r/searchandrescue • u/Money-Violinist9176 • 23d ago

Geiserailie Compass Reviews?

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I’m the director of a brand new search & rescue team with very minimal funding. As much as I would love to purchase Silva compasses for all my volunteers, there’s no way we can swing it just yet. Putting on an orienteering class at the end of the month. I’ve seen these all over Amazon and Temu. Any experience with these cheap alternatives? This will be ideally just for class and not for wilderness rescue.

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u/The_Stargazer EMT / HAM / FAA107 Drone Pilot 23d ago

Any of these cheap orienteering compasses are garbage.

When I got my SARTECH II the only people to fail the compass course were using these compasses.

Why do you have to provide them with a compass? Most SAR groups or classes require people to bring their own?

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u/Money-Violinist9176 23d ago

Very good point, and good question. This is a rural area and most volunteers can’t afford much. They have all recently bought uniforms and packs. For their personal compass I will encourage them to purchase one but it’s best to capitalize on our starting momentum to knock this class out.

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u/dvcxfg 23d ago

Fwiw most modern smartphones (which they likely have) have compass apps built in. So that might be something to consider.

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u/Motor-Letter-635 23d ago

Can’t count the number of times here on the North Shore where the problem started with the map app on a phone and was exacerbated by that phone dying. (Lower Mainland, BC)

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u/dvcxfg 23d ago

Yeah, I mean, I agree. Relying upon mobile devices as a primary is never a good idea. Anyway, I retract my passing thought. A basic, functional compass from a reputable manufacturer is not a big ticket expense.

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u/New-Instance9196 23d ago

I don't see how you could teach a course with those

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u/dvcxfg 23d ago edited 23d ago

True

Edit: I misread and missed the sentence about putting on a course. Either way, yeah it's worth it for members to buy their own entry-level compasses that are actually made by a reputable manufacturer. A lot of people buy compasses and don't use them so it might be worth it for your members to reach out to family and friends and see if they can borrow/get it paid forward. communities tend to like supporting SAR teams, so it might be an easy sell.