I need a good compass

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03-30-2015, 02:23 PM
Fort fireman

I need a good compass

I'm in the market for a good compass. What brand do you guys like and why? My current compass is a no name clear plastic job but I want to upgrade to something nicer and higher quality however I don't want to break the bank on it. I'm thinking 30-50 bucks or less if it's good.
03-30-2015, 02:37 PM
Rick

Brand names are a misnomer. I'll just let you read post 23 on this page. And it's probably changed since I posted it. But you'll get the idea.

http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...hlight=compass

There are a lot of great compasses in that price range. I have a lot of different compasses. The ones I rely on the most are a simple button compass and a Suunto MB6. Here's a thread with a lot listed.

http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...hlight=compass
03-30-2015, 03:01 PM
MrFixIt

I have a military issue lensatic compass that has served me well for over 30 years.
03-30-2015, 06:48 PM
Enigma

The Suunto MB6 is the same compass as the Recta compass issued to Swiss military personnel (my nephew serves with them). A great rugged sighting compass. I don't use or like to promote the use of military lensatics, no civvies need to have mils on a compass, no-one is bringing down artillery on anyone! Plus they aren't very accurate, and the baseplate, on the models that can unfold, for marking azimuths on your map, is …..well…… quite ordinary. A lot of cheap Lensatics, don't even fold down so have no baseplate.!

I recommend the Silva 4/54 for accuracy in taking bearings, you will get an extremely accurate reading down to .5 degrees, and you also see your back bearing reading at the same time. Some of our SF dudes are issued these. (I have taught survival skills to them, and heard it straight to my face).

http://i61.tinypic.com/vxj0o8.jpg
Silva 4/54

http://i59.tinypic.com/35idr95.jpg
Silva 4/54
03-30-2015, 10:16 PM
crashdive123

You could just use an analog watch.:whistling:
03-30-2015, 11:39 PM
Sarge47

+1!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rick

Brand names are a misnomer. I'll just let you read post 23 on this page. And it's probably changed since I posted it. But you'll get the idea.

http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...hlight=compass

There are a lot of great compasses in that price range. I have a lot of different compasses. The ones I rely on the most are a simple button compass and a Suunto MB6. Here's a thread with a lot listed.

http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...hlight=compass

Like Rick said!...:detective:
03-31-2015, 04:39 AM
Enigma

Quote:

Originally Posted by crashdive123

You could just use an analog watch.:whistling:

Yeah, lets all start doing everything arse about, as if it's some 'cool' way to practise survival skills.

use a watch as a compass, and a compass as a watch.

Like useing a knife as axe, and an axe as a knife.

whatever!
03-31-2015, 06:08 AM
crashdive123

Quote:

Originally Posted by Enigma

Yeah, lets all start doing everything arse about, as if it's some 'cool' way to practise survival skills.

use a watch as a compass, and a compass as a watch.

Like useing a knife as axe, and an axe as a knife.

whatever!

My attempt at humor + Your recognition of said humor = Missed by a mile.
03-31-2015, 07:03 AM
Rick

Has to be the language barrier. I find an analog watch to be very accurate in direction finding. A digital works well for that matter. I generally use it to tell when it's time to check the map and compass.
03-31-2015, 07:43 AM
Auban

I like the standard military lensatic compass. I like the silva 4/54 models too, but I have had two of them develop bubbles, so I don't trust them as much.

So far as price, the lensatic compasses will come in two prices: tritium and non tritium. The function is the same, but the compass with tritium will stay luminated all night long, while the ones without it have to be "recharged" every few hours.

The non tritium compasses will run around 50 or 60 dollars. The tritium ones can go up to a couple hundred depending on who is selling them, but some times you can find a really good deal on them. Both of them work exactly the same, but I haven't tested the non-military issue compasses for reliability in the field. I own a couple, and they have never failed me, but I have never done any "running and gunning" with them Like I have with the military issue models.
03-31-2015, 08:27 AM
Enigma

Quote:

Originally Posted by crashdive123

My attempt at humor + Your recognition of said humor = Missed by a mile.

I 'got it', hence my answer.

Do you think my rifle stock would make a good cricket bat?
03-31-2015, 08:44 AM
Rick

Bubbles can form in any non-pressurized compass under the right conditions. Generally cold weather or higher altitude. The bubbles form with the liquid contracts so it's actually a vacuum bubble rather than an air leak. Bubbles do not affect the accuracy of a compass. The liquid simply dampens the needle movement so you can take a reading quicker and there is less shaking of the needle. If a bubble forms it will generally go away when the compass is warmed up or brought back down from a higher altitude. If it doesn't disappear you can try sitting it in a warm location such as a south facing window sill and let it sit for a couple of days. The liquid will usually expand to it's previous volume and the bubble will disappear. Even if it doesn't the compass is still good. If you find a slimy liquid on the compass then it is leaking and I'd discard it.
03-31-2015, 09:16 AM
Lamewolf

I don't know what all the fuss is about compasses and navigation. I usually go to the woods to get lost, not find my way back ! :punk:
03-31-2015, 10:16 AM
finallyME

First.... read the posts that Rick put links up for. Those go into some good detail about brand names.

