Find Your Bearings with Suunto

The weekend has finally arrived and you've decided to head off for a day or two to explore the great outdoors. Time to pack a few essentials, pick up your friends and get going. But what to pack? Wherever you're going, for however long, there's one indispensable piece of kit that should never be left behind - your trusty compass!

Whether you're on a two-week trek or a Sunday afternoon ramble, a compass is an easy-to-carry, simple-to-use, reliable, accurate, and essential instrument to take along. As backup for electronic equipment, like GPS, or as a primary navigational device, a compass can be used by everyone from the very young to the very old.

As any compass owner will testify, learning to use a map and compass is easy and fun, and adds an exciting new dimension to a walk in the countryside. The skills of finding and following a bearing are easy to master and can be useful in any number of situations. It's really no exaggeration to say that with a map and a compass, you can't stay lost for long!

Suunto's wide range of compasses is the subject of continuous research and development. Recently this R&D resulted in an innovation that will have a considerable impact on the design and use of compasses all over the world.

The breakthrough concerns the way compasses are balanced. The vertical intensity and direction of the earth's magnetic field, the inclination, influences the horizontal plane of a compass needle according to the latitude where it is used. Because of this, compasses must be balanced for different geographical zones in order to keep the needle in a horizontal position.

Traditionally, the globe has been divided into five different balancing zones in which specific compasses functioned. However, as people travel more and more, the need for a compass with a greater geographical range has increased. Now, thanks to Suunto's new 'Two Zone System', when using a Suunto compass there are only two balancing zones to consider - the northern hemisphere and the southern hemisphere. In practice, this means that a Suunto compass designed for the northern hemisphere will still work for a fair distance into the southern hemisphere and vice-versa.

So now, you'll only need one compass when heading south (or north), as long as you don't cross too far over the equator, - a much more sensible solution for the age of international travel. Suunto also makes globally balanced compasses that can be used accurately in both hemispheres.

Suunto's entire range of field compasses will benefit from this innovation, with the new devices being available from fall 2005. As well as providing accurate and reliable navigational information, many Suunto compasses have additional helpful features such as magnifying glasses, luminous needles and markings, and centimeter/inch scales.

Compasses are classic products with a long history. But they're as relevant today as they have ever been. With a wide range of styles and specifications to choose from, it's easy to find a Suunto. compass to suit you and your needs. So don't leave your compass at home - you'd be lost without it!