Binoculars with a Compass?

I am shopping for binoculars and I am trying to figure out the value of a pair with a compass in them. I mostly navigate in protected waters with redundant navigation systems. I can't figure out why I would want binoculars with a compass. The best I can come up with is for watching whales. In theory if I spot some whales I can note the degrees on the compass and hand them off to my wife and say look around 85 degrees. Our rule with crew is to reference the dial of a clock when referencing something to look at like a whale, log, buoy or boat. 12:00 being straight off the bow. If someone sees whales we just say look towards 2:00 etc. I am skeptical saying look at 85 degrees is going to make a difference with whales when handing the binoculars to another person. Probably more helpful with a buoy or a log. Anybody have a better use case for binoculars with a compass?

Great for calling laylines while racing sailboats. I personally see little use on powerboats unless you plot your position using bearings to charted landmarks.

I had a pair with a compass, and it even had a light in it for nighttime bearing taking. Before the era of chart plotters and such, I occasionally found the compass function useful for a rough plotted fix. More often I used them to just double check the steering compass. I don't remember what became of that pair of binocs, but I never replaced them due to lack of a function for them aboard my boat in the digital age.

Personally I would go for stabilized binoculars rather than a compass. A compass in the binoculars was useful when you were plotting your position on paper charts fo taking LOPs. However today I see no need for the compass, but the stabilization in wonderful.

In my previous life when I had a sailboat in the 1980's, pre electronic navigation, I had a hand bearing compass called the 'hockey puck'. It was a really good instrument with a dampened compass. It was excellent for taking bearings when you were plotting a course. Especially if you were a little lost and you had to triangulate your position to get an accurate fix.

But except for getting an accurate fix I can't really see any need for compass bearing binoculars. Especially when every one has GPS charting on board.

I will always have a hand bearing compass somewhere handy so no need, really.

We have been using Weems & Plath Explorer binocs for years (with illuminated compass and range finder, plus all the other great W&P marine binocular features). Use the WEEMSBINOCULARS or WEEMS50OFF code you can get them in our store for under $300:

https://www.pacificnwboatertested.com/products/weems-plath-explorer-7x50-binoculars

Thanks gang...I'll skip the compass. I just couldn't figure out the value of what I'd do with a compass and you guys confirmed it. A little money saved for something of higher value. Stabilized binoculars are on my list when the cruising gets a little more serious.

Not to digress, but… in the old days growing up as a kid sailing in Narragansett bay and the islands, we used a RDF. Radio Direction Finder.. We rotate a big wheel on top of a mulitband radio that was tuned into transmitters. We found the peak signal and marked the heading. All dead reckoning back then. No gps, no Loran either. Eldridge was the Bible. Glad I have gps now. So easy these days !!

One small nuke in orbit and GPS is dead , perhaps for years.

The old style nav ability , and a few paper charts , is to me the same as life preservers, parachute flairs , a manual bilge pump , and perhaps a life raft.

You always pray to never need the gear, but stuff does happen.

Wife gave me Steiners with the compass feature. Use the compass a lot. When anchored take bearings on three immovable objects on land. Then know if I swing but also drag. Do the same to nearby boats. With them also use a golf range finding monocular. Doing this gives me information and comfort beyond just setting a AnchorWatch. Know if I drag but equally important if they do.
Although your electronics give you cross track and set a quick bearing is easier to interpret. Like the Steiners over the hockey puck doing this. I’m old enough to have navigated using triangulation with radio directional finders and still like to record our dead reckoning. Feel with the binoculars compass and paper even after a EMF burst or more likely a degrading of gps or a electrical failure I could get around.
So both moving and when still like having a compass in the binoculars. Also like stabilization. But after doing celestial have gotten use to keeping a image in field. Ultimate is having both. But if choosing one, especially on a stabilized motor boat would pick the compass.

I use our binoculars w/compass from time to time. Most often I use them to find a day mark or buoy a couple miles away that blends in with the shoreline and I can’t see it. I’ll use the radar or chart plotter for a bearing to it then can zero in with the binocs. I know I’ll eventually see it but especially for turns in a narrow channel, I like to know where it is as soon as possible. Someone may use them to get a bearing to an obstruction or other noteworthy object for the helmsperson to watch for. For closer in purposes where I can see, I’ll use a hand bearing compass.

Probably not an absolutely must have but the compass does come in handy. The difference in price for the Nikon OceanPro is only $30-50.

If no hand bearing compass at hand, the ones inside the binoc do help. I think the last time I used one was measuring the bearing on a distress aerial flare at nite and once for a waterspout while at anchor at daytime. If you don't get the bearing quickly, the search area becomes much larger.
While on the subject, the Plastimo HBC is poorly damped and takes near 10 seconds to stabilize enough to be useful. Reminder to myself to quit buying that one.

GingerMd said:

Not to digress, but… in the old days growing up as a kid sailing in Narragansett bay and the islands, we used a RDF. Radio Direction Finder.. We rotate a big wheel on top of a mulitband radio that was tuned into transmitters. We found the peak signal and marked the heading. All dead reckoning back then. No gps, no Loran either. Eldridge was the Bible. Glad I have gps now. So easy these days !!

Click to expand...

The last night sailing to Hilo, Hawaii I used my RDF to fine tune our final heading.
At sunrise the harbor entrance was dead ahead although still about 4 hours away!