I'm looking to buy another compass (not that I need one, ... I just want one!)

I've never tried a lensatic model and was thinking about one of those. My needs are modest - just hiking navigation. And to be honest, I really don't use my compass all that much, being lazy and using my GPS more often than not. But I always carry a compass too, and try to keep proficient in using one.

Any thoughts? Has anyone used the model below and can give it a thumbs up or thumbs down? It's the current military model, without tritium, which I don't think I really need (not to mention that the tritium model is almost double the cost of this phosphorescent one).

http://store.cammenga.com/scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=23

Unless you really want a military model, this is one of the best compasses around, with adjustable magnetic declination and mirror. Silva Ranger compass

But honestly, for hiking, you could use a Silva Polaris, very basic and cheap compass... Silva Polaris

I currently have a Silva Starter http://www.silvausa.com/baseplate.html in my emergency kit. Actually an older version of this same basic model. And a Brunton 9020G as my main compass http://www.brunton.com/product.php?id=116

I was looking to learn how to use and practice with a lensatic. No real need ... just because! As I understand it, orientation is best done with an orientation baseplate compass. But I still think the lensatics are cool looking and want to try one out anyway. Lots of cheaper lensatic models at REI and LLbean, etc. About half the price of the one in the link I previously posted, but probably not as good. Maybe even in the "trash" category. I don't know.

I currently use a Silva Starter. One reason I chose it is because of its compactness: I have a lanyard on it and wrapped around it and it tucks/stores neatly until I am out on the trail. I think the Starter or Polaris is the way to go.

The Military Lensatic Compasses are cool, but I just go on the KISS principle here. I loved playing around with the military model type as a kid, since I was a military brat and my Dad had one, so I got my fill of it then. I think haertig gives some good advice concerning them: there are alot of models out there now and buyer beware, some are probably "trash," I think.

Cammenga is one of the two suppliers to the military...
I had one of the ones with the Tritium and loved it...
Always worked perfectly...
Then, one day, not long ago, I took it out and the needle will not turn???
I keep forgetting to check which of the two companies made it and see if they will repair it...
I kept it in perfect condition, so I do not know what went wrong with it...
This is not to imply that there is anything wrong with that type of compass... Every thing you buy has a chance of breaking, even in ways that you cannot tell what went wrong(as in this case).
This compass was over 10 years old when it stopped working anyway... The Tritium vials still glowed strongly, though not as strongly as when new...
Tritium has a half life of 11 years, if I remember correctly, so it should be about half as bright as it was when I got it, and that seems about right, as it was VERY bright when I got it!.
My oldest compasses that still work are my over 30 year old BSA baseplate compass(air filled), and my K&E pocket transit(almost exactly like the Brunton).
This is the Brunton...

Mil Lensatics are cool, and offer lots of protection while in you pack/pocket/whereever. But I personnaly don't like them for "civilian" use. The mil marking are just a pain for an old man's eyes. Mine is sooo old the tritium is dead, or just about. I used it so rarely I gave it to my son-in-law, who was in the USMC reservesat that time and thought he needed one. My regular compass is a Silva Ranger, and it is more compass than I need. As long as it has a straight edge on at least one side and points to N it will do for the majority of us...

I used the military lensatic in the military quite a lot. It has some good features like a clicking bezel, each click is 3 degrees, helps at night. The tritium is nice too until it expires. I have been through a few now. I much prefer the Silva Ranger compass. I have had one of those for nearly 30 years and love the features.
Keep in mind the military Cammenega compass is all cast metel and very heavy compared to all the Silva, Brunton types. Weight is at least triple. Something to think about.

I like the Ranger too. Works similar to the military lensatic. I also have the Silva starter and a Suunto model that I can't remember the name.

I have tried the lensatic and I don't really like them myself. There are others that do. All personal preference.

Bee,

Do you use the mirror to sight on your Silva Ranger compass? I wonder how much more accurate it is than using a Silva Polaris.

Hey Craig!

I bought the Ranger because my Search & Rescue organization requires us to have compasses with adjustable magnetic declination. It comes with a tiny screw that you can tighten or loosen. With the Polaris, you have to calculate everytime ("Oh yeah, I gotta substract 17 degrees from this bearing")

I had a Polaris before getting the Ranger. The Polaris is light, sturdy and gets the job done. That's what i'm carrying on day hikes, not the Ranger. The mirror makes things easier but to be honest, you have to realign yourself every once in a while with either model. With the Polaris, just bring the compass close to your chest and you should have an accurate enough reading.

