I know it is the age of the GPS. But I use a compass. My usgi compass is, for whatever reason no longer trustworthy, trashed.
What are we buying? I have a small Burton ball compass on my jacket. What would be the next step up? Silva Ranger? Suunto ?
Something compact and reasonably priced.

You say "reasonably priced".....what's the value of your life??

Suunto M2 G Global compass. I have been using mine for several years, and I even buy them as gifts for family that spend time in the outdoors.

Reasonable price is relative, and compass cost from .99 cents to $$$$. For the hunter or day hiker there is a practical limit on price.
I'll take a look at the M2

Get a goood one made in USA or Switzerland , not china . I have had problems with the cheap ones, however, later in life , I found it could have been iron in all ground in northern WIs.

I had a silva Forrester for a long time and there's none better.

I'm pretty partial to t a Rekta DP 6 or Suunto MB-6. Rekta was a Swiss instrument manufacturer that made compasses for the Swiss military. They were acquired by Suunto some time in the late 90s.

Although I actually carry a vintage Wittenauer with no bells and whistles, I think the Cammenga is the toughest. You said you had a military compass fail, I'd like to hear the details.

Now brought to you by China.

As often is the case, the first reply on a thread is often the best and only one needed.

We've been training our church's Trail Life troop to use compasses. They all had different types, and some of those were junk. It's a real pain to teach when they don't all have the same type. Someone donated 10 Suunto MC2's to the troop. It's a mirror type that costs about $45. Mirrors are easy to teach and learn. We haven't used these a lot yet but we've found them to be very accurate and reasonably durable.
We're thinking up fund raising ideas for a trip next year to the Boundary Waters Canoe Wilderness. If we can go, it'll be a week on the water and the boys will be expected to do all the navigation by compass. My gps will be for backup only.

What were the old official Boy Scout models

One failure does not make a trend. My son is a forester, the company issued Suunto (don't know the exact model forester but it had a declinometer) has developed a drifting north. He thinks it may have been caused by storing it on the dashboard of the pickup unthinkingly, near a large speaker magnet?

That could easily do it...

That could do it. Here are some instruction on how to repair it that might work.
COMPASS REPAIR

I've heard of compasses being screwed up by carrying them in the same pocket with a cell phone but I don't know if that's true.

I really don't have any beyond I was following a blazed property line , known direction. And north was not where we last left it,

As a former forester, Silva Ranger was our goto. Still is for me and I think there's at least four in various packs right now. Mirrored, declination adjustable, fine degree markings, slope inclinometer, durable, lightweight, and cheap enough that if it 's lost, it's not a heartache to replace.

You ain't alone Gojoe, I can't begin to tell you how many times somebody left my pickup..not where we last left it. The magic self moving pickup. Maybe my compass is ok, I just need a new pickup.

Actually, that's happening. The magnetic north pole has always been moving but in recent years it's speeded up considerably. For all the years when I was growing up, the declination here was 17 E. In recent years, it's moved to 12E. It's speeded up the last couple of decades and is now moving at about 34 miles/year. Scientists think that there are 2 huge blobs of molten iron way down deep that have been shifting and messing up the magnetic poles.

Rocky, Thanks, I thought a compass was toast when it started to drift, I have an old Leitz that needs a tuneup, I'll give it a try.

The only thing that has actually failed for me on a cammenga are the tritium vials. They do have a shelf life.

For most uses I prefer a liquid damped compass. I've got a Silva R15 I've been using for around 40 years now. It will be buried with me.

I think that the Silva compass today is made by Suunto. And maybe always was. Not sure how that all works out but both brands have reliable compasses.

Are you using the compass to navigate? Or just to find your way back to a road, or linear terrain feature? Most guys are well served with a medium sized protractor compass. Just a quick look tells me that $30 buys a decent one suitable for rough navigation and small enough to carry easily.

Why am I surprised?

Be careful of the pin on ball compasses if you wear a pack. Some hunting packs (Kifaru Pointman) have a small metal bar on the webbing of the shoulder straps which can throw off your navigation considerably. Guess how I learned that. They are handy while following game to keep track of general travel direction though.

I guide in the Adirondacks through all 4 seasons and see that you're from Northern Maine. Similar country. Silva and Brunton make reliable compasses. I find the Silva Ranger to be a top end compass but more than I need to carry no matter how far I'm going. If you're trying to hit an exact location (small remote trout pond), a baseplate is helpful when taking a bearing from a topo map. Obviously memorize the declination rules for your area if doing bearings from map to compass or vise versa. For general hunting I've never needed a baseplate and typically don't use the baseplate scales. If I'm bushwacking into a new area I usually measure distance using scrap paper and the topo legend.