I have a military issued lensatic. It works great..... but I don't recommend it. My $50 Brunton was money well spent. It can do a lot more. In the military, I was given a compass and a protractor for land nav stuff. My Brunton has protractors built into it, no need to carry more. I used them the other day on a 4 mile hike with the Boy Scouts. I printed a map with the same scale as my compass, used a gps to get the UTM coordinates, and was able to get an exact spot match on the paper map with the protractor on my compass.

If you are ready to step up your compass to the next level, here are the features you want:
1. Mirror
2. A bunch of protractor marks at different ratios
3. A little screw to set the offset angle (there is a technical term for that, but my mind just went blank, declination?).
4. An accurate dial

You are going to pay around $50 for one, at least. If you are in the US, I only recommend Brunton and Suunto. In Europe, I recommend Silva and Suunto. Read the links that Rick posted for the difference between Brunton and Silva. I guess you can add Commenga to the list.
03-31-2015, 11:03 AM
hunter63

I generally just use the pin-ons inside my jacket or sweat shirt....
Carry a Military-style Lensatic compasses in the fanny pack and a Timex watch with little button compass on the band.

Trick is to get them all to agree.
03-31-2015, 12:36 PM
Fort fireman

I've been looking at the suunto MG2. The whole reason is just to have a quality compass and work on my land nav skills and maybe play around with orienteering some.

I to have a watch band compass just for general directions.
03-31-2015, 12:58 PM
Auban

I do land nav almost entirely through terrain association nowadays. I just want the compass to point north while I am bouncing around, and show me north while I am moving in the dark. The lensatic compasses work pretty well for that. It comes down to how I conduct land nav... I'm usually moving while looking at my compass, so a bubble gets pretty annoying.

So, my preferences are a bit skewed.

FinallyMe, there is a method to getting an azimuth with the lensatic compass, without a protractor. and it bypasses th need to convert grid to magnetic.
03-31-2015, 01:41 PM
Rick

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lamewolf

I usually go to the woods to get lost

No, no, no, no, no. As Daniel Boone said, we don't get lost we just get turned around for a few days. We is survivalists.
03-31-2015, 02:59 PM
MrFixIt

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lamewolf

I don't know what all the fuss is about compasses and navigation. I usually go to the woods to get lost, not find my way back ! :punk:

I've never been lost.
There have been times that my location didn't jive with the map coordinates, but I wasn't lost...
03-31-2015, 03:25 PM
Lamewolf

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rick

No, no, no, no, no. As Daniel Boone said, we don't get lost we just get turned around for a few days. We is survivalists. [/COLOR]

Yeah, I'm never really lost as I happen to be standing exactly where I'm at (most of the time) !:red_indian:
03-31-2015, 03:27 PM
Auban

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrFixIt

I've never been lost.
There have been times that my location didn't jive with the map coordinates, but I wasn't lost...

lol, that reminds me of a time when i was trying to find a point that was buried deep in an insanely huge draw... i beat around in the darned thing for a few hours(vegetation was THICK!) and FINALLY came out the other side... so i decided to look for a known point and go back in. then i looked down and saw a canteen.

i thought to myself, huh, someone lost their canteen. i imagined seeing the poor guy get picked up at the end of the course, and the cadre calling him out "candidate! where is your canteen?"
i thought, well it sucks to be him.

then i saw that it was MY roster number...
03-31-2015, 05:03 PM
finallyME

Quote:

Originally Posted by Auban

I do land nav almost entirely through terrain association nowadays. I just want the compass to point north while I am bouncing around, and show me north while I am moving in the dark. The lensatic compasses work pretty well for that. It comes down to how I conduct land nav... I'm usually moving while looking at my compass, so a bubble gets pretty annoying.

So, my preferences are a bit skewed.

FinallyMe, there is a method to getting an azimuth with the lensatic compass, without a protractor. and it bypasses th need to convert grid to magnetic.

I would say 99% of my land nav is terrain association, especially here in the Rockies where that is really easy. And, 99% of the time I don't even need a compass to point north, terrain association does that for me. For most people, a button compass is just fine, and a lensatic is too much. But, the original poster of this thread said he wanted to step up his compass game. Why pay $50-60 on a good lensatic when you can pay the same amount for a base plate that does more? I regularly teach land nav to 12-13 year old boys, even adults. I generally bring out the old military lensatic, and a bunch of baseplates. They almost always understand the baseplate, but almost always have trouble with the lensatic. I know a lot of prior military like the lensatic because that is all they know. If it ain't broke ...... If you are going to get a lensatic, get a Comenga. Brunton and Silva make a horrible one.
03-31-2015, 05:31 PM
Lamewolf

Quote:

Originally Posted by Enigma

Yeah, lets all start doing everything arse about, as if it's some 'cool' way to practise survival skills.

use a watch as a compass, and a compass as a watch.