Frugal orienteeting! <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> Unless you have a special requirement, get a Polaris instead of a Ranger and treat yourself with what's left... <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

The lensatic compass is really an "engineering" compass. It was designed for survey work rather than land navigation. You can use them in preferance to a Silva 1-2-3 type baseplate, but they do require a much higher standard of navigational skill. That, in and of itself is a good reason for buying a basic model and learning how to use it.
One issue you will have is the need to orientate a map before obtaining a bearing and you will need a notepad and pencil to note the infomation.
You will have to be very careful to ensure that there are no metal objects near the map & compass when working out your rout.
As a practical matter, you are better using a silva compass card to derive bearing from the map. Which brings us back to the 1-2-3 system.

I do. But I also cheat and use the Boy Scout method of drawing mag north lines on many of my maps, then you can use a compass withour messing with the declination...

For my equipped freinds in the United States, keep in mind that the compass sold in the U.S. as the Silva Ranger is NOT the real Silva ranger made by Silva of Sweden.

A number of years back Silva of Sweden bought Brunton. Up until then Johnson Outdoors (owners of fine brands like Eureka! tents and Old Town canoes) sold Silva compasses and much to Silva of Sweden's dismay, Johnson Outdoors owned the U.S. trademark for "Silva" -- and they would not give it up. So now compasses designed by Silva of Sweden are sold in the U.S. under the trademark "Brunton" or sometimes "Nexus". In the U.S., compasses sold under the trademark "Silva" are made by a mix of other companies.

The compass known around the world (except the U.S.) as the Silva Ranger is sold in the U.S. as the Brunton 15DTCL.

I have quite a few different compasses (much to my wife's dismay):
Brunton 15DTCL
Brunton Eclipse 8099
Brunton Eclipse GPS 8096
Brunton 8010G
Brunton 9020G
Suunto M-3 Leader w/ Global Needle
Suunto M-3 Leader w/ Standard Needle
"Real" Silva Starters, including my original from back in the Scouting days
Cammenga lensatic compass

All of the Brunton's and the Suunto have adjustable declination, which is VERY important to me.

My favorite baseplate compass is the Suunto M-3 Leader with the standard needle (I don't like the coloring of the global needle), followed closely by the Brunton 8010G. I really like the Brunton Eclipse GPS 8096, but it is kind of large. I suspect the Brunton Eclipse 8097 would be a very nice compass, but it is still pretty expensive ($33 on Amazon.com) compared to the Suunto M3 ($20 on forestry-suppliers.com).

My favorite mirrored sighting compass is the Brunton Eclipse 8099, but it is kind of expensive ($65). As much as others like the Brunton 15TDCL (the Ranger), I just don't like it as much as the 8099.

I bought the lensatic compass to see what the hype was about. I figured I'd buy a good one, but I really don't like it nearly as much as the others. Its really kind of a pain to use, especially compared to the 8099 (which, by the way, also is housed in its own built-in case).

If you want to spend some cash on a nice compass, I really recommend you buy the Brunton Eclipse 8099 ($65-$70) or the Brunton 15TDCL ($45-$50) instead.

Besides a regular compass I carry one that is a ball with a pin that I keep pinned to my coat on the flap of my upper pocket. The internal ball with the arrow pointing north floats inside an external transparent ball.This is not very accurate but if you only need to keep walking in a certain direction, it is easier to use because you don't have to use any hands to use it and also you can keep looking at it almost constantly. You can buy them at Wal Mart for about $3.

Bee,

I use the Brunton 3DLU Expedition compass. I have taken several map and compass classes so I know how to use it. I tend to miss the marks sometimes and wonder if the mirrored compasses are more accurate. They taught us to hold the compass in both hands against our chest, rotate our body as needed, box the needle and then look up. The Brunton 3DLU Expedition works great on the map!

I bought some pace beads at an Army Surpluss store to help keep track of my pace. I think my biggest problem is when there are hills. I loose sight of the target I was walking toward. For me it could be more of a problem of not walking straight and the correct distance than not getting a good barreing.

Thanks for all the info eveyone. I guess I should have figured on finding some knowledgeable compass folks around here! Looks like I'm probably better just sticking with the baseplate compasses I currently have (or maybe upgrade a bit). Sounds like the lensatic I was originally looking towards might be a more specialized model and not quite so good for general navigation compared to other types (I think I already knew that - and everyone here just reinforced it). I still may try one someday.

Post deleted by Leigh_Ratcliffe

But ... the mirrored baseplate compass (Brunton 15TDCL, Brunton Eclipse 8099, Silva Ranger, Suunto MC-2) and I suppose the Cammenga lensatic compass can do BOTH map work and sighting bearings.

Mirrored baseplate compasses are VERY accurate sighting compasses - much more accurate than a simple baseplate compass. I'd venture to say that because of its magnified dial that the Brunton Eclipse 8099 is a bit more accurate than most other sighting compasses. The Cammenga lensatic compass is marked in 5 degree increments and the Ranger-type compasses are marked in 2 degree increments, while the Brunton Eclipse 8099 is marked in 1 degree increments, and with the 8099's dial magnification it is pretty easy to read to the nearest half a degree. The 5 degree increment on the lensatic compass really limits its accuracy unless you start working in the mils scale (ugh!).

