Confusing Compasses

I've been looking for a decent quality - not too pricey compass and I've been looking at stuff from Brunton, Silva, and Suunto. Most of their models seem to be very similar in design, quality and features so I did a Yahoo search and found out that Silva of Sweden bought out Brunton of USA in 1996 and decided to market their compasses directly in the States. Johnson Outdoors, the company who used to market Silva in the States (before the Brunton buyout) owned the rights to the Silva name in the USA, thus Silva had to market under a new name: Nexus.

Johnson Outdoors wouldn't part with the Silva name and with no Swedish-made Silva compasses to sell, they had to contract with Suunto of Finland to make their Silva compasses. So, if I understand correctly it goes like this: If you buy a Silva compass in the USA, it's going to be made in Finland so you're actually buying a Suunto. If you buy a Suunto compass, you're buying a Suunto. Brunton compasses are still USA made, but if you buy a Brunton/Nexus made in Sweden you're actually buying a Silva. Pretty darn confusing, isn't it?

That said, they are all basically related one way or another and I now have the task of choosing one from the many Silva/Nexus/Brunton/Suunto selections. What's a good compass to start with?

You want confusing compasses? I once bought two identical liquid filled no name compasses at Walmart. It was awhile before I discovered that on one the red end of needle pointed North [as is the norm] and on the other it pointed South.

Does the make/brand really mean that much if it's still a quality, easy to use compass with the features you need? How much are you going to rely on the compass? Will it be for aiming the sat. dish, backup for the gps, or your only means of navigation in the way-far-out-there? Are you going to be using it alot and/or often -- checking the map 30 times on a once every ten year trek vs. 3 times on your weekly trek?

That said, I've got an older (real) Silva (actually, 2 or 3, come to think of it), that wasn't too expensive. I went for good size (easy to read), less frills (grids I can do on my own with map overlays), easy and convenient to use (declination, inclinometer, etc.), and still never spent over $35. However, a Brunton optical compass (line-of-sight, looks kinda like a rangefinder -- very easy to use) still calls to my wallet.

-(a different) Craig

I have several like the type you are talking about. In fact, I even have a Victorinox compass that I am just about certain is made by Silva. I like all of them, although I do not have a Suunto. I would have to say my favorite and the one I take with me when I am actually going out of doors enough to want a compass is the real military folding lensatic compass. Better yet, get the one with the tritium glow points. I have one with and without. And I have one that my Dad actually brought back from Vietnam. Tough as hell, will do everything you need it to. Probably find one new for around 70 bucks. Less on Ebay. You won't be disappointed.

What you want is a compass of the Silva type with declination adjustment (they use a geared dial and a little key) The ones with the mirror are more accurate ex: Silva Ranger or Suunto, they have a hinged mirror and run about $45.00
If you don't care for the mirror, look at Suunto M-5 SK (called smoke killer) I have one and works great with map and GPS.
If you are going to use it in another continent, you need to get the one with the GLOBAL neddle, which adjust for pull automatically.
Diferent areas pull the neddle down, when you buy a compass in the USA is already adjusted to use here, if you go to Africa, the ones that they sell there are adjusted for that area. If you are going to use the compass all over the World, then get the Global neddle.

Juan C.

I'm looking for an affordable and reliable compass to take on hikes and camping trips. I don't need no electronic GPS felgercarb, nor do I need any pricey units packed with 20 or 30 features I won't ever to use. I'm looking at models that can be adjusted for declination and can be used with or without a map. Price: under $35-40 bucks would be nice. Also, I'm not looking for a micro-sized compass, but not a huge bulky item either. The Suunto Ranger is one I looked at as well, but I'm not sure I need a compass with a mirror. Are you saying that mirrored compasses are more accurate?

I have a Suunto M-2 in my collection of about 20 compasses. Among the price range of about $350 to $6, the M-2 is a great buy at about $20. It is a "baseplate" compass, meaning no mirror, has adjustable declination, is about 3.5 inches by 2 inches, liquid filled, with a rotating bezel. This is my primary compass for geocaching. I have heard that the M-2 is now available with a global needle. . . but don't sweat it, if memory serves, most of the northern hemisphere is a single zone that a locally purchased compass will handle no problem. I got mine at REI, but the Compass Store or Forestry Suppliers will probably have them too. I've bought from both with no hassles.

I also recommend a good book about using a compass (unless you already know something about navigation), so maybe the $15 or so that you save by purchasing the M-2 can be put to good use. I had quite a bit of navigation experience, including celestial (i.e., with a sextant and position almanacs), but still learned something from the books. Most stores that sell the compasses will also have a selection of texts.

Oh, BTW, mirrored compasses are more useful when taking bearings on far away objects in order to fix your position on the map. They are NOT more accurate in the sense that they point "better" to north. . . they simply allow for easier "sightings" on distant objects, a procedure you may or may not need to perform.

Aloft had a good point about recommending a book about using map and compass (Navigation)so here I pull the three books I like the most from my library.

Wilderness Navigator by David Seidman

Wilderness Navigation by Bob and Mike Burns

Using Map and Compass by Don Geary

and of course the one that we all learned with

Be Expert with map and compass by Bjorn Kjellstrom

I think that REI can fix you up with all of them.

Juan C.

This site has a lot of info about compasses. http://www.thecompassstore.com/index.html

I have a Silva Ranger that I paid $40 for about 15 years ago. It's probably more compass than I need.

Thanks for all the good info guys. Frank, thanks for the link. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif

Well, I decided on 3 compasses which appear to be more than enough for my needs. Two base plate models: a Silva Polaris, a Brunton 9020G Classic and a Suunto M9 Wrist Compass. They're not at all expensive and seem to be the easiest to use.