Firefly Navigator Compass – Plastimo Iris 50 Review

The Ultimate Night Navigator Compass featuring four Trigalight® light sources

This incredible hand-bearing compass has been specifically designed for use under the cover of darkness and is the chosen instrument of numerous military forces throughout the world. There is one UK company that specialises in police equipment that has even restricted the compass to police/military personnel only.  In addition it is also used by adventurers, yachtsmen and travellers everywhere. However, its not just darkness that it excels in, as it is equally at home in daylight too.

The Firefly Navigator compass is essentially an upgraded Plastimo Iris 50 compass that normally comes with a Luminous/Glow In The Dark (GITD) base and has been switched to a Gaseous Tritium Light Source (GTLS) base which is a self powered light source that gives a constant and steady glow, needs no batteries, switches or bulbs and doesn’t affect your night vision. This is one compass that you can leave a well lit room and be plunged into total darkness of the night and still be able to read the bearings without waiting for your night vision to kick in to action. Instant Go!

At night your senses become heightened and things taken for granted during daylight hours take on a new sense of urgency. The possibility of something going wrong dramatically increases and to get home safely you need to be able to rely on your equipment.  Plastimo are a French company that makes compasses for ships and boats, life jackets and other life saving equipment and just about everything else a sailor could need and have been in business for 50 years.

One of the great feature. s I like about the compass is that I can read the bearings without the need to put on my reading glasses (sign of old age) and that includes the prism. This has often been a failing for me when using other prismatic compasses. It is the ultimate in night-reading functionality with integrally fitted Swiss Tritium light sources, enabling you to navigate in total darkness through the prism and from above.

You do need a separate bearing  protractor for reading bearings directly from a map as this compass dose not have an integral baseplate, with map scales or ruler.

This to me is no disadvantage as it is much quicker to get bearings to different locations on the map and in some ways is more accurate due to reducing user error with a baseplate compass. It is also the standard method for military personnel, although many carry a baseplate compass for backup navigation.  Navigation Protractors are available in the UK in Mills and Degrees from Survival Aids

The oil filled sealed compass stabilizes quickly and can be used in boats or vehicles and has a soft bottom cell that prevents air bubbles forming in extreme conditions of altitude, temperature or just knocks from hard use.

The Plastimo IRIS 50 offers the ultimate in night-reading functionality due to four integrally fitted Trigalight®, enabling you to navigate in total darkness through the prism and from above.

Weighing only 105g and measuring 83mm x 33mm, the ergonomic design and non-slip rubber casing make it almost indestructible. The soft bottom cell prevents the formation of bubbles and leaks, and the red lubber lines ensure it’s easy to read.

The Plastimo IRIS 50 is also comfortable to use, waterproof to 50m and functional in temperatures ranging from -20c to + 60c. A must for all night trips, the IRIS 50 compass has a five-year warranty, which extends to ten years for the Trigalight® illumination.

Highly accurate, waterproof, extremely durable, lightweight and compact, this little gem is essential for those of you who push it to the limit long after sunset or do Stealth Camping, Guerilla Bushcraft or do a lot of night navigation. The downside is that the Firefly Navigator Compass is not cheap at a tad under £100, but anything using Tritium is not cheap and this has to be considered, but compared to the Issue Military Prismatic Compass the M73 Francis Barker they sell for £200 used and as they are made from brass and aluminium and are surprisingly heavy compared to  the 1005 grams of the Firefly Navigator Handbearing Compass.

I have also had quite a few top end Silva compasses that have suddenly developed bubbles in the compass housing for no apparent reason and have already spent that amount once over and more on replacement compasses, this is minimised with the Firefly Navigator due to the soft bubble housing/cell designed to prevent this happening at extreme altitudes or temperatures. If you are not going to be doing enough stealth bushcraft, night hiking or night navigation to warrant the price then you could consider the standard Plastimo Iris 50 compass which is available for under £50 and used on ebay for £30 (ex MOD)

Available with MILS or Degrees calibration.

