Best Compass for You 

The hardest and most Priceless Compass I've ever worked with was a moral one.

No need to apologize for the length of this video. Like always another informative well done video. Thanks

I could listen to you for two hours Dave. Don’t ever think that you’re not very interesting. The amount of knowledge you have is incredible. Your willingness to dispense it is a blessing to all of us. God bless you. John

Sharing your knowledge of the different options and applications is much appreciated. Thanks Dave. Keep the great content coming!

I have been carrying that little Silva for years and is all i need for what I do.

You're a legend David and definitely my favorite dual survivalist. You and Cody were the golden age of survival reality TV programs.

As usual, I learned something new. Thanks as always Dave.

Thanks for the video Dave, always good to refresh your knowledge on different compass, and land nav.

big help, big heart, thank you from australia,.........saving lives,.......I love you brother

Thank you for the tips, David! Navigation is a fundamental skill for sure.

Thank you for the info Dave, always appreciated!

Thank you Dave for covering the difference between the lensatic and base plate compass as far as declination. I have always used camenga with tritium but have since acquired Suunto MC-2. Love both.

Thank you Dave for explaining a few things about compasses. Much appreciated.

Lots of compasses Dave. Glad you took time to explain the differences between each type.. many thanks.

About time someone actually covered the nuances of compass choice! Never even seen the subject touched. I never leave for the trail without a compass and hard copy map.

From the title, I would have guessed this was a sponsored video. Boy was I wrong! You've answered all the questions I was looking for some time ago. Very inormative Dave!

I just found this channel. You and Blackie Thomas are the best and the most informative instructors that I have seen. I'm looking forward to seeing more of your videos. Thank you for your presentations.

Loved using them compasses - the second one - in Land Nav. Had mighty nice results with em.

Thanks for that video Sir, it is great I asked you questions about this a little while ago and this is more than I asked for. Thanks you!

Excellent clarification! Thank you Dave!

Great video. I was trained on a military compass, but the MC-2 is the best choice for most people , especially someone who is learning.

No one explains it like Dave. Thank you sir.

I was doing a refresher on land nav and missed this video. Im glad i watched it. Didnt know about that pocket compass. Thanks.

I have the first 3. Glad to know I'm on point with my mapping and Land Nav.

I like the direction you went with this. Thank you for pointing out the pro’s and con’s of these compasses.

Thanks for another great video full of important information. I like my Silva Ranger best so far.

Always learn something every video I watch. Keep up the good work.

Still have my original issue compass from 30 years ago, thanks Uncle Sam.

Thank you! I have been doing so much research on this.

Always golden nuggets of truth brother. I am 59 years old and still have my Silva going back to a young teen, at that time it was my primary. I carry the MC2 and tritium lensatic currently, redunancy and quality are key.

This video is great with my morning coffee. No apologies necessary. There is a new crop of learners every day.

I bought the MC-2 and love it. It really is a multifunctional great piece of equipment. The mirror is amazing.

Great video Dave. Spot on regarding compasses. Buy once, cry once. The Suunto Mc2 is perfect.

Good Video. As a professional for over 40 years now semi-retired Archaeologist, I have used the Brunton Pocket transit to make field maps, I now have The Army Compass, which I play around with, but in the main I tended to use the Silva Ranger 2.0 models and Ranger 515 model rather than the Suunto.

Thank you! Concise and practical advice as always 🙏😎

Brought back images of my army days. Thanks for the video. Keep posting. Brilliant at explaining. Good instructor. Bye for WALES!

I will definitely be taking your advice and getting one of these. I got a cheap compass on sale recently and that’s the last time I do that.

Worth the wait as usual. Thanks again sir.

Very informative video. I have had a Suunto M-3 for a few years and plan to upgrade it in the future.

That was awesome!!! Very informative and educational! Thank you!!!

Thank you, Dave...always learning something new when I watch your channel. I picked up the Suunto MC2 after watching an orienteering video by Shawn Kelly. Great video and I carry the notes taken on all of my hikes so that I can practice. I also have one of the military compasses that was given to me as a gift from a friend when we were both active duty circa 1972. We were on a deployment in Morocco and that compass saved my ass. While browsing on Amazon I found a pocket Brunton glow in the dark compass and tested it against the Suunto and it's okay but if my life were at stake the Suunto MC2 and a set of pacing beads would always be in my pack or pocket.

Great video Dave thank you for the information. There are so many compasses out there it is just ridiculous. Thanks for narrowing it down a little bit.

definetly a very helpful video, thanks!

I appreciate the info, Dave! I've been trying to decide on a compass for a while and was getting discouraged with conflicting info. I trust your opinion and I think I've made my decision. Thank you, sir!

