Yes I do have a GPS, but I'm kinda old school and still depend on a compass. What compass do you folks take into the back country?

i have a few Silva Rangers. i believe they are about the best, but i've heard the newer ones are not the same.

I use a brunton Adventurer racer or my silva ranger.

I have 2 old Silvas that I like. I think the new ones are made in China. I had 2 Bruntons and had problems with them. I blamed them gun years later it dawned on me it could have been iron in the ground. Tons of it in north west Wisconsin.

I use a Leupold Sportsman compass that I adjusted for the southern hemisphere, I find it extremely easy to use...and I like it.


This is a generic picture from the web.

Silva Ranger (old ones) were what I used in my Forest Service career. I always carried a small Silva as a back-up. Came in handy once when on a cloudy day in thick forest I felt my internal compass was correct and the Ranger had to be wrong; but the small back up confirmed it was me that was broken - not the compass.

I have had more than one Silva Ranger go defective so a small spare compass was always carried. This is even when using GPS units. Carried two identical Garmin E-Trex units also and one was always more accurate than the other.

Even the best equipment can fail and a spare compass is small and light enough not to be a burden and can prove invaluable.

I have a couple of the small brass compass' from the issue survival kits, I use them for back-up in my tin of goodies.

I think mine is the Brunton 15TDCL. I did a bit of reading several years ago and found that everyone loved the old Silva Ranger, but not the new ones, and that the Brunton model I bought was the true version of the Ranger. Now I understand the 15TDCL is made in China.

Take a look at the Suunto MC-2 Global and the Cammenga. They both get very good remarks.

If you just want a small compass to know where north is, to 'get your bearings' (pun intended), orient a map, etc, check out the Silva Guide Compass - it's small, very lightweight, it floats, it has a mirror. Besides signaling potential, the mirror is great if you wear contacts like me. It works fine in the southern hemisphere too, even tho' not compensated for it, if you travel. It doesn't adjust for declination. Suunto makes a small base plate style declination adjustable compass. The Rangers and comparable Suuntos, Bruntons are industrial and orienteering standards, but I have always felt too big for just having a compass around, unless you are serious into triangulating, orienteering, plotting routes, etc

The Brunton 54LU Combi, which is no longer made.

Silva has one almost identical to it.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/SILVA-54-PRISMATIC-EXPEDITION-COMPASS-/300532150064#vi-content

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000OEV7EA

The small Suunto with dec. adjustment I mentioned is the m2d model - I have one, they are well-built, function well.

That reminds me... Everytime this compass thread pops up, I mean to buy one of these.

http://www.brunton.com/collections/oss/products/brunton-oss-40b

The fact that it has a quad tool, in ITM/UTM for every map scale that I ever work in would mean that I also don't need to pack a quad tool.

Dan,

That is pretty much the only compass I carry any more.

When I think of Minnesota, among things that pop into my head is "iron mining." Were you to hike where iron deposits and/or slag heaps might cause your compass to show magnetic north to vary in vector, quality of your compass' magnet becomes much more important than for most other users.

I own and use four compasses. While I cannot recommend the compasses that best mitigate the "magnet thing," I'll identify them.
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Silva 515 (360) - designed to be used with grid maps and/or orienteering.

Suunto KB-14/360 with declination adjustment, available with and without reverse azimuth - sighting compass, very easy to use while being less flexible than the others.

Brunton 5010 Geotransit - tremendous compass overkill, that has the most powerful magnet generally available (NdFeB).

Brunton Com-Pro - less tremendous compass overkill, that also has the most powerful magnet generally available (NdFeB).
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If safety is your rationale to include a compass in your kit, one the the Bruntons having a NdFeB magnet - there are several models - is your safest choice, not necessarily your most convenient one.

Hope this helps.

You gave up your old Silva "peeker" compass?

It is nice to know that the Brunton OSS 40B has the Backcountry Badass Seal of Approval

Dan/EdT--The Brunton is a great compass. I can plot my position within a few meters on my quads taking UTM from my GPS. Been very helpful when faced with multiple trails exiting a stream/trail crossing point where only one is shown, and not sure which to take. Mine is called an Eclipse, but looking at the pix on the Brunton site, I can't find any difference between mine and the new one...been using this one about 5-6 years and love it. Guessing it is an older version of this new 40B. Take care out there. Best. Joe

I still use my old Silva Ranger and a Brunton Quad Tool for that purpose. Having a mirror to signal with if need be is the only reason it's still in my nav kit.


Signal mirrors are great for when your buddy is stalking a black bear in a slide that you have eyes on, and he doesn't.

old silva ranger

+1 and no batteries required.