Teddy Baldassarre
Compass Watches for Mountaineers and Explorers: Sporty Digitals to Lux
Watches with compasses are a rare breed among tool watches, mainly because - unlike chronographs, dual time zone functions, and calendars - their usefulness in everyday circumstances is rather limited. Generally, in the era of GPS and Google Maps, one rarely has a pressing need to identify True North on a hand-held (or wrist-worn) device. However, like other “niche” watch functions that serve mainly as aesthetic curiosities in quiet business or domestic environments, compasses - which can be as low-tech as a movable bezel with orientation markers or as high-tech as a digital readout that takes control of the watch’s display at the push of a button - have a special appeal to active, outdoorsy enthusiasts. Avid hikers, mountain climbers, spelunkers, and others devoted to adventure in environments where one is often bereft of modern conveniences like reliable wifi, tend to gravitate toward a more rugged, utilitarian style of watch, often with built-in tools that go beyond timekeeping. This is why you’ll often find compass-equipped watches with other useful indicators for factors like temperature, atmospheric pressure, and altitude. The relative rarity of compass watches could also be traced, at least in part, to a handful of truisms. One is that as an additional indicator on a watch, it’s basically superfluous: any analog watch with an hour hand, hour markers, and reliable accuracy can be used for orientation, at least while the sun is out. Simply lay the wa...