The 8099's dial magnification is also better for those of us older folks who have problems reading the tiny numbers on some compasses.

Here is a good comparison of the Ranger-type compass versus the Cammenga lensatic, though I think the Ranger-type compass does better than the aritcle suggests. http://www.cammenga.com/uploaded_images/1147706028-TonyWilks_CAMMENGA_LENSATIC_UK.pdf

Mirrored compasses such as the Brunton 8099 & 15TDCL, Silva Ranger, and Suunto MC-2 and the Cammenga lensatic compass are as good as or better than a simple baseplate compass when working with maps because the mirror/sighting door actually extends the straight edge length of the compass when fully extended. Also, most of the mirrored baseplate compasses have 7.5 minute (1:24,000) topo UTM scales right on the baseplate. The 8099 also has 7.5 minute distance scales in feet and miles.

I noticed that Brunton has started putting an ugly red ring on the Silva compasses. <img src="/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" /> I bought a couple of the old style while they are still available. Take a look:

I have just ordered a cammedia compass. I will post a review when I get it.
Thus far, I am impressed with their service. I expect the compass to be as good. Watch this space....

I have some more questions on the Cammenga military compass (I'm trying to decide between this lensatic and the Brunton 54LU as a request for a Christmas gift). Don't know if anyone can answer it though (Leigh you did a review on the Cammenga, and others here say they have (had) this lensatic, so maybe ...)

My eyes aren't the best in the world. Pretty nearsighted. Five or six diopters or so. And I have progressive bifocals on top of that.

I have no idea if anyone is in my same "blindness" situation (?!), but how easy is it to focus the rear sight on the Cammenga so you can read the bearing when sighting? I've read that you need to adjust focus on that rear sight by tilting it to more or less of an angle. It this tilting quick and easy, or difficult and tedious?

There's a pretty nice article on how to use the Cammenga and the Brunton on this webpage: http://www.kifaru.net/plot_blust.htm Scroll to the very bottom of the page to see the instructions on sighting bearings. There is a companion webpage that talks about the three compasses that this person recommends: http://www.kifaru.net/compass1.htm (One of these three compasses is way out of my budget however!)

I would love to check out these two compasses side by side to compare them, but I can't find a local dealer that has even one of them - much less BOTH for an actual comparison. They will have to be mail order purchases.

Here are my thoughts these two compasses, and the model I *think* would be the "winner":

Durability (winner: Cammenga, probably by a great amount)
Price (Cammenga - for the non-tritium model)
Dampening, liquid vs. induction (Cammenga, 54LU liquid might leak or bubble)
Sighting graduations (54LU: Brunton 1 degree, vs. Cammenga 5 degree)
Weight, size, "klunkyness" factor (54LU)
Protractor capabilities (54LU)
Declination adjustment (neither, I don't need this personally)
Compatibility with nearsightedness and bifocals for sighting bearings (???? - this it the biggie question for me.)

The Cammenga is focusable (at least in theory). The Brunton is not. The Brunton may be just fine for my eyes, or totally unuseable. I sure wish I could find these two compasses locally for a test! Any experiences or opinions from others would be most helpful.

I'm not sure which Brunton compass you're referring to, but the Brunton Eclipse compasses (8097, 8096, 8099, 8099 PRO) all have a magnified bearing read out area, which is really nice for those of us with aging eyes.

Ken K.

It's this one:

http://www.brunton.com/product.php?id=101

The unique thing about it is the sighting system, much like a lensatic. The webpage below has a graphic at the bottom that gives an idea of how it works:

http://www.maptools.com/products/54LUCompass.html

Since you are using a GPS, upgrade to a baseplate compass with UTM scale for plotting UTM coords on a map. The GPS I use for hiking is a non-mapping Garmin Geko set up in UTM which I can plot directly on a chart. Then I turn off the GPS and navigate with chart and compass.

Some folks navigate with GPS as primary. I prefer to navigate with GPS as back-up; it saves on battery life and keeps compass/map skills from atrophy.

I currently use the following for reading (and transferring) GPS coordinates to a map:

http://www.maptools.com/products/UTMGrids.html

A compass with this built in would be a bonus.

That MapTools website ( http://www.maptools.com ) is pretty nice. They have a good basic tutorial on UTM. They also sell some nice tools like the grid overlay above. Many of these tools are downloadable as PDF's if you want to print your own (on transparency film). The ones they sell are much heavier duty than ones you could make yourself printing the PDF's.

should try the very accurate British Army compass.