Like useing a knife as axe, and an axe as a knife.

whatever!

My watch has a compass built in !
03-31-2015, 07:28 PM
Auban

Quote:

Originally Posted by finallyME

I know a lot of prior military like the lensatic because that is all they know. If it ain't broke ...... If you are going to get a lensatic, get a Comenga. Brunton and Silva make a horrible one.

i would say i fall into that category. though, its not that its all i have ever known... its just that i have used it SO MUCH, and for some reason, the ruggedness of it appeals to me. i have never had one fail, and i have put them through some serious abuse. if i were just hiking, one of those lightweight base board style compasses, or even a button compass, would probably serve me better than the lensatic. they are much lighter and would do pretty much anything i needed them to do.

but i KNOW i can rely on a Cammenga M-1950. its not the most accurate thing on the planet, but holy crap is it hard to kill it.
03-31-2015, 08:29 PM
Rick

Where most of us trek having an accurate compass isn't really necessary. Always fun to keep navigation skills up to par but when you're within a mile or two of a road it's of little use. The sun serves just as well. You guys in the swamp probably don't use a compass that much because of all the water. Just my guess. Obviously, a lot of places do require one but most of us don't.
03-31-2015, 10:05 PM
Enigma

I agree, it depends where you are and what you are doing. Situational awareness is a form of navigation also, useing 'handrails' such as roads, rivers or ridges saves using a compass. Trouble is, when visual aids are gone, as in heavy snow, mist, thick bush, flat desert that looks the same, you REALLY do need to use a compass if you're off track. We made a video of trying to find a downed aircraft once, and the first 6 or 7 km's cool, we used a firetrail, but then we had to go offtrack, through some thick high country, and get a correct ridge line to within 50-80 metres, about another 9km's away.

part 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyqSjuAmYX8
03-31-2015, 11:18 PM
hunter63

Even airplanes use "FTR" ......follow the road.....
04-04-2015, 05:53 PM
ottawafm

1 Attachment(s)

I need a good compass

This is what I like using. I picked it up at a flea market.
Attachment 10644
04-04-2015, 08:27 PM
Wise Old Owl

Well get what you can afford - without a good map its useless even on water. Lets boil this down

How are you going to use it?
What type of outdoor activity are you most interested in?

What a good compass has that you might want.

I only buy dampened Liquid filled (kerosene) compasses. (they don't freeze)

I look for light plastic template with a magnify glass - On a hot day they can start a fire with tinder.

I look for a fine number of degrees - a distant object has to be spot on.

quality phosphor to glow at night - priceless.

I am not into the military ones I have tried them they are great - not for me.

Maps to supplement are waterproof and and topo when walking in

just short of all this get a mapping GPS and lots of batteries.
04-07-2015, 08:37 AM
Enigma

Quote:

Originally Posted by ottawafm

This is what I like using. I picked it up at a flea market.
Attachment 10644

Take a bearing through that, at a distant object. Write it down, then take an ACCURATE bearing with a Silva 4/54. I think you might be surprised how inaccurate sighting compasses really are. We had students on the weekend just gone, state they were up to 8 degrees out.
Just saying. :-)
04-07-2015, 11:14 AM
hunter63

Quote:

Originally Posted by ottawafm

This is what I like using. I picked it up at a flea market.
Attachment 10644

Have a couple as well......don't like the pouch hanging on the out side....catches on everything moving thru the brush.
That's why they have a lanyard on them....LOL

Keep on inside a the jacket or vest.
They work well enough for round direction.
04-08-2015, 03:03 PM
planet

thanks your link rick, has been bookmark
04-09-2015, 05:41 PM
finallyME

Quote:

Originally Posted by hunter63

That's why they have a lanyard on them....LOL
.

In the military, the lanyard is called a "dummy cord". Let's just say that I am really glad it is there, and that I was smart enough to wrap it around my belt.
05-29-2015, 03:47 PM
stargoat

Quote:

Originally Posted by Enigma

I 'got it', hence my answer.

Do you think my rifle stock would make a good cricket bat?

Now why would anyone want to hit a cricket with a bat?
05-29-2015, 04:28 PM
hunter63

Quote:

Originally Posted by stargoat

Now why would anyone want to hit a cricket with a bat?

Long story,...... had to have been there....

Hunter63 saying Hey and Welcome.

There is an Intro section at:
http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...-Introductions
05-29-2015, 05:22 PM
Sarge47

Well...

I guess this coulda been worse...dude coulda asked "what kind of survival knife should I get?"...:w00t:
05-29-2015, 09:03 PM
SurvivalTips

I prefer whatever compass I have when I need it :P
10-18-2025, 12:30 PM
yellowcab

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yellowcab

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