Fake Meridian Prismatic Sighting Compass
Price: £3.00 winning bid usually go for £5-£7
Manufacturer: unknown
Model: unknown (K&R Meridian copy)
Description: Military Prismatic sighting Compass
Features: lensatic sighting, side ruler, glow in the dark dial, spirit level, neck lanyard, marching line. Hard outer case.
Vendor: Seller bestbuy266
Shipped From: UK
What's in the packet?: Compass, neck lanyard, comprehensive instruction booklet and green nylon carry pouch
For something so cheap it is well presented
First Impressions
I have been looking at these metal framed compasses for a while now and thought I might pull the trigger once a reasonably priced one came along. Lucky for me a UK based firm had this counterfeit Meridian up on auction with a low starting price. The normal ebay price of this model varies from £6 to £10 with free shipping so bagging this one for £3 in the end seemed an achievement.
After a couple of days the compass arrived nicely packaged.
Inside the main postal cardboard box was a rather crap looking retail box. It looked awful. Not the best first impression.
Thankfully a rather nice green pouch slipped out which felt like it had a bit of weight to it. Inside the nylon pouch was the metal compass and a handy instruction manual.
The Real Meridian
Precision made in Germany by Kasper & Richter the original Meridian was a rugged Prism sighting compass with an appealing appearance and a strong reputation for its quality and reliability. These days it seems that this original model may have been discontinued? The K&R website makes no mention but instead promotes the improved Meridian Pro. This update features a side fitted inclination thing?
Here is a link to the website Meridian Pro
In terms of looks then my fake copy isn't that far off the real thing. Taking a second look and a few little differences can be noticed but its not a big deal. Lol I wager the bezel on the real Meridian isn't made from plastic!
In terms of the materials used for this cheap compass I'm in no doubt that it's cheap monkey metal being used here. It's not awful. It's just a little rough and the seni-pro paint job doesn't help the situation either. It doesn't feel very chip resistant?
So it's not like a real Meridian in that respect. Well I knew this from the start and for the £3 I paid it would be daft to expect anything else. Overall considering the build quality and the materials used I would say that this compass should be durable enough for most situations. I'm referring to the outside case here and not the cheap plastic bits on the inside. Notably cheap plastic can be seen on the silver Bezel. A solid aluminium Bezel would have been nice to be honest but thats the deal.
Testing
Although I haven't taken this thing on any kind of orienteering excersize yet I have had the chance to play around a bit with it.
The most important test for this compass is the ability to find true north on the dial. Sitting it side by side with my other known working compasses it can certainly find true north. The amount of time it takes to get there is another matter. It can take a few seconds....no matter though as long as it gets there!
Using the lens sight to pin down a coordinate is easy to do. Just look through the little hole but make sure it's level when you do it. This feature could be useful.
The little spirit level works OK. An absolute essential part of taking an accurate reading of course. Nothing bad to report there.
Not bad for a fake
Overall then a good working compass. The build quality seems worth a lot more than £3. It's likely to be hard wearing apart from the flimsy plastic bezel. Worth a punt anyway.
It even has the side ruler like the Meridian!
Rating: ✅✅✅✅4 out of 5
A fully working Meridian rip-off for £3 is a bargain and no mistake. This thing will guide you to wherever you are going...... reliably. No one will know the difference 😁