Has anyone here ever used a compass bezel?

No , I like a 12 hour bezel so I can look at two time zones (shall I phone them now or wait til they wake up ?) . How would a compass one work ?

No but have used a normal two hand watch to find North. Just for fun. Which does question the need for it.

Never.

Nor have I used a tachymeter, telemeter, countdown or elapsed time bezel (except to fiddle with in fits of boredom). Never used a moonphase either.

But I own examples of all of these.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWCxsk0hZRM

I think the last time I used a compass was for an orientation field trip at school, and me and my friends got promptly lost ! Teacher found us half an hour later ! I have a compass on my Alpinist, absolutely useless but looks pretty. No doubt someone on here uses them, it will be interesting to see what for.

I don't think I've used any bezel in anger, but a smooth clicking bezel does soothe me some.

The compass bezel isn't that practical in an analog watch, all you need is the hour hand and knowing in which hemisphere you're located.

https://youtu.be/sDElSPED1jw?si=OkC4RHKuJy5hNTch

For me, it is as useful as a dive bezel: useless.

Just as I'm not diving with a dive bezel (or diving at all), I am not compassing with a compass bezel. I'll just use an actual compass as those are far better than a watch at being a compass.

Nope, but I know how to use it. Loving mine!

I have, but only on my Timex t2n721 (which has a compass complication). I don't see the point on the Hamilton other than for aesthetics. As @madminuteman says, you can orient yourself with just the hour hand.

How does one use a compass bezel in anger?😡

Here is the link on how to use the bezel from

Hamilton

https://youtu.be/sDElSPED1jw?si=Txz0y1oQowkjwsLj

To use in anger- British English - to use something for real, or its intended purpose rather than in tests.

Ive used a dive bezel to time things. But I suppose you could use a compass bezel. When it gets to South it's the eggs are cooked.

Oh, I didn't know about this, cool! We Americans would probably say,

"Use it, like, actually use it?"

Thank you for the clarification. In US English, to use something in anger means…

I do use the timing bezel quite a bit for cooking myself

Perhaps I’m missing a trick, but I don’t really see the point in them. Three steps after youve set it, you need to re-set it. In case of extreme exhaustion, you might even be fooled into thinking it’s accurate and head off course. So I would think it’s better to just use the sun/hands for orientation..

If I had a compass bezel I would use it. Would I buy a watch for a compass bezel? No

The only time you need a compass in the mountains is when you have really bad visibility. And in that case this method is useless.

However, I like the look of the bezel.

I'd put the compass bezel on par with the tachymeter in terms of quaint "functions" that only serve to remind us how silly and ingrained the adventuretime cosplay aspects of this hobby are.

It’s totally inaccurate as we have daylight saving time and timezones which extends over 1 hour blocks.

I know how to use a compass bezel. I know how to use the hour hand method. I have an iPhone with a compass app. I have 4 Alpinists with compass bezels. AND… I still find it easier just to use a watch band compass. Pic from Amazon.

The compass bezel is a gimmick. It doesn't give you a better estimate than what you could get with a circle on the ground and a few pebbles. Get a mil compass if you are serious about learning land navigation, or pray that you will never have to use a watch to find the North because it means that you are already in so much troubles that finding the North is the least of your problems.

But I still own a SARB017 Alpinist and I still think that the internal compass bezel is very cool.

Is 'played with in an absentminded sort of way' the same as 'used'?

I actually have used my Alpinist for navigation while on a hike—and yes, I did get mud on my shoes. Is it advisable? No, there are obviously far better, more precise tools, but it served as a good backup in a pinch.

All the time because it's fun and I like to check my against my GPS.

The only bezel I use is the one from my diver. Not for diving, but to cook pasta.

Only to find my coffee in the morning.

The compass bezel is a complication I’m never likely to use. Having said that the same can be said for other watch complications. Why would I want a GMT for a weeks holiday in Spain? A Tachymeter is a complication which I don’t know how to use. My dive watches are never going to see the ocean or a pool as I can’t swim!!

Probably the only complication on a watch which is genuinely useful, and often used by many people, is the date.

To me it’s more about what I like and what watch gives me pleasure. If that’s a watch with a compass bezel then I’d consider getting one.

I do quite like the new khaki field despite the compass bezels lack of usefulness and perhaps might get one at some point if it continues to grow on me.

Love #hamilton