new compass

B

Bushman5

Joined
Oct 31, 2007
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Got sick of my compasses breaking, have had several mid to high end grade palstic based compasses break in the pack or on the trail. So i got one of these today, a SUUNTO KB-14 sighting compass, aluminum billet boddy, fluid damped jewel bezel pivot, sighting lens etc. its preety damn sweet (not TOO pricy either ($140,CDN) you look thru the lens, keep both eyes open , shoot your target and you get a superimposed "optical illusion" sight reading. Also has a threaded reces for mounting on a tripod.

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also scored a Army issue Map Reading & Land Navigation book, and a ACR sighting signal mirror with float and whistle:

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3" x 2" x 3/4" thick approx
 
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Looks like a real jewel. My dive compass is Suunto and it never fails to point me in the right direction. Sometimes I even believe it's correct!

Have you ever seen or heard of the book "Be an Expert With Map and Compass" by Bjorn Kellstrom? It's a classic, easy to read and understand, been around for ages, and used to be THE recommended book for all sport orienteering clubs. If you ever see a copy at a yard sale or flea market, grab it!

Stitchawl
 
Looking thru the lens: (this is a clear as i could focus the camera while holding the compass.....)

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Too cool this is !
Never seen this one.

If now using one is lost, I'll go for this.
thanks for sharing.
 
I've never seen that model before but I've never been disappointed with my Suunto. It looks very nice.
 
every precision instrument deserves a protective case:

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gazz98 said:
I've never seen that model before but I've never been disappointed with my Suunto. It looks very nice.
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100% agree! their compasses are very well made. i just happen to be a bit hard on my gear, and have had several break 9sat on them while in pocket, crushed in pack during truck rollover etc). Now i gots a beefy one and its armoured cased to boot.....

btw, the USD is VERY STRONG right in Canada, you might want to browse CDN dealers and buy in CDN $ using USD ...you will save TONS of $.....
 
Now that is pretty cool.

I bet it would be very fast for general direction finding (looking at the top) and yet very accurate when sighting.

Suunto claims 1/3 degree accuracy!

That housing looks pretty tough.

Please give us a field report....because now I want one! Dang you Bushman :D

B
 
Looks like a great compass. I'm going to keep my eye out for that one. It looks tough and I really like the lens set up on it.

Bushman5 said:
every precision instrument deserves a protective case:
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Bushman - you do crack me up with all those pelican cases, though. They are great. Here is a good one for protecting your axe :D:D:D

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(just kidding of course. How do you like that new custom tac-knife?)
 
That is a quality piece of gear you picked up Bushman. I've also got a collection of mid grade compasses, but have never popped for one so nice. I'll bet a glowing field report would push me over the edge though.

Jeff
 
KGD, you have no idea how many Peli case i have..........and yes i have the large rifle case for my axes already.....got a Peli Cube Case that i thrown my logging gear (harnnes, ropes, pulleys, FAK etc) into, toss it into the truck when needed grab and go....at one point i had three 1550 cases inside a cube case for easy transport, got to the site, pulles out the cases, quick set up for first Aid at a festival.

solid, simple gear that works = Bushman worthy
 
Bushman I have been looking into purchasing exactly the same compass or a similar model by Brunton. How do you like it? How well does it perform? Is it adjustable for declination?

I've never used one of this type and am interested because it looks easy to use under nasty circumastances, plus durable.
 
from what i can see, it is simply a compass rosette pivoting on a bezel jewel, damped by fluid dampening liquid inside the case. Accroding to the manual, you need to manualy calculate declination.

my ONLY beef with it is the lack of glow dots/marks for night use, but hey, thats what the red LED lens is for on my headlamp......

as for performance, no beefs here. You can read it from above while its on a map, or sight thru the lens for very accurate shooting. I've wandered about my neighbourhood looking thru it and the "optical illusion" it creates while your sighting is pretty neat. Almost like a HUD (heads up display) , you get your compass bearing appearing in front of your eyes while your seeing your target

edit: if you use a camera tripod, make DANG sure the mounting bolt on the tripod head and other bits of the tripod are ALUMINUM, and not steel. Like ANY compass, iron throws off the reading. I removed my neck knife and got a 10 degree difference.
 
stitchawl said:
Looks like a real jewel. My dive compass is Suunto and it never fails to point me in the right direction. Sometimes I even believe it's correct!

Have you ever seen or heard of the book "Be an Expert With Map and Compass" by Bjorn Kellstrom? It's a classic, easy to read and understand, been around for ages, and used to be THE recommended book for all sport orienteering clubs. If you ever see a copy at a yard sale or flea market, grab it!

Stitchawl
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If I am not mistaken, I believe Be an Expert with a Map and Compass is still in print. I purchased a copy a year or two ago at Barnes and Noble. The book is highly recommended.
 
NICE! What is the difference between the KB-14 model and the KB-20? Curious if anyone knows. Is your KB-14 declintation correctable? If so how is it accomplished?

Also Bjorn's book is good but The Essential Wilderness Navigator by Seidman & Cleveland is far superior. Yea Bjorn's book is a classic but too much is spent of competition Orienteering... whereas the book I'm suggesting delves much deeper into the critical aspects one needs to know in the wild...it explains it in much easier and better ways.
 
fujita yuji said:
Too cool this is !
Never seen this one.

If now using one is lost, I'll go for this.
thanks for sharing.
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ISHII Sports doesn't carry them, Fujita-san, but the shop (sorry but I don't remember the name) that is on the second floor, corner shop, of the building a block East of there does!! (Or did as of two months ago. :o )

Stitchawl
 
shangchi108 nope, just a fixed sight on the housing and a floating 360 deg rosette.

NIGHT TEST tonight:

- the KB-14 works flawlessly and accurately. I sighted sevral tall landmarks in the city and wandered over to them. The sight lens is pretty neat, the optical illusion heads up display of the bearing reading is very neat.

initial complaints (minor squabbles really, i still highly recomend this unit)

- when sighting THRU the lens, one can see the bearing numbers on the rosette, but there are NO "N, E, S, W" markings on the side of the rosette, so one has to make note of the number then lower the unit and double check the direction (N E S W etc etc) on the rosette top

- when sighting thru the lens in the dark its impossible to see the numbers.....there is no glow powder dots on the rosette. If SUUNTO was to coat the entire INNER wall of the housing with glow powder epoxy, it would light up the bearing numbers very well. Sure just use a flashlight one might say.....well, the batteries create a mag field that throws off th reading by as much as 40 degrees or more...so thats out. (i found even my headlamp wreaked havoc with the readings)

I plan to get several Tritum rods and making a plexi "night cap" for the unit, for nighttime readings.

other than that i breezed around the area with my Rite in the rain book and pencil, sighting and moving.

EDIT: just taped a glow rod on top of the compass to try see if it would work...i was able to sight in the dark and see the bearing numbers.

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so my next plan is an acrylic sheet of 1/4" thick, with a tritum rod imbedded into it and reflective mylar facing downards towards the rosette. . It will rest on top of the housing, lighting up the rosette and bearing numbers.
 
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