Firefly Navigator Compass – Plastimo Iris 50 Review

Specs

• Dual Function – Hand bearing and traditional compass
• Oil filled sealed North indicating unit
• Available in Degrees, Mills, and Combo of Degrees-Mills
• Accuracy 1.5 degrees
• Field of view (sighting) 20 degrees allows optimum conditions to take bearings
• Graduations– one-degree/twenty mills graduations
• Temperature range of -20c – +60c
• Ergonomic design – Neck cord for easy deployment
• Smooth, non slip casing, stabilizes quickly and can be used in boats or vehicles
• Integrally fitted Tritium (also known as BetaLite, H3,Trigalight®) lights for the ultimate in night reading functionality
• 10 year maintenance free service life, no batteries, switches or bulbs
• No parallax error as a prism projects the reading of the bearing to infinity
• Soft bottom cell prevents the formation of bubbles and leaks in extreme conditions.
• Easy to read direction indicator due to the red lubber lines
• Colour options available for enclosure, Olive Green, Turquoise, Blue, Yellow
• Waterproof to 50m
• Weight – 105g
• Diameter 83mm Height 33m
• Five-year warranty extending to 10 with the integral GTLS compass

Note some specs seem to vary so check with the importer for accuracy

Conclusion

This is a truly great and accurate, near bomb proof compass that should last the user many years. Its price may seem high but this should last you a good ten years which if broken down from the price I paid is £9.50 a year over its 10 year life span of the Tritium. Thats if I only use it once a year, and to be honest as I feel I can trust this compass 100% It goes with me all year round in my bag or belt pouch, urban, mountains or wilderness

The one downside I have had is finding a pouch that I can use on a belt but have found a solution to this as mentioned in the BRUSCA 48 Hours Challenge post by using a SAS Altimeter Pouch

Update –

Firefly Navigator Handbearing Compass (Self Illuminating)

I paid  £94.95 for mine 😦

Platoon Stores are selling this model for £70 (Degrees version, but ideal for bushcraft, non-military survival as well as general navigation)

 Firefly Navigator Compass – Plastimo Iris 50 Review

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nevver:

