What Compass do you use?

DOC-CANADA said:
Are you trying to tell us we're old????
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What do you mean, "we?" I'm not old. I'm enduring, inveterate, long-lasting, long-lived, perennial, even vintage. But never 'old.' :eek:

Anyway, stitchawl is obviouly older than me :rolleyes: because mine does not have the metal bezel. It does however have the declination adjusting screw.
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Listen up, kid... :p Besides the bezel, yours has different markings on the base plate too. Mine only has the Imperial and metric measures on the edges, no map scale references in the middle. Same little screw driver though. The model name is over the Ranger marking and is '15T' My lanyard chord is a brownish color but that be from geologic metamorphosis... ;)

Stitchawl
 
BlackHills said:
It's interesting that mine is a bit different than your's both in the base and the compass part. I don't remember exactly when I bought mine, but I know I had it '87 when I went to Korea. Here's a quick shot I just took.

silva.jpg
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You will notice there's a difference in model #'s. Mine's a 15 and yours is a 15T. There was also a 15TD IIRC.

Doc
 
BlackHills said:
It's interesting that mine is a bit different than your's both in the base and the compass part. I don't remember exactly when I bought mine, but I know I had it '87 when I went to Korea.
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Almost identical except for the material of the bezel. Same base plate markings and same inclinometer. Different lanyard material. I got mine in a sporting goods store in New Hampshire in 1973...74 when I realized that I had lost my military compass and was a few days into a two-week trip along the Appalachian Trail crossing a road near North Conway. I had to detour into town to get a new one!

Stitchawl
 
I have a compass collection that almost rivals my knife collection. However, my most used compass is an old reliable Silva Ranger.

Love a good GPS. Have them in my autos, boat, airplane, and backpack/daypacks. My GPS units always sit next to a map and compass. :)

-Danny
 
My favorite was the Silva ranger until mine was stolen. Now I carry a Brunton Eclipse 8099. The silva is easier to use, especialy for beginers. My preference before these was the standard military lensatic, which still win out for durability.
 
In the past 20 years I've had not one but two Silva Ranger's spontaneously and permanently reverse poles (north points south), Silva replaced them, but it made me lose confidence in the brand. I use my compass daily at work and usually have a backup not far away, but I've never had a problem with my Suunto MC2-G. The global needle is worth the few extra dollars it costs, it will work equally well in both the northern and southern hemispheres.

compass_face_1_lowres.jpg


You can see above how the global needle works, the magnet is in the centre of the compass on a gimbal instead of on the needle which enables the needle to remain flat even in areas where the earth's magnetic inclination (as opposed to declination) is relatively steep.

compass_face_2_lowres.jpg


You can see on the back the declination adjustment screw (set to 9degW in this photo) in the bottom left on the black ring. This compass also has a free-floating dip needle.
 
Until t got swiped, I used an old CF-issue Ranger with a tritium lamp and calibrated in mils. Now it's the Suunto for me until I can scare up another CF one...

Good idea with the ranger beads on the lanyard, Kevin.
 
Mine looks like Doc's.
Doc, I'm no youngster. Remember, you are only as old as your joints make you feel.
 
Suunto A-30. I've not seen any need or desire for anything more complicated or accurate than that. Cheap and good.
 
Suunto M3 Leader compass for me. That's the model I used for years as a professional archaeologist, not only for navigating and laying out survey transects, but for field mapping archaeological sites too.

I've had terrible luck with Brunton and Silva products...

I also bought one of those 'matchbox' compasses. It had a Suunto label but was actually made by Recta. Had to return it multiple times for air bubbles - and the replacement usually had bubbles by the time it arrived at my house. I suspect the bubbles were caused by the elevation change.

[Just got mine out to look at it - finally received one with no bubbles, but I see there's now a large black floaty in there - looks like thread or plastic. :mad: These things are junk.]

--------------------

My GPS is a Garmin GPS-Map76S. It's been a great unit! Wouldn't mind something nicer now though, like the GPSmap 76CSx. I don't use the GPS for navigating, just for collecting waypoints throughout the hike so I can learn where I was after I get home. Geocaching too.
 
DOC-CANADA said:
Are you trying to tell us we're old????

Anyway, stitchawl is obviously older than me :rolleyes: because mine does not have the metal bezel. It does however have the declination adjusting screw. (Please excuse crappy picture).
mine.jpg


Doc
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Looks like my Silva except mine is a Ranger 15T.
Basically the same except on mine the imperial measurements are on the left side and metric on the right.
I bought mine in the late 80's/early 90's from lebaron mailorder.
 
Brunton 15TDCL - the "real" Silva Ranger - keeping a long story short, what the Silva Ranger is marketed under in the U.S. nowadays (new U.S. market Silva Rangers are actually not Silvas at all)

Waiting for someone to post pictures of the Brunton Pocket Transit they carry around.
 
Silva Ranger for nearly 30 years. In the last few years it's developed a small bubble when over 11,000 ft. but the bubble seems to disappear below 10,000 ft. I have a smaller Silva from 1973 that still works fine.

I really like my Suunto dive computer and may get that brand if I buy another compass.

DancesWithKnives
 
Wintermute,

One of my hiking buddies is really into navigation. His father wanted a gift suggestion so I mentioned the Pocket Transit. That thing is really cool. However, it helps to carry a lightweight ruler/straightedge of some kind when using it on maps.

DancesWithKnives
 
my compass is a suunto MCA

attatched is a fox40 whistle and a lanyard.

IMG_0971.jpg


in the photo is also my tissot t-touch (t-touch also has a compass built in) and my swiss army explorer model.
 
Sharp Eye said:
Mine looks like Doc's.
Doc, I'm no youngster. Remember, you are only as old as your joints make you feel.
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Silva Ranger, Silva Explorer, two Lowrance GPS', and two Casio Pathfinder watches. I'm never without at least two compasses.
I'd like to be better trained in their proper use but I know enough to get by.

I'm 44 but with shoulder and knee tendenitis, my joints make me feel 104.:grumpy:
 
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