I bought a Brunton 8096 adventure racing model compass last year and do enjoy it. Almost as much as my Silva Ranger.

I noticed pretty much right away on the 8096 a bubble in the fluid. I have read, its no big deal. Compared to other compasses it see no diviations.

Any feedback on the Brunton Bubble? Tips or tricks?

Do you trust it?

I have an Brunton 8099 Eclipse. No bubble when I'm home at 5400 feet elevation. As I go on hikes and gain elevation a bubble developers, but does not appear to affect accuracy AFAIK. I have not checked the exact altitude where the bubble just starts appearing ... but I'd guess around 10,000 feet, plus/minus. It's definitely there when I'm at 12,000+ feet, as I've seen it at that altitude positively for sure.

First, keep in mind that Brunton IS Silva. Brunton was purchased by Silva of Sweden in 1996. Products with the Silva trademark in the U.S. are NOT made by the real Silva of Sweden.

I've had an ongoing problem with bubbles in Brunton-designed Eclipse compasses. Everytime I've had a problem Brunton has been quick to repair or replace the compass. They've told me that some issues have been resolved lately. I've been a happy customer for quite a few years.

Call them and see what they'll do for you to resolve any concerns.

Ken

Wow. I did not know that Silva owns Brunton. Thanks.

Over the years I have had problems with several compasses that have had bubbles in them. The bubble gets under the disk and knocks it off center tying it up or gets in the way of the needle. Not sure why they have a bubble, it may be designed that way to allow for liquid expansion (but then this leads to the question, why do some have no bubble?) or lower quality made product.

I don’t buy them any more with a bubble in them, if they can’t figure out how to make a compass without a bubble in it, I can’t figure out how to pay for it.


I have a $10.00 Boy Scout compass with no bubble and it is 30-years old and working great.

Somewhere in our stick house I have a Brunton with a bubble. Big enough to mess up the needle. E-mailed them about it and got a BS answer. So now I just avoid Bruntons...


I lied. Or at least made a booboo. When I got my GPS I purchased a Brunton Eclipse GPS Compass, on the recommendaton of a friend. No bubbles in it. Yet...

I just use a GI lensatic compass (the one in my avatar). No liquid, no bubbles, inductively damped, built like a tank, no problems.

I initially wanted the GI lensatic. However, my wife bought me the 8099 for a Christmas gift. I have learned to really really like the thing, and think it's better for me than the GI model (never having used the GI model, I'm just speculating).

The problem is my "old eyes". I'm significantly nearsighted, and have progressive bifocals on top of that. The 8099 is nice because you can line up on your target, and then pull the compass totally away from where you were working, point it any-old-where, and still read the bearing from your targeting work. That is a lifesaver for those of us who cannot focus on the distant target, align the needle (or disk in the case of the 8099), and also read the bearing at the same time. Pictures I've seen of the GI lensatic make me thing you have to be able to work on all those planes of focus at the same time. If you move the compass from your sighting position, you lose the bearing with a lensatic. Is that correct?

I have not used a 8096 like the O.P. mentioned, but it looks like it would be similar to the 8099, but without the sighting mirror (the mirror helps these "old eyes" tremendously too!)

GI compasses are solid, a good piece of kit. However, a lot of higher end civilian compasses have a feature that I find so valuable that I haven't used a GI compass in years: a declination adjustment. In other words, I can adjust the compass to compensate for the difference between grid north (map north) and magnetic north (compass north).

I personally used to hate having to constantly add or subtract the declination amount to convert grid to magnetic and magnetic to grid. When I was a map reading instructor in the Army, one of the most common mistakes I saw was people messing up on the conversion between grid north and magnetic north and magnetic north to grid north. Having a declination adjustable compass means there is no conversion. What you see on the compass is the same as on the map. Effortless.

Also, the see-through civilian compasses can be used as a protractor as well as a compass, which is handy. I've lost a lot of military protractors in my time!

Now in defense of GI compasses, one can determine a much more precise azimuth than civilian compasses (there might be one or two exceptions, but the big brands like Brunton/Silva and Suunto are less precise in the way one conducts a sighting). Also, the GI compass has tritium (generally) in it which makes it useful even in the dark. Further, the GI compass is rock solid; a GI compass is really breakage resistant.

Personally though, the declination adjustment is so worthwhile that I've stopped using a GI compass. When I'm tired, possibly injured, and not thinking straight in a survival situation, the last thing I want to do is math. "Is this an easterly or westerly declination? OK, so it's easterly, great. Now do I add or do I subtract the declination? Oh, it depends on whether I'm going from magnetic to grid vs. grid to magnetic. Ummm..." (insert blank look of utter bewilderment here)

The KISS principle is a good one to keep in mind in a survival situation.

The GI does lack the rotating, settable bezel found on clear plastic base plate type compasses. You need to sight the target and read the bearing at the same time. My vision is ok, so I don't know how hard it is to use with glasses.

Nice thing about your type of compass is you can set the bearing from the map without ever having to read anything in degrees.

I'm in the opposite position, never having used a mirrored compass - how exactly do you use the mirror?