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Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 13,496 Likes: 4
Campfire Outfitter
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OP
Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 13,496 Likes: 4 |
Who makes and honest to god good compass?
Dog I rescued in January
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Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 67,799 Likes: 11
Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 67,799 Likes: 11 |
Brunton, Silva, Suunto, come to mind right away
Sam......
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Joined: May 2003
Posts: 23,077 Likes: 10
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 23,077 Likes: 10 |
Rickt300: My Leupold has worked wonderfully well for decades now. I am not sure if they still make them - but if you see one on the used market buy it. Good luck in your quest. Hold into the wind VarmintGuy
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Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 843
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 843 |
I use a compass at work all the time. We buy Suunto and Silva, typically the models in the $40-50 range. We occasionally get a bad one from either brand, but overall they both work fine.
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Joined: Dec 2019
Posts: 3,790 Likes: 1
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Dec 2019
Posts: 3,790 Likes: 1 |
I have Silva’s as well, very good units. It’s crazy but the compass on my phone mirrors them very well but without some of the specific functions of a compass.
Osky
A woman's heart is the hardest rock the Almighty has put on this earth and I can find no sign on it.
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Joined: Dec 2014
Posts: 9,150 Likes: 6
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Dec 2014
Posts: 9,150 Likes: 6 |
Cammenga ...all day, everyday, bet your life on it.
Well this is a fine pickle we're in, should'a listened to Joe McCarthy and George Orwell I guess.
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Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 28,242 Likes: 2
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 28,242 Likes: 2 |
Brunton, Silva, Suunto, come to mind right away And affordable, so why settle for less?
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 18,081
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 18,081 |
Cammenga ...all day, everyday, bet your life on it. I use the G.I from them and a Silva hanging from paracord around my neck as a backup.
God, Family, and Country. NRA Endowment Member
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Joined: Sep 2017
Posts: 4,381
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Sep 2017
Posts: 4,381 |
I think it all depends on what you plan to do with it. I have a couple of good ones that my dad had, but honestly I like the one on my iPhone even better. Over the years I've discovered that I don't fish the good ones out of my pocket nearly often enough, so the $3.00 ball pin on compass on the outside of my jacket has been way more useful.
My other auto is a .45
The bitterness of poor quality is remembered long after the sweetness of low price has faded from memory
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Joined: Dec 2014
Posts: 9,150 Likes: 6
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Dec 2014
Posts: 9,150 Likes: 6 |
Foresters compasses are great, no question...give me a military (Cammenga) when you take a tumble in a boulder strewn creeklanding on the compass, forget it in a pocket while drying your clothing next to a fire, and on and on of hypotheticals. Night? Most foresters compasses are not night friendly. I won't bore you with the mil spec durability tests. You can imagine.
Well this is a fine pickle we're in, should'a listened to Joe McCarthy and George Orwell I guess.
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Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 69,487 Likes: 20
Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 69,487 Likes: 20 |
The one on my Samsung phone will give you the general direction but it's not accurate enough for orienteering or serious use. It can get you to a road, anyway. Any of the major brands will have some good ones in the $40 to 50 range. The easiest to learn are the mirror compasses. Military types are harder to learn. They're designed differently than what you might call a civilian type.
“In a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” ― George Orwell
It's not over when you lose. It's over when you quit.
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Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 11,955 Likes: 1
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 11,955 Likes: 1 |
Over the years I've discovered that I don't fish the good ones out of my pocket nearly often enough, so the $3.00 ball pin on compass on the outside of my jacket has been way more useful. Those ball pin compass are probably not the best, bit it's the one I use the most. I usually keep a Sylva in my pocket for a back-up. https://www.amazon.ca/Coghlans-0126...&hvtargid=pla-307322448188&psc=1
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Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 843
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 843 |
Like others are saying, what you plan to do with it is important. I need to have some form of sighting system on mine, and adjustable declination is absolutely essential for the work I do. A ball pin compass like the one posted above is certainly better than nothing in some situations. Military-grade compasses look pretty sweet, but I have gotten by with the same Silva compass for the last few years and have treated it very roughly. It works well enough that I can't see a reason to spend more for anything I would use a compass for.