1. APTYCOCK: A quick-witted or intelligent young man. (SW England)
2. BANG-A-BONK: It might not look like it, but this is a verb meaning “to sit lazily on a riverbank.” (Gloucestershire)
3. BAUCHLE: A name for an old worn out shoe, and in particular one that no longer has a heel—although it was also used figuratively to refer to a pointless or useless person. (Ireland)
4. CLIMB-TACK: A cat that likes to walk along high shelves or picture rails is a climb-tack. (Yorkshire)
5. CLOMPH: To walk in shoes which are too large for your feet. (Central England)
6. CRAMBO-CLINK: Also known as crambo-jink, this is a word for poor quality poetry—or, figuratively, a long-winded and ultimately pointless conversation. (Scots)
7. CRINKIE-WINKIE: A groundless misgiving, or a poor reason for not doing something. (Scots)
8. CRUM-A-GRACKLE: Any awkward or difficult situation. (SW England)
9. CRUMPSY: Short-tempered and irritable. Probably a local variation of “grumpy.” (Central England)
10. CUDDLE-ME-BUFF: Why call it beer when you can call it cuddle-me-buff? (Yorkshire)
11. CULF: The loose feathers that come out of a mattress or cushion—and which “adhere to the clothes of any one who has lain upon it,” according to Wright. (Cornwall)
12. CURECKITYCOO: To coo like a dove—or, figuratively, to flirt and canoodle with someone. (Scots)
13. DAUNCY: If someone looks noticeably unwell, then they’re dauncy.(Ireland)
14. DOUP-SCUD: Defined by Wright as “a heavy fall on the buttocks.” (NE Scots)
15. EEDLE-DODDLE: A person who shows no initiative in a crisis. Also used as an adjective to mean “negligent,” or “muddle-headed.” (Scots)
16. FAUCHLE: Fumbling things and making mistakes at work because you’re so tired? That’s fauchling. (Scots)
17. FLENCH: When the weather looks like it’s going to improve but it never does, then it’s flenched. (Scots)
18. FLOBY-MOBLY: The perfect word for describing the feeling of not being unwell, but still not quite feeling your best. A Scots equivalent was atweesh-an-atween. (Central England)
19. HANSPER: Pain and stiffness felt in the legs after a long walk. (Scots)
20. INISITIJITTY: A worthless, ridiculous looking person. (Central England)
21. JEDDARTY-JIDDARTY: Also spelled jiggerdy-jaggardy. Either way it means entwined or tangled. (NW England)
22. LENNOCHMORE: A larger-than-average baby. Comes from the Gaelic leanabh mor, meaning “big child.” (Scots)
23. LIMPSEY: Limp and flaccid, often used in reference to someone just before they faint. (East England)
24. MUNDLE: As a verb, mundle means to do something clumsily, or to be hampered or interrupted while trying to work. As a noun, a mundle is a cake slice or a wooden spatula—to lick the mundle but burn your tongue means to do something enjoyable, regardless of the consequences. (Central England)
25. NAWPY: A new pen. (Lincolnshire)
26. NIPPERKIN: A small gulp or draught of a drink, said to be roughly equal to one-eighth of a pint. (SW England)
27. OMPERLODGE: To disagree with or contradict someone. (Bedfordshire)
28. OUTSPECKLE: A laughing stock. (Scots)
29. PADDY-NODDY: A long and tedious story. (Lincolnshire)
30. PARWHOBBLE: To monopolize a conversation. (SW England)
31. PEG-PUFF: Defined as “a young woman with the manners of an old one.” (Northern England)
32. POLRUMPTIOUS: Raucous. Rude. Disruptive. Polrumptious. (Kent)
33. QUAALTAGH: The first person you see after you leave your house. Comes from an old Celtic New Year tradition in which the first person you see or speak to on the morning of January 1, the quaaltagh, was interpreted as a sign of what was to come in the year ahead. (Isle of Man)
34. RAZZLE: To cook something so that the outside of it burns, but the inside of it stays raw. You can also razzle yourself by warming yourself by a fire. (Yorkshire/East England)
35. SHACKBAGGERLY: An adjective describing anything left “in a loose, disorderly manner.” (Lincolnshire)
36. SHIVVINESS: The uncomfortable feeling of wearing new underwear. Shiv is an old word for thick, coarse wool or linen. (Yorkshire)
37. SILLERLESS: Literally “silverless”—or, in other words, completely broke. (Scots)
38. SLITHERUM: A dawdling, slow-moving person. (East England)
39. SLIVING: A thin slice of bread or meat, or a splinter of wood. (Yorkshire)
40. SLOCHET: To walk with your shoes nearly coming off your feet. Or to walk with your shoelaces untied. Or to walk slowly because your shoes are too big. (SW England)
41. SPINKIE-DEN: A woodland clearing full of flowers. (Scots)
42. TEWLY-STOMACHED: On its own, tewly means weak or sickly, or overly sensitive or delicate. Someone who is tewly-stomached has a weak stomach, or a poor constitution. (East England)
43. THALTHAN: Also spelled tholthan, a thalthan is a part-derelict building. (Isle of Man)
44. TITTY-TOIT: To spruce or tidy up. (Yorkshire)
45. UNCHANCY: Sometimes used to mean mischievous or unlucky, but also used to describe something potentially dangerous, or, according to Wright, “not safe to meddle with.” (Northern England)
46. VARGLE: Means either to work in a messy or untidy way, or to perform an unpleasant task. (Scots)
47. VARTIWELL: The little metal loop that the latch of a gate hooks into? That’s the vartiwell. According to the OED, it probably takes its name from an old French word for the bottom hinge of a gate, vervelle. (Eastern England)
48. WEATHER-MOUTH: A bright, sunny patch of sky on the horizon flanked by two dense banks of cloud is the weather-mouth. (Scots)
49. YAWMAGORP: A yawm is a yawn, and a gorp is a mouth. So a yawmagorp is a lounger or idler, or someone who seems constantly to be yawning and stretching wearily. (Yorkshire)
50. ZWODDER: The last entry in the English Dialect Dictionary describes “a drowsy, stupid state of body or mind.” It’s probably related to another word, swadder, used to mean “to grow weary with drinking.” (SW England)

50 Old British dialect words to use