On second thought, I'm pretty sure I could fix that little oversight with a straight edge, and X-acto knife and a bit of paint. I may get one anyway,

Jeff

I understand the idea of being able to read the bearing via the optically enhanced rim of the compass. But that's not the issue. You have no precise aiming point on the compass. How do you aim it? You basically eyeball the arrow on the baseplate, looking back and forth between the baseplate arrow and the sighting object. Yes, you can read the bearing through the rim, but it's not a very precise bearing.

With a compass that has a sighting device (sighting wire, sighting aperture, sighting "V," etc.), you get a more precise aiming device and therefore a more precise bearing. Hence this general class of compasses are referred to as sighting compasses.

I'm not saying the 54LU is a bad compass, but if I need to take bearings, it wouldn't be my first choice. Add in the fact that there is no declination adjustment and the 54LU is a "no go."

Is it just me, or is the price of feature-rich compasses going up (Brunton, specifically)? I appreciate a functional and precise instrument, but I have a hard time digesting some of the prices I'm seeing. The Brunton price seems higher than what I remember. I would have a hard time paying much more than the Silva Ranger, and even that is pushing it a little.

These two, while greatly different in implementation and ruggedness, are functionally similar (the edge in functionality may go to the K&R, but the GI would be all over the K&R in the ruggedness department):

K&R Dakar: $26.50
GI Lensatic (non-tritium): $49

These three are near clones of each other IMHO:

Suunto MC-2D: $49
Silva Ranger 515: $55
Brunton 15TDCL: $69

The Brunton 15TDCL basically is a Silva Ranger. Silva bought Brunton some time ago. Some items are marketed under the Silva brand (although not necessarily in Sweden) and others under the Brunton brand (although not necessarily in the USA). There may be some divergence, but both are bascially Silva Rangers. The 15TDCL has a good reputation. My Silva Ranger purchased in the 70's is still going strong.

The K&R is a real winner on price.

A GI lensatic compass would be great ... if only it had a declination adjustment. I wonder why the army (etc.) doesn't have a declination adjustment?

I would venture that even grunts are capable of adding and subtracting.

Just kidding, but how would you implement declination adjustment in a rotating card compass used in the sighting mode? With the Dakar it looks like you rotate the lubber line on the face plate, but this would introduce a parallax error when not looking down from directly above.

One more argument against declination adjustment - if you make a conversion error while using a compass without adjustment, one bearing will be wrong. If you make a mistake setting the declination on your adjustable compass, all your bearings will be wrong.

In North to the Pole, the author writes how they travelled South instead of North for an entire day because he set the declination wrong.

OK, I went ahead and ordered the K&R Dakar compass. I'm going to try making orienting lines on the base of the capsule. I'll let y'all know how that works out, complete with pictures (if I can figure how - first attempt for me)

Jeff

If the Suunto and Silva are purchased in the US...then both are made by Suunto in Finland. Silva, the brand name in the US is owned by Johnson Camping. They currently have Suunto in Finland make all the compasses they sell in the US.

Silva purchased anywhere else in the world is made by Silva Sweden.

The Brunton is a Silva Sweden product. This confusion is confusing.

Brunton also manufactures some of their line here in the US.


The K&R line looks interesting all around. The Dakar at $26 seems like a good one to try.

Who's on first?

This closer look at the Dakar may reveal why it does not have any baseplate meridian lines.....

I think this looks like a compass card rather than a needle. The capsule may not turn to allow alignment with the grid.

lol! Well, FYI, I'v studied Algebra, Geometry, Trigonometry, and Calculus, and I still think adding and subtracting declination is a pain in the butt.


That's a very good point. Hmm. Not so easy; maybe that's why it hasn't been done. It would be interesting to hear a solid report on the Dakar in terms of it's accuracy inasmuch as it is a lensatic compass and has a declination adjustment. I hear what you're saying about the potential parallax error.


Excellent point. For what I do here in S. California, the whole area is basically 13' declination (easterly IIRC). I set the compass at home under no stress in ideal conditions with all the time in the world, and then I don't touch it again unless I travel out of state, but even for travel out of state, I set it at home before I leave. The chances of getting it wrong are pretty slim. Also, one could check the azimuth on the map from a known point to a known point (say at a trailhead to an obvious point) and compare the map azimuth with the compass azimuth. If they don't jibe with one another, it's time to carefully check your procedures and settings. I also usually carry a non adjustable back up compass. One can look at the two, compare them with the declination diagram on one's topo map and pretty quickly determine whether the compass is set correctly.


Yeah, if you're in relatively featureless terrain in the Far North (where the declination is going to shift frequently and dramatically), a declination adjusted compass might not be your best bet. One trick would be to have each member of your party independently set the declination on their idividual compasses and compare the results. If any discrepencies, STOP and think.

I don't have any plans to travel that close to the North Pole anytime soon, so I think I'll stick with an adjustable compass for now.