Thanks Dave. Gave me the information I needed

I have the MC2 but will definitely be getting the Silva. Thanks Dave!

Thanks for this video dave, super informative!!!

Thanks brother, this helped me a lot, well, all your videos do. Thanks again.

Excellent. Love that mini Silva

Thanks Dave! This really clears things up for me on compass purchase. Also, the mini screwdriver that you mentioned in your SAK is great if you need to tighten the screw on eyeglasses! I was teaching many years ago (15-20) in a Christian school and had several kids ask me to fix their glasses. The screw would come out. When SAK came out with that gem I bought it and kept it at the ready for students' glasses. Never thought to use it for declination screws on compasses! Thanks.

Great presentation. I love compasses. Tidbit:. Romans established 1000 paces equals one mile. A pace is two steps. Troops were required to count paces to determine mileage between cities.

Thank you for the information on the compasses

Relearned land nav years ago with your videos and invested in the recommended compass your talking about; wow; it makes navigating way easier; wish the MIL would have used this style..

Love your video. Thanks Dave. You rock

Excellent presentation! Thank you!

Thank you my astute and erudite friend! Compasses and compass use has long been a source of confusion to the layman. Thanks for your accurate and concise presentation! I has been my experience that most people either buy a cheap "toy" compass and expect to do wonders with it or they buy a vastly over complicated one and never learn to properly use it. Thanks again, regards and best, Pink

Nice presentation Dave. My ol' vintage, well-used, durable, and trusted compass was the SUUNTO WWII-type Finnish Military model (metal w/ leather strap). Before GPS... It was my go-to for exploring , needed tool as an apprenticing river guide, and carried into outfitting and leadership of fully-guided expeditions. During college days on orientation classes and competitions, it always cleaned the competitor's clocks to other's bewilderments. Nowadays, it's a still working special keepsake. Funny story: I was leading an exploratory multi-mode mountaineering, trekking, and rafting month long tour for a party of 15 German folks. They wondered why I'd hardly ever looked at the maps and seamingly did not take many readings/bearings with a compass. I told them the Caribou know the way, and we shall use that guidance to or destination as better direction seeking than any compass. Our trek would take us from deep in the Brooks Range Mountains to where we would find our boats cashed to start the river segment as the goal. Over several days and miles the Caribou had led us

May you always have a great health master Dave!

Just the video I was looking for, thanks brother🙏

Thank you for posting. Great information. grateful

Great overview Dave! I wish I could convince the parents of my Scouts to get MC2s out of the gate. No matter how many times I tell them MC2 or look for made in Finland, they go to Walmart and buy a cheap compass that's either DOA, loses magnetism quickly, or bubbles in a month or less. I have a stack of dead ones I use as teaching examples. My 2 Globals have been around the world and are still going strong. They've also saved me many hard miles of rerouting when the fidelity on the GPS or the map on my phone would've sent me down the wrong fork on a trail. Just as important is understanding and using a topo map. We do a lot of cross country orienteering scavenger hunts in Scouts. Being able to pick the fastest route and stay on bearing in tough terrain is an art in itself. That would make a great follow up video.

Great vid. Exactly what I needed.

As usual, great vid, thank you.

Great video. I know a hundred Times more than I knew b4 watching. Thank you.

Lol, "Declination has no bearing"!

I've used a Suunto or Silva for decades and it's the best. Thanks for sharing what the differences are. I never knew.

I'd agree the MC2 is a great compass, I use the cammenga personally. Great video and stay safe.

I’ve used and still use my old military lensatic M-1 compass the m- 2 were used by field artillery I use my m-1 as my primary over GPS when I hunt out west works great no battery’s 😎

thank you for the info about the compass types.

In Australia - next year my son does yr9 school (14yr olds) living in the Victorian Alps at a campus called Timbertop - weekly hikes upto 6 days, 25+ klm runs, cross country & alpine skiing, bush skills, white water rafting, etc. They all carry Suunto m3 compasses - but all their hiking is with maps. Love your videos - thankyou

Thanks for the information !

That was an outstanding informative video. Thank you

Enjoy using the M2 Compass. Spent a few years as an 82C (Field Artillery Surveyor). The ability to find azimuth and elevation can put you anywhere you need to be.

Good review Dave! I have a Cammenga Mil-Spec tritium lensatic compass and a Suunto MC2 compass, but being an "old" Ranger who is still very good at land nav (backpacking, orienteering, etc.), my primary compass remains the Mil-Spec tritium lensatic compass, eventhough I understand the multi-use advantages of the MC2, it is my backup compass.

Thank you, David.

Very helpful video, thank you !

