Military Compass Opinions

Nathanial4

Nathanial4

Joined
Mar 11, 2002
Messages
161
I am looking at purchasing a Military Compass. I have seen the Cammenga @ USCAV for 64.00 and have seen the Stocker & Yale @ Cabela's for 74.00.

Which is better? I know Cammenga is the current mfg for the military but Stocker & Yale did it before them? Any difference in the two?

Thanks,
 
I can't comment on the Stockard & Yale, but I have the Cammenga #27 (phosphoric dial) and its a real nice instrument. If they're charging $64.00 for that one though, it seems a little high. I think I paid $49.00 at the Joe Blow Army/Navy Wannabe Store about a year ago. However, if they're charging $64.00 for the tritium lighted model, its not such a bad price. By the way, I still like my Silva Ranger 15CL better. And it was only $49.00 at Gander Mountain.

Regards,
Bill
 
I thought Stockard & Yale was no longer making military lensatic compasses. I have an 11-year-old S&Y with tritium, and love it. The nice thing about it, aside from its radioluminescence, is that the needle is very strongly magnetized. My other compasses are thrown off by magnetic objects, where the military lensatic still gives good readings.

I wouldn't worry about having problems with another brand. Just make sure it is mil-spec. They should be essentially the same.

Scott
 
I called Cabela and the CSR told me they were still getting shipment of brand new compasses from Stocker & Yale. They are just a little more expensive than the Cammenga compass but is is any better? Those that have the Stocker & Yale seem very loyal to them.....

Just curious if anyone has used both.
 
hello neighbor, I dont know much about the military version but I love my silva ranger 15cl alot as well
 
Nathanial4,

What kind of use do you intend the compass for? Some compasses are fast, some are extremely accurate, some are light weight, some float, and some are better at working with maps.

My military lensatic is pretty fast and accurate, but it is also pretty heavy and bulky -- not the kind of thing you usually want in your shirt pocket. It is good for cold weather, since there is no fluid for a bubble to develop in, and operates easily with gloves or mitts.

I carry other compasses when my use of a certain feature is an advantage. When I am going light on a trail, I use a teeny little compass with a mirror (all the better to shave with). For off-trail navigation, I use my lensatic. For mapping, I use a Suunto optical or a Brunton M2 (which is basically a polycarbonate Pocket Transit). They are both extremely accurate. I have used Silva Rangers too, and regard them as a great off-trail navigation compass.

The only thing I don't like about mirror compasses (except the Brunton Eclipse) is that they are very hard to make a good measurement with. You have to be very, very practiced with one to get the needle lined up well enough for a 2 degree reading. The eclipse uses circles, which are way easier to center than a needle is to allign in a mirror.

A military lensatic is easy to read to ~1 degree, and the Suunto can be read to 1/4 degree without much trouble. Both of these can be read in a few seconds. It takes me almost a minute to take a good shot with a mirror compass.

Scott
 
Thanks for the replys. I currently have a Suunto M3D Leader that works pretty well. I used a Lensatic in the USMC, so I am a little familiar with those as well. I looked into the Ranger, however, I read quite a lot of bad reviews of the newer Rangers. Lots of people complained they were falling apart (literally) and the quality was not what it was a few years ago. Those of you who love the Ranger, are you using one you have had for a few years or a brand new one? Just curious if the reviews I read were accurate.

Thanks again for the help.
 
well if you're lookin for speed, accuracy, and quality, consider the brunton pocket transit...this is the classic compass used by professional surveyors, topographers...they're a bit bulky and quite pricey ($200+) but they're damn good compasses...i love mine...you can get 1 degree accuracy no problem...

they're not so good for map-reading (that's not what they're for) since you don't have the base and all that...but they allow you to sight at any point: level, uphill, downhill, etc...
 
I'm certaintly no expert, but I really do like my Suunto K14, you get really fast readings and it is very well made.
 
My Ranger was purchased a few years ago. I've heard similar reports of the newer ones, but thought that it had something to do with the models sold in America no longer being produced by Silva. It seems that the good ones are still produced and sold in Europe. Perhaps someone is more up on this than me. One reason that I'm so fond of Silva is that I'm in my forties and have difficulty reading anything close-up without reading glasses. The Silva works out better for me than the Lensatic. Not sure if this will be an issue for you or not.

Bill
 
I've got a newer style Ranger, as well as an older Ranger. They're both fine compasses in my book, although the newer one does develop a bubble slightly more easily in colder weather.

I personally prefer my Brunton Eclipse over the Ranger, but the Ranger is one of the few good compasses with gradations for the 1:62,500 map scale that I use most often.

I did purchase a couple of Suunto MC-2Gs last weekend. My local EMS was having to store closing sale, with the MC-2G on sale for something like $35.00. They even had Suunto Comets for $3.00. I grabbed a couple of those for zipper pulls. To tell you the truth, if you prefer a 1:24 scale, the MC-2G looks to be virtually identical to the Ranger, but with a luminous dial and magnifier built into the baseplate. They are definitely made by the same manufacturer.
 
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