Polymath Products Nav Bead – Multi-function navigation accessory. Compass, map illuminator, pace counter and personal marker. UK-made.

I have owned the previous version of the Nav Bead for quite a while now but was impressed by the trial version of the new model when Luke, one of the directors of Polymath, sent me a picture of him testing it in Australia, so I was waiting for its release with some anticipation.As soon as I saw it on Polymaths Amazon.co.uk products page I ordered 2 – one of each type of cord - and, as usual with Polymath, they arrived on the next working day. The kit comes in a useful plastic box with a set of pace counter beads and an easy to follow set of instructions and advice. The following weekend I took one out to a local open area, along with a 1-25,000 map, oriented the map using the compass and then decided on a simple route for testing the kit.I laid out the attached cord between each leg of the walk in turn and used the compass to plot the relevant bearings, then used the cord to measure the distances on the map to my target points and against the yardage scale. From much practise over the years, I am familiar with my stride length on differing types of ground and degrees of slope so I then easily converted the distances to paces and made a note of them for each stage.Using my notes, I set the compass to the correct bearing for the first leg of the walk, but since the target point was a stream junction and I didn't want to miss it and not know which way it was from where I'd arrived, I actually aimed off a hundred paces upstream of the junction on the nearest stream, knowing that when I hit the stream I would then need to simply head down with the flow to my target. I stretched out the cord and used it to sight on an appropriate landmark on my chosen bearing, and set off on course. As I walked I used the beads on the cord to note each ten and hundred paces of the 350 required for that leg. When I got to the stream I turned and started to count my paces to the stream junction. It was actually 108 rather than 100 but using a button compass, and since I'm a bit out of practise, I reckoned that was well within the limit of acceptability for the distance covered. Each of the following stages of the walk was similarly accurate; sometimes my calculations were a bit over sometimes under my original calculation but I hit each target point and reached my destination without any problems.I later took the set out in the dark to check the luminosity of the compass and bead. Inevitably after several hours of darkness the brightness does deteriorate and I have attached one of the tiny emergency light sources from a Polymath mini survival tin to up the glow when required, but after a day worn in the open the luminous bead remains viable for map reading for several hours, so Polymath’s pictures are accurate, and just a short exposure to torch light recharges it enough for more hours use, giving a massive saving on battery life of the emergency light.Accurate navigation with a button compass is never as easy or precise as with a larger model, but with proper application of appropriate techniques Polymath’s new product will certainly help you to get safely from one point to another, even in an emergency. The extra features of the NavBead would make that simpler and more reliable under a wide range of conditions and whether you were in a wilderness, rural or urban environment. On my next outing I'll use one again but over more difficult ground and with at least one walk in the dark. Lack of visible landmarks to aim for while walking can make that much more difficult of course and requires some different techniques but it will be another test of the viability of what, from the results of this first test, promises to be a very effective piece of kit.

This compass really needs some praise because there has been some really good clever thought gone into this. Everything you would expect to glow in the dark does and its all put together in a nice package. I would say the most important part of this tool, is the compass itself and it is a very nice one too compared to some small one i have had.. The whole kit seems robust enough to be squaddie proof and the only change I would make (because I wouldnt want to pop the compass housing a part) is an easy break in the cord seeing as it is nice cord and unlikely to snap if caught up accidently. I will be using adhesive lined heatshrink to create this mainly as it is for my 12 year old nephew. I doubt he would use the pacer beads but they are a nice addition. All in all for the price and quality of this item, I highly recommend it as certainly a back up but with all the features it has could quite easily be used for keeping an eye on direction day or night (once heading is established) accurately rather than keep grabbing the silva. Well impressed. Thank you Polymath.

I thought I'd add something cool and useful to my edc. This just jumped out at me and looked like a fun product.For the money it looks great and can't really complain. The pace counter could certainly be useful. The compass certainly points towards magnetic sources - not sure I'm hitting north as there's plenty of sources that seem to be confusing it right now. Speakers and just discovered a small electric motor I forgot I had :)The glow in the dark fades rapidly. Maybe I need to charge it up for a while. I hit it up with a UV torch and it glows brightly, but not for long. Odd thing is that it comes in a black plastic case that would keep it in the dark, so not helping. I'll be tying it onto a zipper on a backpack so it's always in day light.

This is one of a very few small compasses on the market, that actually works ! I have alot of experience with compasses, and the role I would use this in when out walking, would be as a "Howgozit" checker. In that I would have planned a route and know what headings to go on using a protractor/main compass. Then when walking the route use this as a confidence checker. The ranger beads are a good inclusion, and its night capability after a quick "light up" is pretty good too. A small, but genuinely good range of products from this company, happy to recommend both.

Not bad as button-compasses go; reasonably fast, but not orienteering compass fast. It’s the format that’s a real winner.As a backup and quick direction indicator, it’s great, and the lume is a really handy feature for this who do 24 hr events.Like all compasses, remember to keep it well away form mobile phones and headphones... devices with magnets will screw up your compass.

A brilliant piece of quality kit solidly built. The bright glowing back is great for reading a map at night without destroying night vision. The box it comes in is great for carrying a mini fishing kit in, everything is a bonus.

Very well made, compass is accurate and good for normal navigation (but due to size really accurate navigation is better left to a large compass), both the lanyard and compass absorb light so can glow in the dark that’s bright enough to read a map by and its a long-lasting light. Counting beads do as expected, case is useful for all sorts of things.Quality product.

Fantastic product, can't recommend enough. This is yet another Polymath product that more than lives up to its billing. Everything about it is well thought-out and just works. You need to string the beads onto the string if you wish to use it as a pace counter but this allows you to customise it however you want it. Not sure I'll use the compass much but it's always handy for a rough direction check.This a great product and I can't recommend it enough.

Ein sehr guter Kompass. Richtet sich schnell und präzise aus. Das Band könnte länger sein, da wenn die Kugeln eingefädelt sind, man es nicht mehr anlegen kann.