Compass brands

K

Kenny H.

Joined
May 24, 2009
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I've been looking to pickup a compass lately, I'm curious what brands I should be looking at for a quality compass that won't break the bank.
 
Cammenga for me

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The compass I use most is a Ranger from Silva, great compass. I also have a DS50 from Recta, which is also a good brand IMO. From both brands I also have a clip compass which can be clipped to a watch band. Silva and Recta are the most common brands in outdoor stores here.
 
If baseplate, go with Silva or Suunto.

Lensatic, go with Cammenga.

The baseplate models tend to be a bit lighter, are usually less expensive than a Cammenga, and for some, may be simpler to use. They may, or may not be affected by bug spray, so be careful when using this in the summer when the bugs are out.

The lensatic design is used by the military, when a precise reading often means the difference between life and death. While there are less expensive copies of the Cammenga which runs about $75-$80 (cheap when compared to a hand held GPS) , ask yourself how much your life is worth. If you are out in bad weather, short on food and water, and you have to trust your compass to get you where you need to be, will that extra $30 you saved on a cheaper compass be worth it?
 
Just FYI, Silva (in the USA) is not made by Silva of Sweden. Johnson Outdoors got the name in an underhanded way, to cash in on the Silva name.

Stick to
Cammenga (authentic military compass),
Silva of Sweden,
Brunton (they also sell real Silvas (in the USA) under different names like the 15 TDCL),
Kasper & Richter (K&R) or
Suunto (go with the global needle)
 
Suunto. In my experience, Brunton = bubbles. I realize any brand of liquid filled compass can develop bubbles, but it seems to be the norm with Brunton.
 
I really like that Cammenga, I'll probably pickup the Lensatic version as it's not too spendy.

Thanks for all the information guys.
 
Neanderthal said:
Suunto. In my experience, Brunton = bubbles. I realize any brand of liquid filled compass can develop bubbles, but it seems to be the norm with Brunton.
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I've got one of their simple Trail Buster models that might be the exception to the rule. 10 years old and still no bubble. For the price, a Brunton can be used and easily replaced if a bubble appears. I think I paid ~$4 or $5 for my Trail Buster. Its up to a whopping $7 now. They offer a bunch of baseplate models that come in under $20.

KuRUpTD said:
Take a look at the Suunto M-3DL - it can be found for right around $25

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I just bought that same model. Found it on line for $22. I'll second the vote for the M-3DL.
 
Brunton baseplate models are great, IMHO. I have a handful of them, wish I knew model numbers, and they work like a charm. You can't go wrong with Suunto either.
 
Depends on what you're doing with it. For simple navigating on trails with a topo map, I'd just as soon have my old Silva Polaris(?) that I got while in the Boy Scouts ~25 years ago, but somehow recently misplaced(was just looking at a newer one in Target today for $10.99). The Suunto M3 that replaced it is a nicer compass and has more features, but I don't really need them.
Used the earlier equivalent of the Cammenga in the Army for land nav, and liked it well enough. The newer version with trits costs double, another feature that's cool, but would serve no purpose for me.

I say evaluate your use, and buy based on that. Sometimes extra features just get in the way. Read up on lensatic vs. baseplate compasses, too.
Lensatics have no declination adjustment, and are much bulkier and heavier.
I love that the direction you're shown on a lensatic is where you are facing, while you have to adjust the bezel on a baseplate compass. Much easier for serious land nav where you're shooting an azimuth and pace-counting for distance, but makes little difference sitting on a map. I think for most people it's just a cool toy(yes, I want one, just to have!), though, unless a select few are "following" the compass cross-country.
 
OwenM said:
Depends on what you're doing with it. For simple navigating on trails with a topo map, I'd just as soon have my old Silva Polaris(?) that I got while in the Boy Scouts ~25 years ago, but somehow recently misplaced(was just looking at a newer one in Target today for $10.99). The Suunto M3 that replaced it is a nicer compass and has more features, but I don't really need them.
Used the earlier equivalent of the Cammenga in the Army for land nav, and liked it well enough. The newer version with trits costs double, another feature that's cool, but would serve no purpose for me.

I say evaluate your use, and buy based on that. Sometimes extra features just get in the way. Read up on lensatic vs. baseplate compasses, too.
Lensatics have no declination adjustment, and are much bulkier and heavier.
I love that the direction you're shown on a lensatic is where you are facing, while you have to adjust the bezel on a baseplate compass. Much easier for serious land nav where you're shooting an azimuth and pace-counting for distance, but makes little difference sitting on a map. I think for most people it's just a cool toy(yes, I want one, just to have!), though, unless a select few are "following" the compass cross-country.
Click to expand...

I suppose I fall into the "yes, I want one, just to have!" category, I don't do a whole lot of hiking or cross country navigation, but I would like to have one if not just to have one then to use on camping trips, when I go fishing or that "just in case" sort of thing.

I like the Cammenga because it has the metal enclosure and I had one like it when I was a kid. I have to read on lensatic vs baseplate, as I don't know the difference and what benefits and cons they each have so I'll do that.
 
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A little story regarding map reading and the compass-

As you can see from the photo, having a compass in this situation was not much help. While I considered my map reading skills to be excellent, when smashing through the jungles of Tay Ninh Province, map reading was a problem. Sometimes you could see the sky - but you could never see terrain features. Plus, you were in a 110,000 pound metal vehicle, (think Magnetic) and there was that annoying factor of people trying to kill us all the time. So we adapted. I would pick a grid intersection nearby, (hopefully not overhead) and then radio my local artillery battery. I'd request a 200 meter height of burst WP (White Phosphorous) round at that grid location. After the air-burst we would all try to located the smoke cloud (under which the deadly WP was falling to earth and burning through everything) before it drifted too far. From the cloud location I shot a back azimuth with my trusty compass, estimated the distance and kept on smashing ahead. Close enough for government work. I relay this routine procedure to my son (an army officer) and other young military guys who came of age with GPS and they can't believe we did that. Brings new meaning to the term "dead reckoning". Map reading is a good, even if outdated, skill to learn. I taught all my grandchildren the basics and gave them all a compass, just a plain old military lensatic.
 
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