Brass Compass

**Wayland** · 16-03-2006, 18:58

Apart from the Marbles compass does anyone know of a good quality brass pocket compass, preferably with a closing case.

I've seen a few fob compass replicas but they are all dry types and I would prefer a liquid damped one if available.

I just can't afford a military prismatic at £200+, they are rather tasty but they are a bit too bulky.

**tomtom** · 16-03-2006, 19:15

i hear good thinks about these: http://www.trunord.com/about/testimonials
dont have one myself as yet though.

**Wayland** · 16-03-2006, 21:17

They look good but I was looking for something more like this.

**innocent bystander** · 16-03-2006, 21:55

How's about this one ?

http://www.nauticalworld.co.uk/nauti...261b2a2c883975

**ssj** · 17-03-2006, 00:04

Try here http://www.stanleylondon.com/sextcomp.htm as well. I've given a Dalvey to a friend and liked it a lot.

Steve

**scruff** · 17-03-2006, 10:30

Originally Posted by ssj

Try here http://www.stanleylondon.com/sextcomp.htm as well. I've given a Dalvey to a friend and liked it a lot.

Steve

I didn't realise how much I wanted a new compass until I started looking at this sight. They look great has anyone had any experience of them?

**Adi** · 17-03-2006, 12:32

I and most people that have been in the Army have used a prismatic compass.

They are very good for taking bearings and great for marching on a bearing.

I do have a couple of these trunord keyring compasses and they are great

**Hoodoo** · 17-03-2006, 12:55

Here's one in a stainless case that looks interesting:

compass

**Wayland** · 17-03-2006, 18:05

This one looks even better, a bit smaller.

I've never thought of a steel cased compass before. does anyone know if the case would influence the compass at all?

**Graham_S** · 17-03-2006, 18:17

high grade stainless steel is non-magnetic.

**redflex** · 17-03-2006, 19:03

http://www.stanleylondon.com/sextcomp.htm are mainly copies and designed as decoration items I would not trust them as a compass to navigate by, have spoke to them about buying items in the past

**Wayland** · 17-03-2006, 19:31

Originally Posted by Graham_S

high grade stainless steel is non-magnetic.

Might give that one a go then. I'll let you know.

**KenC** · 17-03-2006, 21:32

Originally Posted by redflex

http://www.stanleylondon.com/sextcomp.htm are mainly copies and designed as decoration items I would not trust them as a compass to navigate by, have spoke to them about buying items in the past

...more to the point, and not trying to be funny but I don't see how you can take an accurate bearing from a map with most of these. There doesn't seem to be any way to line up with grid north.

Or is that just my ignorance? Can anyone enlighten me?

**ssj** · 17-03-2006, 23:55

Go with the Dalvey. They are really cool and appear to be the real thing. As someone said, I have a few of the others and they seem to be copies and of questionable accuracy for the most part. The next questions are -do they have to be absolutely accurate? And with a compass is there such a thing as absolutely accurate?

Steve

**spamel** · 18-03-2006, 11:16

Originally Posted by KenC

...more to the point, and not trying to be funny but I don't see how you can take an accurate bearing from a map with most of these. There doesn't seem to be any way to line up with grid north.

Or is that just my ignorance? Can anyone enlighten me?

You would figure out the bearing by using a protractor. They could be as simple as a school one for degrees, but the military use a special protractor with mils. Then you convert the reading onto your compass and off you go.

**Wayland** · 18-03-2006, 15:36

Originally Posted by KenC

...more to the point, and not trying to be funny but I don't see how you can take an accurate bearing from a map with most of these. There doesn't seem to be any way to line up with grid north.

Or is that just my ignorance? Can anyone enlighten me?

I guess it depends on your use for a compass.

Myself, I rarely use a compass to follow a course on a map. If I am It would be the corrected Silva from my nav. kit, not a pocket compass.

My most usual requirement I have for a compass is to check the sun position for photography and for that a pocket job will be perfect.

I'll probably even add a position table in the lid to save me looking it up from my notebook.

I've ordered a Dalvey compact. I'll let you know what I think of it and we'll see how it stands the altitude in Norway this summer too.

**Nemisis** · 19-03-2006, 09:14

I saw this while searchig this site Wayland would it be of use? http://www.7dayshop.com/catalog/prod...oducts_id=7708
Dave.

**Lithril** · 19-03-2006, 10:02

Ok this may seem a really stupid question but I'm used to using silva compasses and looking at those... how do you line them up on a map accurately when you can't see through the backing plate and there didn't seem to be any other markings to use???

**Nemisis** · 19-03-2006, 10:23

it has a base plate with parallel edges I assume? why not use those
Dave.

**Lithril** · 19-03-2006, 10:27

Could do, although most of the ones that have been shown on here are round... no straight edges.

**Wayland** · 19-03-2006, 12:13

The silva compass idea was to combine a compass and a protractor in one unit. Before that you either used a separate protractor or you made a reasonable guess.

Since most people line up to grid north and never bother to factor in the magnetic variation a good guess is probably just as acurate.

I've said this before but I used to walk the hills of Westmorland when I was a lad in an old anorak (not waterproof), jeans and shoes. I didn't own a compass, I had an old Bartholomew half inch series map and some Kendal mint cake.

