u/Classicskyle

Honestly, wasn’t too hard but there is definitely some learning curves.

1. I forgot to take the place holder stem out before installing the hands so I struggled to get stem out without busting anything. Got it done tho.

2. cheap sticky tack stuff left a lot of gunk on the dial and took while to clean with microfiber.

3. forgot to use the little brush to clean out the backside of the front glass, you can see small spec of dust at 1 o’clock

4. i struggled lining up the second hand with the post but I’m sure that comes with experience

5. got the stem right length but forgot to take back off and loctite the threads. Should I take back off and do that or will it stay if I tightened well?

6. screw the dumb case back wrench!! This case just has ribbed ring and I couldn’t get any grip with it and I scratched it a tiny bit trying to tighten it down. Gonna order the ball

All minor stuff really but for first build that only took like an hour or two, I’m pretty stoked! Lmk what you think!

Custom Casio world time by Nocturnal Time. I always find myself looking down at it. The moon has lume too, which is so cool. Grabbed the JaysandKays adapter and have it on elastic nato strap. I dont find it hard to read (as others have noted with these type of mods) especially if you hit the backlight. Super fun watch for relaxing Sundays.

First pic is just AI mocking it up.

1. I want to make sure these work together and everything fits.

2. Does case come with glass and bezel installed? So I won’t need a press? Will it come with caseback gasket?

3. Pretty sure this doesn’t need a bezel insert right?

4. This is all the tools right? I have other stuff on hand, toothpicks, cutters for stem, and I’ll use a little ruler for measuring stem cut.

5. The welcome shopper first time buyer discounts seem to be good to be true…?

6. Anything else I should get? I’ll likely make more down road now that I have the tools. Watched a lot of videos, not concerned with having ability but I got extra hands just in case.

Nice 6 mile walk this morning, can’t wait until the head control is better to use the backpack and go fishing again!

Hello!

Does the compass do more than look cool? Absolutely. You can find directions with any analog watch with a bezel, so why is the Alpinist compass even better?

TL;DR: Don’t get lost, if you’re gonna get lost, look good doing it.

You found yourself lost, and for whatever reason, your dedicated compass is busted. Your smartwatch is dead. I will assume you have a map and a protractor. Let me describe how to use your Alpinist to navigate.

First and foremost, stop and remain calm.

- Find a high point that you can see over the terrain

- Take the watch off and place it on as flat a surface as you can; go prone if you need to.

- Most of you know this part, align your hour hand and shoot your south direction, don’t eyeball half, get it to the minute.

Okay, now what? That’s where all the instructions stop.

- Stand up, take a look around, and get a sense of what key terrain features are in what direction from the compass. You’ll need this to find the general area on the map, if you didn’t know already.

- Grab your map and align it to the north from the watch.

“Hey classicskyle, map is true north and compass is magnetic north, which one is the dial pointing?”

Great question, no adjustment needed, it’s closest to true north!

- Find 2 identifying points around you, mountain peaks, unique terrain, etc., find those points on your map with the assumption being you know generally where you are on the map.

- Get down low to the compass and read the number for the azimuth of that point. ( like 45 degrees, 310 degrees, etc)

- Go to your map with a protractor (you should always have one if you carry a map; if not, eyeball it), run a line with a writing instrument (or anything you can) from the point you identified out towards the azimuth you read on the watch and back azimuth (minus 180) toward you.

- Repeat for the second point you found. Where they cross is your approximate location. Remember what I said about getting to the high point? Well, I bet you’re on the highest point near that cross-section.

From here, you need a plan; you don’t need to do this every time. You can use terrain association to get back to where you need to go, or if you know you need to head in a specific direction, get down on your compass and find a distant solitary tree or something easily identifiable in that direction, and walk towards it. Now you just need to shoot south with the sun to know which direction to walk.

That’s how you’d use it for a compass, but if you aren’t practiced in land navigation, the best thing to do does not involve using your alpinist.

1. Stop (sit, think, observe, plan), remain calm
2. Try to trace steps back to the last known point, but only do this if it's the best plan.
3. Most importantly, stay where you are. Don’t wonder, make yourself visible and start to think about water and shelter as SAR is going to your last known location, track and trace your steps.

Anywho, wanted to elaborate on how to use the compass on my Alpinist beyond just sun orientation. Hope this is at least entertaining and slightly informative.