Neither had I. Apparently it is a German company, "Kasper and Richter". They've been making precision instruments since 1920, according to their website.

K&R is imported to the USA by ROC Gear Wholesale, who maintains the website http://www.kandrusa.com/Home_Page.html

The German company website is http://www.kasper-richter.de/english/

This doesn't tell you anything about the quality of what they make, but it's a start to find out more info regarding K&R.

I also found mention of K&R in this forum thread: http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/...thread_id=15128

Seems like the folks over there at BackpackingLight think K&R compasses are OK, even though they are from a lesser known company.

Brunton 9020G, simple but effective, and accurate. Handles declination well.

http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/Product___60745

+1 on the 9020G have 2 of them.

Lee

I found this comment on the Backpacking light forum about the Dakar to be instructive:

Still, the Dakar is intruiging...

Keep in mind that the Silva Ranger you got 25 years ago was made the the real Silva of Sweden, which now owns Brunton and only sells compasses in the U.S. under the Brunton or Nexus trademarks. The current version of that compass IS the Brunton 15TDCL, and its still made by Silva of Sweden.

As I mentioned in the thread above, the Brunton 15TDCL has become my "goto" compass. Very nice, though not cheap. No bubbles - ever.

For a lower cost compass my recommendations are the Suunto M-3 Leader (with the standard needle), or the Brunton 8010G (though the 8010G doesn't seem as refined as the M-3).

I actually carry the Brunton 9020G when I need a real "pocketable" compass, but I've seen several people accidently flip is around and use the wrong end, and I fear this symmetric shape could cause some confusion.

Ken

Not really. The 54LU allows you to see the target, compass and azimuth all at once.



It is a favorite of the guy who runs MapTools. However, it does not have a declination adjustment. Since it uses a card and not a needle it would be more affected by a bubble.

I don't own one, I just remember him talking about it.

I know we keep hitting back to Silva. Now or then. I really like the Ranger model that I picked up well over a decade ago. I actually like Brunton too. In fact I just picked up their monocular last month and for EDC, its great.

Knowing now that Brunton and Silva are the same company is sort of like knowing Starbucks owns Seattles Best Coffee. Both great and each has their own positives.

No orienting lines on the capsule? Well, that's a deal breaker for me. To bad, since the other features make it so appealing. Back to the ol' Ranger . .

Thanks for the good intel.

Jeff

I sure wish I could get my hands on one of the old ones with the aluminum bezel. Speaking of monoculars, have you seen Brunton's new zoom monocular?

http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/cb.aspx?a=452408

Jeff

It does seem like a pretty glaring omission, unless for some reason the design of the compass does not allow for these. I'm a protractor man myself so it doesn't effect me, but I can see this being an issue for others who want an all-in-one device, as the Dakar is supposed to be.

I wonder if a fine tip Sharpie Marker and a ruler could be used to add the missing lines?