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Which compass to buy?

DHonovich

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I am looking for a high quality compass to purchase for a survival kit that I am putting together. Anyone have any suggestions. Obviously I would like a cost effective option but I would rather buy one compass that will last me a lifetime.
 
Depends on what kind of money you wanna spend, like anything else.

Decent lensatic compasses are about $10, maybe less if you shop.

US mil compasses with phosphorus are generally near $60. They glow in the dark! :)

US mil with tritium about $100. Those glow too!

I would be ok with a "military styled" lensatic compass with phosphorus hands... but I'd rather hold out for the US made mil compasses, at least the phosphorus one.
 
I don't mind spending the money for a well made US product.
 
I have had allot of time with this. They issued these to us at work before we started using GPS in 1999...so I navigated with one of these for 10 years
They work at night, you can use sighting type navigation and map scale. Fully adjustable for declination depending on your part of the country. I have also flashed many helo's with the mirror so it’s dual purpose.

http://store.silvacompass.com/products/ ... 15_Compass
 
oli700 said:
I have had allot of time with this. They issued these to us at work before we started using GPS in 1999...so I navigated with one of these for 10 years
They work at night, you can use sighting type navigation and map scale. Fully adjustable for declination depending on your part of the country. I have also flashed many helo's with the mirror so it’s dual purpose.

http://store.silvacompass.com/products/ ... 15_Compass

I love Silva brand compasses. Been using them since I was in scouts.
 
I too have a fondness for silvas, the pre china Ranger 15's to be exact. Lately I can not find any Swede, or Finn made 15's. I do have one from my service time about 20 years old, it is in need of repair.

I still have my protractor, and I am looking at this compass as a replacement for my older silva Ranger. http://www.outdoordevices.com/alpin.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYDk4dNTMew
I belive compass this will fit my needs, I just wish it had a real glass mirror.

GPS unit are fine, But I rely on a Good Topo, protractor, and compass. If all else, a good topo, protractor, pace count and terrain association. You'd be suprised what a watch, protractor, topo, and you pace count can do for you. Technology is nice, but don't let be your master.
 
First question is "do you know how to use a compass"? Really use it? If not one should either learn how, or not bother having one :lol:

Seriously. I did orienteering for years. You know what i used? a cheap Brunton "classic" compass. I still have at least one that's 20 years old. It lives in my glove compartment.
f-9020g.jpg


I'd rather have 3 $12 bruntons in my zombie kit than one $36 compass. And for another $13 bucks pack this: http://www.amazon.com/Be-Expert-Map-Compass-Orienteering/dp/0020292651 You can study it while you wait for the sun to rise and force the mutants back in their lairs.

It's nice to have luminescent hands... I mean they're pretty and all. But if you think you're going to walk and "follow" the compass in the dark, it means you don't know how to use a compass! :lol: I remember working strictly off a map at night once in some pretty heavy woods. We ended up having to send someone straight out to the edge of our vision along the azimuth we wanted to follow, call for him to stop, and then walk up to him and start over. Next time we brought a reflective safety vest. :lol:
 
blue said:
But if you think you're going to walk and "follow" the compass in the dark, it means you don't know how to use a compass! :lol:

I have done it
 
That Brunton Classic is the same thing I have, it came with my Mudinyeri EDC kit!

As of yet, I've only had need of some real basic navigation to get a heading to a field I wanted to hunt.

Landscape was easily navigated and well marked on the map... Still very handy!
 
I have a couple of the engineering style compasses, rugged enough to withstand almost anything but I keep a map reading compass in my everyday bag. The map reading compass got at Walmart, has a magnifying glass built in and a cheap lanyard.

Don't forget about good topographic maps and charts. Laminated charts are best so they can be marked up with grease pencil or dry markers. Dividers, protractor and parallel rules are a nice thing to have with the maps as well.

I need to brush up on my celestial navigation skills. Celestial navigation and ocean passage are the only things I have left to do for all my sailing certifications. I do have a few sextants too. Don't know if I will ever sail again because I am very far from large bodies of water but I'm sure that what I learned will come back quickly should the situation ever arise. Still have my coastal navigation charts that I just refuse to let my better half put into a garage or yard sale.

I have an electronic compass (not good if an EMP attack) and a few compass apps on my Droid.

I have a set of Tasco binoculars made for sailing with a built in compass with light for night use and reticules for range finding from points found on the navigation charts.
 
nasa said:
I need to brush up on my celestial navigation skills. Celestial navigation and ocean passage are the only things I have left to do for all my sailing certifications.

Wow... That's beyond cool. Astronomy was one of my favorite classes in college, and I've passed the bug on to my kids. But to navigate accurately with the stars? Wow.
 
Rossignol said:
That Brunton Classic is the same thing I have, it came with my Mudinyeri EDC kit!

It's an excellent choice. Does the same thing a $300 compass does when you get right down to it. Just like a musical instrument. It's the person that holds it that decides whether it's a piece of wood, a fiddle, or a violin.
 
DHonovich said:
I don't mind spending the money for a well made US product.

at the risk of offending patriotic prides all over the place, i have to say that some of the best compasses are made by Silva and suunto, they are relatively cheap, very reliable and tough, i used them in preferance to my british army prismatic compass, beacuse they are so easy and idiot proof to use, the 1 2 3 method is easily understood and remebered in stressful situations, and for most purposes, general direction is all that is required, the miltary compasses are usually in mils, not degrees and although highly accurate in the right hands, can be confusing when converting mils to degrees etc, and if it is a survival situation that you are in, then stress levels will be high when the simplest of tasks seems difficult and mistakes are easily made,
i have used many kinds of compass, one to carry with you at all times is the button compass, (liquid filled is best for the steady needle) but really and truthfully, any cheap compass will do the job for general direction, even your watch (one with hands) will give you direction when used with the sun or moon, or if you're really stuck then a needle or paperclip magnetised by rubbing through your hair or on a static chargeable cloth then placed through a cork, or simply rested on a dry leaf free floating in some water will give you a general north south idea of direction, use the method i find easy to remember,
K, I, S, S Keep It Simple Stupid!! a little money well spent on simple reliable basics, is better than lots of money spent on gadgety junk!
 
Boy, does this bring back very fond memories! I think I shot more back azimuths than I could ever count. Got me to within ten meters of where I wanted to be every time!
 
blue said:
Would you recommend it as "plan A" when it really mattered? :twisted:

Plan A - No
Plan B - maybe

I like to have multiple "plan B's." When it really matters, I'll take the light-up compass. I don't want to have to use it in the dark, and I shouldn't have to, but if it's one thing I've learned over the years: things never go as planned.

The Boy Scout Motto: Be Prepared :!:
 
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