HighGear Adventure Plus

This is a multipurpose tool that can be used as a mini survival kit. It has several elements; the two sliding orange wings have a 5x magnifying glass in one wing and a mirror in the other.

The front of the tool is a white LED flashlight, next to it there is a digital thermometer that can display temperature in Celcius or Farenheit. The next element is a liquid filled floating dial compass, at the end opposite the LED light there is a whistle.

In the bottom the tool has a dry storage compartment, that is long and flat so it is useful for matches, some very thin tinder and maybe a folder bill or some paper. Pills may or may not fit depending on their size.

The tool weights 2 oz (56g) and measures 4 3/8'' x 1 1/2'' x 3/4'' (11.1 x 3.8 x 1.9 cm). The flashlight and thermometer are powered by two CR1616 coin cell batteries.

Compared to other similar tools with several elements this seems to be a of a higher quality, the compass is very good, the thermometer works perfectly and the dry compartment is very useful. The whistle is ok to signal for attention and the magnifier works fine and can be used to start a fire if aimed carefully. The mirror is not really suitable for serious signaling.

This is a nice tool offering a good selection of tools, most of them will be probably used as backups for your bigger more serious tools but they can certainly work if needed.

You can read more at the product page or order for $20 from REI.

Kestrel 4500 Pocket Weather Tracker

The 4500 is the most advanced handheld weather station from Kestrel featuring a wide array of instruments. The unit comes with a digital compass, an anemometer that calculates crosswind and headwind/tailwind with reference to a user-set target heading(!), barometric pressure with trend, temperature, humidity, altitude, wind chill, heat index, date,time and dew point.

All the features are recorded and logged in a 2000 data point memory, graphics can be used to show the different variables and trends.

The unit is small enough as a GPS receiver and has many modes of operation that can't be described in this small review, you can take a snapshot of temperature, humidity and pressure. Keep recording even with the unit turned off, customize the screens to display the data that you need the most etc. The unit uses only two AAA batteries and has a backlight for night operation. It is of course water proof and it floats.

The 4500 is a complete handheld weather station and also a data-logging device that can be moved easily to any location. Both for outdoor enthusiasts or people interested in weather it is a wonderful handheld. It has a price but for a weather geek it is as any mobile weather station can be.

The Kestrel 4500 can be ordered in yellow or in a military version with Olive Green case and red backlight to preserve night vision. The retail cost is $400 and you can order or read more following this link.

Brunton Glow Mate Compass

The Glow Mate is a small keychain by Brunton with GID (glow in the dark) material used as the base.

It is 1.75'' in diameter and weights less than 0.5oz so it is definitively suitable for a keychain, the attachment point is a small hole at the top that can be used for a split ring or to thread cord. It comes with a brass split ring which is a very nice detail since it is a non magnetic material.

The GID base after exposure to sunlight will glow bright for about 30 minutes to an hour and will be visible with a faint glow for many hours.

The compass has graduations every 5 degrees and numbers every 20 degrees, magnetic declination can't be adjusted.

In a small package the glow mate works very well and is a very nice compass for a keychain and it can be attached to backpacks or used as zipper pull.

You can read more and order from Bruton for $8.

HighGear Traildrop Digital Compass

This is a digital compass with a thermometer and clock. by HighGear.

The compass can display the bearing and can be adjusted for magnetic declination. It has a leveling bubble for increased accuracy, you can take either a single reading or use it in continuous mode.

The digital thermometer has a 0.1 C or F resolution and works from -4F (-20C) to 131F (55C).

The watch measures time, day, date and month in 12 or 24 hour format and supports dual time zones. It has a daily alarm and a chronometer.

Clipped to your backpack or a keychain this device is very handy for outdoor activities where navigation is important, it is water resistant and has EL backlight for the night. You can read more in the product page or order for $35 from Cabelas.

Lee Valley Magnet Compass

This is a fun novelty item from Lee Valley. Basically it is a barrel shaped neodynium magnet, due to its shape when placed on top of a flat surface it will orient in the North - South direction.

Curiously the magnet does not have a marker to differentiate North from South but at least it points you to the NS direction. The magnet comes inside a small survival capsule with a mini lanyard for transportation. So basically you get a very small magnet and a survival capsule when you order this item.

