Does anyone have a recommendations for a high quality and ultra rugged non electronic compass?
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Military Lensatic, Cammenga 3H model. You can typically find them for $75-$85 if you shop around.
3H Tritium Compass
3H Tritium Compass
What they said. Spend the extra on the true tritium model rather than the knock off "glow in the dark" model that requires you to "charge" it with a light.
THEN, learn how to use it properly (day and night).
THEN, learn how to use it properly (day and night).
Skills are harder to get than the right compass.
Yep. Im certain the guys that tack ammo cans to trees on compass courses paint them with invisibilium.
The boxes at 2d MARDIV Sniper School were stuck in the middle of bushes and bow-flaged, literally. They made sure we had the skills!
Suunto makes excellent compasses. I teach orienteering to scouts and use the Suunto M-3DL but have had my eye on the M-3 Global Pro.
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When in the woods or week long backpacking trips this is what I use
Cammenga Military Tritium Wrist Compass Worldwideship | eBay
I don't care for compasses with oil (really slow, get air bubbles at high altitude)
Remember a land nav compass is useless without a big bulky map. If your looking for a small Hidden supplies they are a must.
For 99% of the time a simple compass that is fast and easy to look at ( always know your direction) is better that a high end compass that you only look at every mile or two.
The above compass is not oil dampened it moves very easily you just look at it like a watch while your on the move. Not stop take a bigger compass out of a pouch, flip it open wait for the needle, then get your bearing. While it will work, on a week long trip all of that extra work adds up.
Cammenga Military Tritium Wrist Compass Worldwideship | eBay
I don't care for compasses with oil (really slow, get air bubbles at high altitude)
Remember a land nav compass is useless without a big bulky map. If your looking for a small Hidden supplies they are a must.
For 99% of the time a simple compass that is fast and easy to look at ( always know your direction) is better that a high end compass that you only look at every mile or two.
The above compass is not oil dampened it moves very easily you just look at it like a watch while your on the move. Not stop take a bigger compass out of a pouch, flip it open wait for the needle, then get your bearing. While it will work, on a week long trip all of that extra work adds up.
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Suunto MC-2G Mil Scale Compass - Mountain Equipment Co-op. Free Shipping Available
Or check out the Silva Ranger compasses, very similar to the Suunto one. The Silva is what we are issued.
Unless they have started to issue compasses (like the ones in redmanss link) that have the ability to "dial in" the magnetic declination this is a superior compass in my opinion.
We had 4 guys come up from FT Bragg to do a recce course with us a couple years ago, at least a couple of them liked our compasses a lot once they got used to them.
I'm sure some will balk at the fact that its a plastic housing, but I'm yet to see one break in field use.
Your mileage may vary
Or check out the Silva Ranger compasses, very similar to the Suunto one. The Silva is what we are issued.
Unless they have started to issue compasses (like the ones in redmanss link) that have the ability to "dial in" the magnetic declination this is a superior compass in my opinion.
We had 4 guys come up from FT Bragg to do a recce course with us a couple years ago, at least a couple of them liked our compasses a lot once they got used to them.
I'm sure some will balk at the fact that its a plastic housing, but I'm yet to see one break in field use.
Your mileage may vary
Yeah, no shit. What I loved was out at Pendleton (where there are basically no trees) you'd be working 6 digit grids that get you to 100m and they'd put 5 or 6 ammo cans within 100m on the same terrain feature. So you'd run a 2 or 3km leg to within 100m of where you were supposed to be, even double check yourself with a resection and you STILL couldn't figure out which of the 5 cans was the right one. Some of the cans were so close together that I'm convinced it would have been a coin flip even with the early GPS at the time.
I was amazed at how much DIFFERENT it was trying to land nav with one these compasses. I was with CF for a year and messed with one and hated it. I couldn't use it for shit and I used to be very good with our lensatics. I had one of your sergeants help me, and amazingly he got screwed up with it also. After 2 of us, who both knew how to land-nav, NOT being able to use that compass to find our location, I just did a SWAG using key terrain and that ended up being closer than the Suunto was putting us.
I have no doubt that they're great compasses in the hands of guys who train regularly with them, and I still can't figure out what made it so much different than our military lensatic compasses, but it just confused the shit out of me. I guess they're not Marine-proof.
I used to work in the timber industry and spent lots of time navigating by compass with maps/ aerial photographs. I had very good luck with the Suunto's and Silvas's.
Never used a Cammenga compass, but I would imagine they are a safe bet as well.
Never used a Cammenga compass, but I would imagine they are a safe bet as well.
I have the Suunto MC-2G world. Has a built in inclinometer and glows pretty good. I like these types as they have the built in protractor and scales for overlaying on your map. If you will be hunting and trekking in one area you can set your declination and be good to go.
The Military lensatics are nice, but I just like that everything I need is right there on the baseplate.
As for Silva, if you can find one of the older models that was made in Sweden, then get it. The newer (post 2009) are made in Indonesia and are a fuckin joke. I am all about global economy, but not when my ass is in the middle of the 750k acres of forrest.
The Military lensatics are nice, but I just like that everything I need is right there on the baseplate.
