2nd post. whats a good compass ? what do you think of highgear and the other electronic gadgets. I love gadgets !!! they look great but do they hold up? just something to keep in my poket. thanks
finding this forum very educational, great info for a newbie

http://www.thecompassstore.com

Has some good information. I would not trust my life to any thing battery dependent or cheap. I have several but carry a Suunto MC-1G Global the most.

Would need some more information on what you need it for to give any advice on subject.

I love gadgets too, but the only electronic compass I have is my Casio SeaPathfinder Watch. (Always backup up with a normal compass)
I havent seen any other electronic compasses that I would buy except the Suunto watch range. ( I like watches too)
I always buy good compasses from Silva(Brunton), Suunto or Recta.
For base plate compasses I have a couple of Silva Voyager 9020's Which are Brunton branded in the US www.silva.se/outdoor/products/comp_voy9020.htm
In my BOB I have a Recta DP6 www.recta.ch/e/ (under Products)
For EDC and PSK's I have some of the Silva (Brunton) SERE 40 models www.silva.se/pg/products/com_sere40.htm and a couple of Suunto Clipper compasses www.suunto.com (under products, field compasses) and the compass in the ETS PSP.
I have weeded out all but 2 cheap compasses (not meantioned above and used to lend to others) and there is not a battery in sight for serious use.

While electronic compasses are interesting, they are not nearly as accurate as a moderately good magnetic compass, and since they rely on batteries and electronics, there is a certain risk of malfunctions that aren't present with magnetic compasses.

If you want a gadget, get a GPS - Garmin Etrex GPS's are very nice. GPS's are wonderful navigational tools that should be used along with good maps and compasses.

For most users I recommend they stick with compasses with clear rectangular baseplates (like the Suunto M-3) or a baseplate with a sighting mirror (like the Brunton 15TDCL/Silva Ranger). Lensatic compasses are great for taking bearings, but they are not usually recommended for beginners. For brands I strongly recommend that you stick to Brunton, Silva, or Suunto. Understand that Silva of Sweden owns Brunton, but ironically in the U.S. Silva of Sweden does not own the trademark "Silva", so compasses sold in the U.S. with the trademark Silva are actually made by someone else - maybe Suunto - and then distributed by Johnson Outdoors. They are decent compasses too.

I have far too many compasses:

Brunton/Silva:
>8099 Eclipse - $79
>15TDCL (the real Ranger compass made by Silva SE) - $62
>8096 Eclipse GPS - $39
>8010G (larger compass in Optic green from Brunton) - $19
>9020G (small compass in Optic green from Brunton) - $13
>7DNL (the basic 1-2-3 Starter compass from Silva SE) - $12
>9068 (clip-on watch compass from Brunton) - $4

Suunto:
>M-3 w/ standard needle $20
>M-3 w/ global needle - $32

My tendency is to prefer basic compasses that are low cost and high quality. Adjustable declination is absolutely a necessity to me.

My preferences are:
>Suunto M-3 Standard Needle - $20 - Great price; high quality
>Suunto M-3 Global Needle - $32 - The needle contrast isn't as good
>Brunton 8010G - $19 - Great compass, not quite as high quality as the M-3
>8096 Eclipse GPS - $39 - Would have been ahead of others, but big and a bit heavy. Accurate to 1 degree. I suspect the >Brunton 8097 Eclipse $39 would be ahead of the others, but I don't own one.
>Brunton 8099 Eclipse - $79 - Fantastic compass, LOTS of features, may be too complicated for some, better sighting mirror than the 15TDCL, kind of heavy and big and pricey
>Brunton/Silva 15TDCL - $62 - classic, big mirror, nice compass.
>Brunton 9020G - $13 - decent compass, but the symmetric shape front-to-back runs the risk of accidently pointing the wrong end forward.

These compasses are not acceptable to me because they don't have adjustable declination:
>7DNL - $12
>9068 - $4

Overall, my advice would be to go with the Brunton 8097 Eclipse or the Suunto M-3 standard needle.