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Joined: Dec 2014
Posts: 9,150 Likes: 6
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Dec 2014
Posts: 9,150 Likes: 6 |
The Southern Oregon guys can confirm this, but every big Pacific front that comes through with low snow levels, we get reminded what the mix of stupid and GPS results in. This last storm, 2 families on Bear Camp between Grants Pass and Gold Beach, and a lone guy on Grayback mountain. No deaths this time, search and rescue got them out, but bad judgement and super bad GPS info will do it every time.
Well this is a fine pickle we're in, should'a listened to Joe McCarthy and George Orwell I guess.
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 29,969 Likes: 10
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 29,969 Likes: 10 |
Mannlicher's suggestions are all good. My GPS units will also generate bearings (the direction one should strive for) and headings (the direction one is actually going) as well.
1Minute
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Joined: Oct 2014
Posts: 349
Campfire Member
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Campfire Member
Joined: Oct 2014
Posts: 349 |
Cammenga 3H, bet your life on it. I have used them all and I always come back to the Cammenga lensatic, cannot beat it for reliability. toughness and ease of use both daytime and in pitch darkness.
If you don't know land nav. learn it ie declination, terrain association, azimuth /back azimuth, pace count, map orientation etc. etc.----It can be a lot of fun and an important skill to know.
Folks don't use a compass often enough perhaps thinking it is sissy, but one can get turned around and lost very quickly, stepping off the trail in thick vegetation, out grouse hunting and a fog rolls in, cloudy skies in a hard rain, out on the tundra in the far north a foggy/snowy a white out can happen in a heart beat. It is good to know your back azimuth or what some call a panic azimuth back to a known feature such as a blue line, road, RR track etc.
Do NOT rely on GPS, batteries die, if you are in the bush for more than a day you better savvy land nav w/ a compass and map.
Of course you should also learn natural direction finding, ie shadow tip method, watch method, moon and star methods etc. etc,
Last edited by whistle1; 12/31/21.
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Joined: Jul 2020
Posts: 1,335
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Jul 2020
Posts: 1,335 |
The Best of the Best: Suunto Optical CompassPrice is lower than when I bought mine over 30 years ago. This is what I used to layout miles of survey line prior to setting up instruments for high precision work. Easiest and quickest to read.
God Bless America
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Joined: May 2020
Posts: 2,645
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: May 2020
Posts: 2,645 |
Cammenga 3H, bet your life on it. I have used them all and I always come back to the Cammenga lensatic, cannot beat it for reliability. toughness and ease of use both daytime and in pitch darkness.
If you don't know land nav. learn it ie declination, terrain association, azimuth /back azimuth, pace count etc.----It can be a lot of fun and an important skill to know.
Folks don't use a compass often enough perhaps thinking it is sissy, but one can get turned around and lost very quickly, stepping off the trail in thick vegetation, out grouse hunting and a fog rolls in, out on the tundra in the far north a foggy/snowy white out can happen in a heart beat. It is good to know your back azimuth or what some call a panic azimuth back to a known feature such as a blue line, road, RR track etc.
Do NOT rely on GPS, batteries die, if you are in the bush for more than a day you better savvy land nav w/ a compass and map.
Of course you should also learn natural direction finding, ie shadow tip method, watch method, moon methods etc. etc, Fooking A, right on!
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Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 69,487 Likes: 20
Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 69,487 Likes: 20 |
I've seen a number of kids with these things. They're cheap and you get your money's worth. There's no straight edge for orienting a map. There's no way to sight with them other than just pointing in the general direction. I've tried to teach orienteering to kids with them and it's almost impossible.
“In a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” ― George Orwell
It's not over when you lose. It's over when you quit.
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Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 4,430 Likes: 2
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 4,430 Likes: 2 |
I have a Silva that I bought in 1971. Made in Sweden. Still points north.
I carry it as a backup to a newer one made in China.
This past season I'd been using an old-model Bushnell Backtrack I bought here in the classifieds. Suits my needs perfectly.
"No good deed shall go unpunished!"
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