I don't have a Himi, but I do have a couple of those
Timex Expedition watches with compass, tide clock and temperature functions, one black and one silver. They can be super useful for sailing, especially that tide clock. It makes launching and landing at the ramp just that much easier. Although both my sailboats have cockpit compasses either on a binnacle or mounted next to the companionway hatch, I'll sometimes tap the Timex compass just to get that simple northward needle. Mostly I sail on the Potomac, just randomly zig-zagging about. The river flows more or less north to south, but is wide enough that after a bit I may not recall which way I'm headed. In fact, sometimes I'll strike sail and just drift along with a book. A turning tide means it's maybe best to head back, and "more or less north" will do. I won't set off for a daysail without one of those Timexes on my wrist. For just a hundred bucks and change, I'd say it's one of the best little tools you can have on board. I'm led to understand that its compass, barring ambient magnetic fields, is accurate to within about 5 to 10 degrees, compared to 45 for the Himi's compass. Also, the Timex can be adjusted for local variation in the magnetic field. Still, plus or minus 45 should be good enough to get one headed in the right "general" direction at some crossroad. It certainly would have been sufficiently accurate the last time I actually used my Timex's compass for navigation while driving. Out in the middle of a maze of rural Indiana farm roads somewhere west of the Ohio line coming back from a huge scooter rally my phone's GPS maps acquisition signal decided to take a little holiday. But breaking out some ancient Rand McNally Road Atlas from like the Clinton Administration I was still able to find my way back to Celina, Ohio, where I was staying. Frankly, even just a general notion of "roughly eastward" would have also served me well enough under the circumstances.
So yeah, if I had a Himi with a compass, even a vague one, I'd be pretty happy with that. It might well be "just good enough". But if you feel you need something with a little snappier performance for real off-the-beaten-track or orienteering hijinx, then here is a report that might interest you from the world of hiking and camping gear:
8 Best Compass Watches in 2019. Sure, the Timex is described, but maybe knowing the tides ain't so important to you, and you'd rather have a barometer to keep an eye on that weather, or maybe an altimeter for mountain travels. You'll likely find something there to suit your needs.
Of course, you can use
any analog watch as a compass on a reasonably sunny day.
Here's how to do it in both the northern AND southern hemispheres. Daylight savings time in summer can bugger up the simplicity of it all a wee bit, but relax and just just subtract an hour there, Magellan!
Topic: Himalayan compass (Read 11709 times)