As for Silva, if you can find one of the older models that was made in Sweden, then get it. The newer (post 2009) are made in Indonesia and are a fuckin joke. I am all about global economy, but not when my ass is in the middle of the 750k acres of forrest.
I would agree on the military lensatic, they are a good compass.
You could also consider this one - https://tnvc.com/shop/m-73-leaders-compass/ or https://tnvc.com/shop/m-88-warriors-compass/
You could also consider this one - https://tnvc.com/shop/m-73-leaders-compass/ or https://tnvc.com/shop/m-88-warriors-compass/
Bogeybrown, I probably don't even want to know what trade or section of the CF that guy was in if he couldn't use that compass. I mean it was the first one I was taught how to use so for me its easy. There are a few features that if you don't know what they are or how to use them you will get screwed up. Mostly the ability to set the magnetic declination on the compass. If it is set wrong then it will give you bad bearings no matter what you do. If your using it on a map and trying to take a bearing with it, and you have the compass on the map backwards (sounds stupid but it happens) it will give you a back bearing. I have also seen people forget to line up the lines in the center of the bezel with the eastings on the map therefore not getting a real bearing either.
To each their own though, for me I find it very fast and accurate, I don't require a roamer at all to pull bearings off a map, it is scaled at 1:25000 and 1:50000 along the sides depending on the map you have.
I take it a SWAG is the same as a re section??? Shooting bearings to prominent features, drawing the bearings on the map to find your location?
To each their own though, for me I find it very fast and accurate, I don't require a roamer at all to pull bearings off a map, it is scaled at 1:25000 and 1:50000 along the sides depending on the map you have.
I take it a SWAG is the same as a re section??? Shooting bearings to prominent features, drawing the bearings on the map to find your location?
Hahahaha. TOTALLY was NOT trash-talking the Sergeant. He was an awesome guy (Combat Engr). He and a "Newfie" from the section saved my life, or at the very least my legs, within a couple hundred meters of the compass incident a couple of days later.
We actually knew pretty well where we were, but he had the compass out checking something else. While he had it out I asked him to explain it, since it worked differently than the ones we use in the U.S. As a practice exercise I tried using it to shoot a resection and was COMPLETELY off. He used it to shoot the resection and demonstrate and HE was WAY off. It's completely possible there was a declination adjustment on it that we didn't take off or something. Our lensatic compasses don't have that built-in capability so I certainly didn't look for it. It was just very disconcerting to me that I wasn't able to use THAT style of compass when I was so comfortable doing land nav. As I said, it wasn't Marine-proof.
A "SWAG" is a Scientific Wild Ass Guess, or in this circumstance, some "voodoo land nav" as we used to call it when we'd use some field-expedient land nav techniques to get a quick idea of our position. Now that today's troops have personal GPS, I have no idea if "Voodoo Land Nav" is even still used very much.
I have the utmost love and respect for the CF, and am a proud Legion Member.
I've got the Cammenga with tritium and phosphorescent. Says they were made for Japan? Its well made. I have others that are cheaper, but I bought this one for the ability to use the sight. I use it as a backup to my Nomad. As has been mentioned, don't forget the paper maps and a map case
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This. The MC2 Global is fantastic, and I vastly prefer it to any of the military lensatic models. Being able to dial the declination takes a mental step out of ongoing reading/bearing/following that is easy to mess up when you are tired. Works in northern and southern hemispheres-I've used the same model in Au, south america, US, Canada, never any issues be it ice, salt, or jungle.
I have a Silva Ranger that I have carried in my hunting pack for over 25 years and is a good tough compass. Also have a Brunton pocket transit which is a bit anal but probably the best I have ever used for accuracy. Good suggestion above about drawing the UTM grid lines on 7.5 minute maps n carrying a roarer and do the same. Mostly use GPS these days but maps and compass are always in my pack.
I personally like the Brunton line. Very well made.
Very true. I always carried and used two compasses on missions - the issued lensatic and a small $6 compass Silva Wrist Band Compass (now $7.50, damn inflation!) attached to my wrist watch band. Virtually all of my daytime navigation was done with that tiny little compass and terrain association. Outside of the "find the box" navigation courses and calling in fire missions, I never shot or followed a specific azimuth, I simply moved in the general direction choosing my path with the terrain versus letting it dictate me. You're very right on the hassle of pulling the compass out and opening it, but I've never felt delayed by waiting for a compass to settle. Night time is when I would set the bezel on the lensatic to line up with my necessary course direction for navigation. Still not shooting exact azimuths, just using it as a quick and easy guide with tired eyes.
For my treks into the woods now I still carry and use a tritium lensatic, more out of habit than need, but it's an old familiar companion. It's as durable as they come and will fulfill any navigation needs short of survey style work. I also use the built in compass and altimeter on my Casio Pathfinder for most of my base navigation. If I was going ultra-light, I would only have the watch, as that is all I really need in the mountains. I know how to get around if that fails.
I'll add I get my purpose made maps here: MyTopo | Custom Topo Maps, Aerial Photos, Online Maps, and Map Software They're far from bulky and printed in outstanding quality on weatherproof paper, and I lay out exactly how I want it made for a specific trip or area.
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