For general huntingI like a compass like the non baseplate compasses like this one, https://www.brunton.com/collections/outdoor-compasses/products/tag-along-zip?variant=33175460872251. Small, accurate enough and handy for in the pocket. Navigation to a remote point requires a bit more precision so one along the lines of a Silva Explorer or Brunton 8010 would do it all for a hunter or fisherman.

I don't care about luminous dials. If I'm using a compass in the dark something's gone wrong. a sight/mirror is neat to play with but more than I've ever needed wandering around in the woods. Handy for orienteering or setting boundry lines though.

PM me if you want to talk specifics.

Have fun.

Frank

I am a forester and used Silva Type 15 for years, but visually you could tell the quality had slipped some; wore one out and its replacement was a bad one, so I decided to try a Brunton Tru Arc. So far it has proven to be reliable.

Both Silva and Suunto have factories in China, like it or not. As long as they spec them for quality, the Chinese can make some very good stuff. They can also make some real junk if the company lets them get away with it. Politically, of course, I don't want anything made in China.

I still navigate by compass. Silvas, Suuntos etc, all good and I do carry an old military issue still. I do , however, recommend a good map recon via google earth or whatever you have going. Pretty incredible maps and takes up way less space than carrying around a 1:24,000 or whatever( even though I still do) Buy someone a round of drinks if they can explain what polyconic projection means!

It's taking a rubber ball and cutting it so it lays flat on the table without stretching it.

US GI for me, I have a Silva as well.

Mike

Agreed, but North would not be off by over 90 degree. For whatever the reason may have been. That compass has been dispose of.
I have an old Silva , someplace. It maybe easier to buy a new compass than to locate the old one.
It will be faster for sure, lol

Three. One may go south, two you don't know which to believe. You can average 3 or take 2 out of 3 if they agree..

Don't laugh. I often carry 3, in addition to the GPS, which has gone south on me twice over the years, a compass only once, tho.

"And north was not where we last left it. ( THATS DAMNED NEAR A COMFORT ZONE FOR ME!)


Actually, that's happening. The magnetic north pole has always been moving but in recent years it's speeded up considerably. For all the years when I was growing up, the declination here was 17 E. In recent years, it's moved to 12E. It's speeded up the last couple of decades and is now moving at about 34 miles/year. Scientists think that there are 2 huge blobs of molten iron way down deep that have been shifting and messing up the magnetic poles".

Ya think that doesn't have something to do with "climate change" ????

The Chicken Littles are gonna mess their panties when the poles swap. Again. As they have a number of times.

I have a small button compass inletted into the grip cap of my RU 77 .338 WM, just for grins... . At the time it was declination accurate offset with the barrel, but that is no longer true due to the shifting pole.

I have long carried a Suunto MC-2D/in. It is usually in my pack and I always wear a Suunto M-9 wrist compass which gets the most use.


mike r

I'm fine with near anything as long as one can dial in declination. No mental math needed after it's set up.

I like the little flip top chrome plated, or brass cases ones with a lanyard loop. Fluid filled if possible.

Magnetized needle on a floating wine cork. Seriously, I keep a nickel-sized Suunto in my pocket. I have another Suunto combo compass/thermometer on my arctic parka zipper pull. For map-use, I have a proper Silva with the clear plate on a paracord leash in my backpack pocket. The more expensive compasses have faster needles for people that do competitive orienteering -- they're racing. I don't need that. I've also had the really expensive compasses for forestry/surveying, but they're too big and weigh too much to be practical for personal use, not to mention the tripod they were typically used with.

It makes sense to have a compass in the car or boat. I tried several different ones in different places in my 4x4 but there's just too many magnetic fields in there. My only boat is a canoe. So I stick with the pocket type.

I generally don't use GPS. I've done geocaching, and GPS "tactical" games, and I've used GPS with APRS on amateur radio, so I'm not a luddite or ignorant, but I don't normally need it or care to carry it (I don't carry a smartphone or any phone). When I start doing some more serious backpacking/mountaineering in the next few years where I will be responsible for other people, I will probably get a SPOT or Inreach or something like that, maybe Iridium (haven't shopped that tech lately).

Besides having a compass, it's worth getting to know the stars. Anyone can learn to find Polaris, but it's not always visible if there's weather or terrain obscuring it. I try to keep myself familiar with most of the constellations and the brighter stars and their evening positions throughout the seasons. If I see even one bright star through a cloudy sky at night, I can probably tell what it is just by the position and how it looks. The night sky is like an overhead map. If you want the best way to learn this, get H.A. Rey's book, "The Stars." I also recommend the Stellarium app (which can be configured with Rey's constellation lines).