I suppose, but consider how much the damn thing costs in Canada, it still bugs me. Going to the store over their stock again, will see if I can exchange a more accurate one.

Oops, my bad.
I also made a misstatement on the 2 degree error. It should be for one degree.

Went back to the store, they let me picked the least misaligned one from the inventory no problem, still a tiny bit off but I can live with that.

They did seem to have a batch of bad product thou, I went to another store and their stock are all perfectly fine.

Now I just have to do something about the easily scratched plastic mirror.

Sorry about the compass, it's always annoying when you buy a precision instrument/tool and it's off.

But 1deg constant offset doesn't really matter, it's hard to use a hand bearing at that accuracy and depending on where you live the magnetic deviation can vary by that over a very small distance.

I've got a Brunton 8099 pro; its crap in my opinion. huge bubbles formed on multiple occaisons, requiring replacement. the baseplate quickly faded to unreadable, the needle stuck, the bezel so loose it turned on its own. customer service was great and they always sent me new parts. finally I just shelved the thing and go with a $10 silva from Walmart. I've got a few in different places and never been happier!

Did you try grabbing the bezel to hold it firmly in place, then pinching the capsule (front to back) and turning it within the bezel to the proper orientation? Normally the capsule will spin in sync with the bezel, but that doesn't mean you can't make them turn independantly of each other using a firm grip.

I grabbed the replacement to try, no go, it's glued in there tight.

I own several compasses and still my fav is a 'real' Silva Ranger that is many many years old. I have a Brunton Eclipse, the Adventure Racing model. I like the set up as a baseplate compass and the way the Eclipse system works (circle in a circle)however as many people have stated a large bubble develops. I have researched online and have seen the gamut from automatic return for defect to it doesn't do any anything but its a visual doubt to reliability. I tend to fall into the later category.

I have always wanted a pocket compass or gentlemens compass. The old time models just visually appeal to me and I like the idea of handing something like that down to my son, like a good knife or watch. I had the chance to hold a Davey medium model and it felt like it weighed two pounds in my hand and somewhat cooled me to the idea.

But I never miss a chance to shop for compasses

... and just to clarify, at least in the U.S., the 'real' Silva Ranger - made by Silva of Sweden - is sold by Brunton as the 15TDCL.

In the U.S. the one labeled as "Silva" is NOT made by Silva of Sweden - who made that original Ranger compass.

Are the real Silva sold by Brunton still made in Sweden? I've read some reviews that indicate they are now made in Asia.

The American Silva is actually made by Suunto, in either India or Philippines.