SUUNTO M-3 in Global Compass

I have a standard Suunto M3 compass which works very well and it's been on the trail with me for 20 years. Recently I had an urge to get another compass so that I'll always have a backup. I did my homework and determined that as far as baseplate compasses are concerned, the Suunto M3 Global is the best there is. It operates smoother than my M3 and the arrow never wavers while making quick direction changes. My only complaint is that the luminous markings on the needle and the bezel base plate don't show up very well in the dark. On my standard M3 these markings show up bright and clear. Not really a big deal as I don't plan on doing any hiking in total darkness. The M3 Global compass is well worth the investment.

Perfect compass for all around use

I bought this compass to be used in Brazil, and as a Global needle, it worked perfectly. I just have tried it once, but it showed it is very fast and accurated.I simply loved it.

excellent

Pros: Global needle- It works on a really simple but efficient technique. The magnet is actually a small cylinder bellow the needle. The needle sits on a pivot on the magnet. So even if the magnet is tilted the needle remains horizontal. That's the trick!Cons:Not good for strike line measurements on sub-horizontal beds. Locating the strike line with zero dip is often erroneous on sub horizontal beds. Because you will find a wide range where the dip reads zero on the clinometer. In this situation, I prefer to use the compass needle to find the zero dip. In compasses which use magnetic needle (the needle itself is magnetic), the needle stays horizontal (with negligible error for declination). So if you make the compass parallel to the needle, the compass is also horizontal. Now you just find a line, holding the compass in the horizontal position. But in this compass you cannot use this method as the needle will always remain parallel to the compass base even if the magnet (the cylinder bellow the needle) is not horizontal.The clinometer does not have a scale- this I took out one whole star for this flaw. You either have to use the declination scale which is actually on the back of the compass (so you actually take the reading from back) or you have to use the bearing scale (which will increase error as the scale is quite far from the clinometer needle tip). - This is such a petty flaw for a scientific instrument!The make is okay. I don't like the rubber grip on the base. Those look cheap.Also, I think Suunto should think about making compasses with both mile (1:64000) and km (1:50000) scales on them as most of the maps and scientific publications use km scale.