It is not a compass you will use for navigation but it is a nice gift and a fun item and being just as small as the picture shows you can practically put it anywhere as long as the magnet will not affect other objects. The aluminium capsule is a nice one too.

You can get them for $4.50 following this link.

Recta DS56 Global System Compass

The Recta DS56 is a very complete compass, it's similar to many other manufacturer models so you probably can use this review for similar products of different brands.

The DS56 "Global System" means the compass will be useful in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres, if you live in the Southern Hemisphere or if you travel crossing the equator in your trips you need to be careful because many compasses just work fine in the Northern half of the world and start to behave badly in other latitudes.

The DS56 has declination adjustment using a small screw in the back of the compass, it offers a luminiscent bezel, a magnifier, a mirror, sight mark, coordinate scales, side scales, anti slip rubber pads and a clinometer (to measure inclintation and slopes) including a conversion table for degree and slope % in the cover top. I think the only thing missing would be a small red led or something to use it in the dark but the liminiscent material is very good so you probably don't need it.

Besides having all the features you need for map navigation and some extras the best thing about this compass is that is very precise, so you can use it as the tool to calibrate other compasses you can have in your kits, specially the small button sized compasses that tend to be quite unaccurate.

The DS56 retails for about $50, you can read more information at Recta's website.

Suunto Clipper Compass

The clipper is a very small button sized compass from Suunto. It features a liquid filled compass with the cardinal points Marked, the "N',"E","S" and "W" marks are coated in luminiscent material so after exposure to daylight they will glow in the dark.

The compass has a rotating bezel with marks every 10 degrees and numbers every 30 degrees, you can use this rotating bezel to know the aproximate direction you are traveling and to perform basic navigation tasks with a map.

On the back of the clipper you have a plastic clip that can be used to attach the compass to a watchband, backpack strap, belt, keyring or other objects. The clip has a small dent to prevent accidentally losing the compass; once clipped you need to lift the plastic tab up to remove it, pulling won't be enough.

The clipper is quite accurate and for its size it offers excellent results. Certainly one of the best button sized compasses you can get.

You can order it from about $10 from different sizes, check froogle's links. And you can read more information from Suunto's official website.

Sun Company 7 in 1 Survival Tool

This is a 7 in 1 survival tool by Sun Company. Tool #1 is a whistle, the pealess design is fine for bad weather and can be used in rain conditions, the whistle is quite loud, not as loud as a Fox40 but requires less force to be blown so it's good for children, elderly or people that have suffered an accident and need to call attention. Certainly good enough to call for help in case of need.

Tool #2 is a thermometer with both Celsius and Farenheit scales, it works fine. On the side of the tool opposite the thermometer you can also find tool #3 a spark striker, just strike it with a metallic object to produce sparks, this doesn't work nearly as well as a specialized fire starting device but it is quite acceptable in emergencies but I wouldn't recommend it as your primary fire starting device.

The external cap features tools #4 and #5, a compass and a signaling mirror. The liquid-filled compass works fine and has luminous material so it can be read in the dark after exposure to daylight, the signaling mirror is very small and doesn't have a hole in the middle to aim so it is probably barely usable for serious siganling purposes. Behind the first cap there is a second cap with tool #6 a 3x maginifier that can be used to start a fire using sunlight, it works very well. Between the compass cap and the magnifier cap you can store a small pill or tablet, either medicine or something else like a water purifying tablet, it is a nice thing to have this mini compartment available.

The last tool is the storage chamber itself, a sealed compartment protected by o-rings where you can store different items, compared to other survival capsules this one is slightly wider and that is a bless to store several items that are very hard to store in smaller capsules. On the side there is a plastic attachment point for a lanyard, a small piece of cord is supplied with the tool.

The plastic construction is not as solid as aluminium but is light and the plastic is strong enough to resist impacts and daily usage. The different tools work well and the storage chamber is particularly good, considering you already have a compass, whistle, magnifier and fire starter you can put several things in the chamber and have quite a complete survival kit packed in a small useful tool.

You can read more from Sun's Company website and you can order for $6.99 from EDCDepot.