Thanks for the info Dave. I started trying to figure out a good basic compass I need to carry a while back and found lots of info out there that done nothing but confuse me. I appreciate the straight forward advice. I assume you have info on your channel here about basic use of a compass, such as the MC-2. I will start watching them as well. I do like short to the point videos like this. Thanks again.

Not a compass pro but I was lucky enough to pick one of the compass’s your showing as my 1st nice Cordura holder well built and has alout of bells and whistles that I need more time to learn how to use.

Some great advice mate thanks

I've got an old engineer compass and it works pretty damn well!

Thank you David. 👍

I bought the Suunto a few years ago at your suggestion,and never went back to any other compass..I do like that Silva though. Thank you for all you do brother 💪💪

Well informed and great help 👍👍👍👍

Thank you for the info.

I own 2 compasses a M2 artillery compass, and a suunto MC-2. And man, I enjoy the MC-2 so much.

Excellent information. Thanks for sharing Brother. Salute and Respect from Eire.

Very informative and well explained,great video 👍

love this stuff.... thanks

Thank you for the information....!!

on your recommendation a few years ago i got the Suunto and love it.. i don't use it that often but it is easy to read and does everything i need it to do and yes the magnifier will light char material lol

Because the compass needle rotates independently from the degree scale on a base plate compass, but the degree scale (degree card) rotates with the needle on a Cammenga type compass. I have found it helpful to think of how to use the two different types of compasses, as working kind of the opposite way of each other. [I never use the adjustment for mag declination on compasses that have that function, because I like to play round with different kinds of compasses. Some base plate compasses don't have an adjustment, only a declination scale printed inside the compass housing. And compasses like the Cammenga, Francis Barker, etc. don't even have a mag declination scale. I find it easier to just always account for mag declination manually. It is quite easy once you understand mag declination, but most people convince themselves magnetic declination is difficult. It isn't. If you don't make it so. --- If mag declination is 7˚ West, to orient your map to local terrain, just rotate your map 7˚ CW (from magnetic north orientation). If instead mag declination is 15˚ East, rotate your map 15˚ CCW (from magnetic north orientation position). Then you can take your compass azimuth directly off the map by laying the edge of the compass along the desired direction of travel. No math involved. If no map, forget about it, ah, er, it has no bearing. But the math method is also easy: [The map WAvES to the compass. And the compass WAvES back(wards) to the map.] WAvES, = West Add v East Subtract. Meaning when you measure an azimuth on your map of say, 200˚ (referenced to grid north), and your mag declination is 12˚ West. You would use a compass (manetic) azimuth of 212˚ to go to your destination. [From West Add 200˚+12˚= 212˚ - Map WAvES to the compass]. But if you measure a compass (magnetic) azimuth to a distant road junction of say, 112˚, on the map you would use an grid referenced azimuth of 100˚, The compass WAvES (West Add back(wards)) to the map. Thus -- West Add backwards becomes, west subtract. 112˚ +(-12)= 100˚. And of course if your local mag declination were instead 12˚ East. Map WAvES to the compass would become 200˚-12˚-= 188˚ mag azimuth. And Compass WAvES back to the map would become 100˚+12˚ = 88˚ map grid north azimuth. [East Subtract backwards]. Man, I keep thinking I'd like to get a Brunton Transit type compass, just to play around with one. But haven't yet been willing to $pend the money for one. And don't want one of the cheap low quality clones. I've only been motivated enough to $pend the money to order a Francis Barker M73 from Pyseroptics in the UK. A fun compass to own. Accurate to 0.5˚. The Silva Expedition 54 or the newer version Silva Expedition 55 6400/360 prism compasses are fine too. About $94, also 0.5˚ accuracy. Not really needed as the Cammenga accuracy is 2.25˚(40 mils) , and the Suunto compasses are accurate to 2.5˚, which is plenty accurate for pedestrian land navigation.

Just got the silva pin on compass not long ago and its great.

People always seem to totally underestimate the importance of a map and compass. All this GPS stuff but you can't beat BNG and stuff like that. Good video. Keep reminding them!!

Fantastic! Thanks!

Great video. Good info.

Great content! Necessary as well!

Good stuff man. Thanks. Hope to make a class sometime.

I have a military compass like the second one you showed us and have had it for a long time. I also have one like the third one you showed us and it came in a survival kit, but I have never seen the first one you showed us and it must be fairly new for engineers, and military professionals.

I carry button compasses and they`re what i use by far the most (in a pants coinpouch backup at other places). Especially when in cities. I have used others and own another one but that`s the one i use most but then again i`m in central europe and it`s hard to get really lost here when in the countryside.

Great Review thank you I love my Silva Landmark #27 👍🇺🇸 The Vermonter