I still rarely use a compass to navigate though I carry one, and my GPS is just used occasionally for finding ancient features not shown on the map.

I learnt to navigate by looking at the land and the sky, knowing where I was, where I had come from and where I was going.

Sometimes I think this "head up, brain on" approach is becoming lost amidst the responsible, safety first brigade.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying safety isn't important, but I have met many people on the hills with all the right gear, that have no clue as to where they really are!

They can point to a map and say "we're on this path" (Often they're nowhere near it.) but if you ask them where they are going in the landscape or where they crossed the horizon they have no idea.

Owning the right kind of compass is not substitute for knowing how to navigate.

All I can say is it's a good job most hills are covered with paths and other walkers to follow because half of these people are lost even bofore they start out.
__________________

**spamel** · 19-03-2006, 12:26

I totally agree with Wayland. A guy on SAS selection on the hills of the Brecon Beacons started to follow the guy in front who had his bergen and waterproofs on. He followed him for quite a while and eventually caught him up. He said to the guy how are you doing, not long to go now is it? and the other chap said what are you on about, I'm just out for a walk today. He was a hill walker wearing military kit and the guy had followed him without checking his map, thinking he was on the right course. He didn't know where he was so asked the hillwalker and he was 7km off course. He had to back track to get on course, didn't make the time and failed selection!

I love it when you say to someone, show me where you think you are on the map, and they point to the map with their big sausage finger and say There! Oh, in that grid square under your big fat sausage finger somewhere then, eh??!! Please, use the tip of a knife, a twig or a blade of grass to point on a map!!

**bogflogger** · 19-03-2006, 12:46

I also agree, far too many people ignore all the infomation on their maps (and OS maps are the best in the world!) and just blindly follow a path, or their compass bearing.
A competent navigator should be able to work out where they are by using time, map features, including contour line intervals, and pacing.
I am not saying a compass is not essential, but it is only one tool in a navigators toolbox.
I use a Silva type 4 and have a Silva type 56 for taking accurate bearings.
Probably the most useful feature on the type 4 is the magnifying glass, as you can really see all the tiny features in 1:50,000 maps.

**Lithril** · 19-03-2006, 13:22

Cheers for that Wayland, I must admit I totally agree with you, I don't use a compass any where near as much as my other half. I tend to rely on how the landscape look and whether it matches with how it should look from the map, the compass is there as a back up.

**TAHAWK** · 10-04-2006, 01:07

A word of warning. I have discovered that some compasses being sold on the Internet as "Dalvey" are sometimes not actually that brand but "knockoffs."

**Schwert** · 10-04-2006, 22:23

Wayland,

This site has a number of vintage pocket compasses (and a host of other gems). I have bought from them and both their descriptions and service are excellent.

http://www.kitefarm.com/oregontrailm...categories.htm

Most of these are not liquid filled but many were nicely made instruments of their time. This old Singer has my eye....

Old forestry compasses are a category I have to avoid looking at.

My overall favorite "pocket" compass is the Leupold Sportsman....hard to find but much handier than the standard pocket type. Some, like this one, have both standard and forestry (reverse) cardinal points.

I too recommend avoiding the Stanley models.

**redflex** · 10-04-2006, 22:33

I am always on the look out for a good forestry compass with fully working clinometer, very hard to find real ones at a good price. Nice find

**Ben Trout** · 10-04-2006, 23:57

Not sure I entirely agree.

My usual yomping ground is Darrtmoor and a few times I've had to rely on bearings and pacing/timing. In poor visibility contours are not enough information if you can't be sure you are mainting direction.

Anyway, got a G150 shown here: http://www.sirs.co.uk/military.htm

Decent piece of precision kit, if a little heavy. Seems a great compass but it's a Mils one and I work in degrees. The conversions from one to the other isn't easy in your head! 360 degrees = 6400 mils

. The manufacturer didn't reply when I enquired about changing the card and needle. For walking on a bearing and sighting it would be a great compass but, no, it won't do the protractor bit. I think Silva do a version of the type 54 with prismatic sighting on. I think I'll be sticking with my current Silva till the bezel markings are unreadable and then get one of those.

My Sister and Brother in law had a little incident in the Lake district. They saw another group ahead who seemed to be going the same way as them. After a little way the other party started heading in a bit of a strange direction. Roge checked the map and the other party were heading away from the path towards some cliffs. Bex and Roge decided that the other party looked a little underequipped so they caught up and checked how they were doing. Turned out the other party were lost. Bex and Roge ended up giving them all of there spare clothes and guiding them off the hill. Yes, that Brecons story sounds all too familiar. A silly mistake, but probably all too common.

One I heard a while ago:

Do not lead, for I may not follow. Do not follow for I may not lead.

**leon-1** · 11-04-2006, 00:45

Originally Posted by Ben Trout

Anyway, got a G150 shown here: http://www.sirs.co.uk/military.htm

Yes, I have one, they are very accurate and working in mils is actually far better than working in degrees for trudging across land.

You can get these in degrees (I have seen them before), but the majority are in mils. Using the mils scale is very handy as it allows people to use what the military call MKA theory (mils, kilometers, angle) and as such distances can be worked out by reading an angle from a set of binoculars with a reticule pattern in them.

**EdS** · 11-04-2006, 09:19

how much are the G150 compasses?

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