AB is right, balance only matters for N or S hemisphere (or to be precise, a few bands in those hemispheres). North Am will be fine and point to the same place as any other compass. Only a south hemi compass might 'drag its needle' on a shallow bodied compass. A good compass (not mine I just noticed) is stamped with its designated declination zone (NN, NNS or something like that).
This balance, or 'declination' ('incline' of needle), is often confused with/described as 'deviation' which is what Grant is refering to (and how its described elsewhere - even on my cheapo compass body) and can vary greatly as you near the mag pole in north Canada. Between the true North Pole and the mag North Pole your compass will point south!
Chris S
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