Then, buy a book called "GPS Land Navigation" by Michael Ferguson. It does a great job of explaining how to use a GPS, a map, and a compass, how to use a compass with a map, and then use all three of them together to get the most benefit. None of them will do you any good unless you know how to use them correctly and efficiently.

For pocket/PSK carry, I've been pleased with the Tru-Nord line of small compasses.

Well-constructed; machined from solid brass, 1-inch diameter; $19.95.

Declination is adjusted to your zip code prior to shipping (unless specified otherwise at time of order). You may, or may not, consider this a plus, depending on where it's likely to be used.

I agree with your recomendations.
My ex Silva Ranger 15 was an excelent compass. I lent it to someone, and they liked it so much they wouldn't give it back. We did trade for it though, and I havent got around to replace it. Hence I only lend cheap compasses now <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
The Brunton 8099 eclipse is on my wish list as well, known Down Under as the Silva 99 Eclipse Pro.

I have never had the problem of using the wrong end of my 9020's though because the lanyard attaches closest to you.

Recta I think is owned by Suunto too, but I am not quite sure of the exact relationship between them. They make good quality compasses too, I think it was Recta who gave Suunto the global compass needle. They supply the Swiss Army, but they are a bit short on other attachments <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
My Recta DP6 is one of the better mirror sighting compasses Ive used. Slightly better than my Ranger 15.
It slides apart, and a mirror drops below the compass needle, and it has luminous sights setup across the top like a gun. You sight across the top and look below in the mirror to get the reading. This is easier than looking across the top of the mirror and looking down on the Ranger. The mirror can be pushed out of the way into the body if not needed. It also pushes together so when it is unused it is all protected like a box. Used on a map it has the straight sides, but the ranger has a clear base plate, making the map a little more visable. Held sideways it has a clinometer and it also has a declination adjustment screw on the bottom.

My Personel favorite is Sunnto's M3... I just replaced my 13 year-old M3 with an M3G. Light, simple and reliable. What more can you ask for?

Which proves two things:

#1 - Always attach a lanyard to your compass. I've heard some recommend adding a whistle to the same lanyard.

#2 - I never used the 9020 with a lanyard ... which means I'm foolish enough not to follow rule #1.

I've heard of Recta, but have no experience with them. I always assumed that was a non-U.S. trademark. I think Nexus (or similar) is a trademark sometimes used by Silva SE/Brunton, possibly outside the U.S.

On a slightly different topic, I tend to think of button compasses as emergency, last resort, better than no compass at all compasses. You really can't use them for following a bearing other than the basic 8 rose points - at least not very easily, and they don't play at all well orienteering with maps.

I'm a person who thinks that people who tread outside of familiar suburbia should carry a decent compass, a great map, and a basic GPS w/ extra batteries ... and of course know how to use all three with each other.

Ken K.

Even when following your rule #2, you can feel the lanyard hole in the centre of one end by sliding your finger over it. (tough if you are waring glove though)

As far as I understand it, Silva SE bought Brunton and changed the distribution of their compasses to Brunton, and then found the old distributer had registered the Silva name. So they changed the Silva SE compasses name to Nexus only in the US and left Brunton compasses still branded as Brunton until the merge was complete. Now the Silva SE's seem to use the Brunton name. Then I lost track of Nexus.

Recta has been around for a long time. A while back SAK's had some pouches with a ruler which had a compass, thermometer and magnify glass in it, and I think they did one without the themometer. That was made by Recta.
I noticed earlier when I went to Suunto's web site that they have Recta's rebaged as Suunto's now. The MB6 is a rebadged DP6 or similar.
Its hard to get Suunto's down here, I've never managed to get myself a M3 or a MC2 when Ive tried. But I noticed today that there is a new importer so I fired off an email earlier.
I agree, but have a close look at the Suunto clipper. It has degree marks around the rotating bezel and an index mark, so its better than most button compasses.
I couldnt have said that any better.

If you are looking for an Eclipse 8099, Gander Mountain by me has them for $30...yeap, $30. Everyone else has them for retail, $80