Suunto KB-20 Compass

It weighs under two ounces, so it disappears into a jacket pocket until you need it. The body is rugged, it comes with a lanyard, and it floats, which matters if it ever leaves your hand over the side of a boat. Suunto makes it in Finland, and the company has been building compasses since 1936.

What it does better than a phone is simple. You line up the sighting tools on a landmark, let the needle settle, and read the bearing off the degree scale. There are no batteries to run down, no signal to find, and no calibration step before you start. The needle is globally balanced, and the direction scale is in degrees, so the reading is straightforward. For taking a bearing from a trail junction or a headland, that direct sight line is the whole point.

This is the one for hikers who want a dependable backup, orienteers who take bearings all day, and surveyors or boaters who need rough directions without any power. The drawback is the learning curve. Holding it level, sighting cleanly and reading the scale in one motion takes practice, and a phone’s screen will feel friendlier the first few times you use it.