away from everything else which have a cheap plastic add on compass embedded in the binocs, difficult to read & bubble prone.

[philiosophy]

Go ahead and buy the ones with the compass. Lots of ways to utilize and learn a bit of actual seamanship. Set yourself ahead of the rest.

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by petermjdavies

I loved my binocs with built in compass until I go old. I am short sighted and having the compass at the top of the frame doesn’t work for me.

What brand is that? Steiners show the compass at the bottom... didn't realize there might be other options...

-Chris

[APKetcher]

My compass binoculars are a great tool for checking any anchor slippage. I'll take at least three bearings on fixed objects that will be visible once the sun sets. Regardless of any movement due to tide or current changes, if I haven't dragged, the relative bearings between those objects will remain the same. It can be comforting once you decide to hit the sack for the night.

[Gerrit Coetzee]

Originally Posted by steamgoat

I have binos with a compass,I don’t use it for navigation but find it very handy if you want to point out a distant object to somebody else,hand them the binos and tell them the bearing.

I can equate the binoculars with a built in compass, to a spare wheel. Nice to have one, when you need one...

Let me relate two stories:
We were amchored in Christmas bay St.John island. Every night we could see light son the horizon, come daylight then no object was visible. Scanning the horizon in the day for the source of the misterious lights delivered no success as our own boat constantly moves around on anchor I then got the idea to take via the binoculars a bearing at night when we saw the lights. It had a relative 302° bearing from our . Come the morning, we had a good general bearing and could see the rig.

Second time was when we lost our dinghy at sea (due to towing line failure). Using the compass binoculars we could direct our power boat to the object on the horison we considered to be the dinghy.
(We never found the dinghy - which was lost between North Sound Bay Virgin Gorda and Anagada Island BVI (around Sept 2019)).

You can live without one. It is like a camera on a cellphone. Don't neef a camera there to survive, but it became a convenience.

[Tillikum]

For those that want a superb binocular, albeit without a compass, the Canadian military has finally let got of the last of its Ernst Leitz Canada 7x50s. There's a bunch of them on ePay now. In about 1980 the civilian version cost about $3000.!

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by DancingDays

I have an 11 year old pair of Fujinons (Polaris 7x50 FMTRC). They are wonderful binocs with amazing light gathering--it almost seems like night vision. But the compass is _really_ hard to see unless I get my eye position just perfect. And of course it's completely invisible at night. If I were to get a new pair of binocs, I would probably look for something with active illumination for the compass.

Fujinon used to make an illuminator for it. It's been discontinued. With care a small flashlight can be used but it's not ideal.