It’s small as a thumbnail, but readable…

Here at WoWasis, we’ve been traveling with a cheap compass that slides over a watchband ever since we’ve been traveling. They’re indispensable when you’re trying to find directions while using walking maps, and we even use them to check out our GPS to ensure we’re getting good readings. And because they slide over your watchband, you never forget to bring your compass with you.

… and slides over your wristwatch band you you never forget it

We’ve been through a few of these. One cheap one just busted apart at the seams. An expensive Swiss one became demagnetized after it went through an airport scanner. Now this Chinese compass with a fleur-de-lys pointing north is our favorite. It cost $2.50 USD. That’s a little over two dollars. We bought it at an army-navy surplus store, and $2-3 USD is about right. Sometimes they break, sometimes they get demagnetized. Sunto sells one for $25 USD, too much! Buy cheap, and if it fails, you buy another cheap one. As we learned from our Swiss episode, expensive isn’t always better. But we’ll guarantee this, if you buy one of these, you’ll use it more when you’re traveling than you’d ever believe. Buy one in your own country before you get on the plane. You should be able to find one wherever inexpensive camping supplies are sold.