On the Hunt for a New Watch Compass: Suunto Clipper Discontinued *Update*

Update: The search is over! We’ve finally been able to source the Suunto Clipper Compass and have it available in our online Store. Click here to order the new Suunto Clipper Compass.

I’ve worn a watch compass for the better part of 6 years now and have always favored the Suunto Clipper, despite it’s drawbacks and owning a total of four of them throughout this time. While this could be why the watch compass was recently discontinued by Suunto, I’ve been searching for a good replacement since the last one I had gave up the ghost.

I slammed it against a ladder about a month ago, causing the bezel and the compass to separate from the carrier and go flying across our warehouse here at ITS HQ. I tried to superglue the clipper back together again, but for some reason, either the superglue reacted strangely with the compass and caused the liquid to discolor and leak out, or there was a hairline fracture from the impact that I didn’t catch.

Either way, I went on an internet search to find a replacement, or even see if I could find a vendor that still had the Suunto Clipper in stock.

Brunton Watchband Slider Compass

The first compass I came across that looked halfway decent was the Brunton Watchband Slider Compass. I had seen some other “cheaper” options, but went with a name brand, hoping that they’d live up to the quality of the Suunto Clipper.

I was wrong. The Brunton is simply glued to a rubber watchband slider and I knew the first knock it took would send it flying. Sure enough, the other day my wrist hit up against a display at a store and the liquid filled compass sailed into the sunset.

One of the inherent issues with the small liquid-filled watch compasses is if they take a good hit, they’ll develop an air bubble. This air bubble can lead to the compass becoming inaccurate, due to the bubble pressing the dial down in a direction it shouldn’t. After retrieving the Brunton, I noticed an air bubble had formed as well. Instead of gluing this one back together, I’m on a mission again to find an alternative, as the Brunton doesn’t warrant an attempt at repair. It’s an inherently poor design.

Watch compasses aren’t the most accurate devices in the world, but for backup purposes I really like having one around. As you might have read in my review of my G-Shock Watch and Suunto Clipper, they’re also prone to becoming demagnetized easily if you wear a wedding ring on your wrist band as I commonly did before I realized it was causing an issue. When I was working out, I’d put my wedding ring on my watch to prevent losing it.

So again, I’m on the hunt for a new watch compass. Anyone have ideas on what I should try next?

Update: The search is over! We’ve finally been able to source the Suunto Clipper Compass and have it available in our online Store. Click here to order the new Suunto Clipper Compass.