Jump to content

Sighting Compass Choice??


Guest mcb

Recommended Posts

A little off topic but I thought the unit section would be good place to discuss this. I was looking for a new compass. I have an old boy scout compass that was made by Suunto. It is your standard map compass that had the rectangular base with magnifier and scales. I was looking at there web site and saw the KB-20 sighting compass. I really like the idea of a compass you hold up and look through like that. I would think that would make taking accurate sighting very easy. I was wondering if other cachers out there have any experience with them? What a good sighting compass and where is a good place to buy one? They seem to be pretty expensive but I think that might be worth it.

 

Thanks

mcb

Link to comment
Guest Geogoat

I have a Suunto KB-14 (all metal) sighting compass. I have had it for about 25 years and love it. It is best used in conjunction with a compass with a baseplate if you are using a map. It is far superior for shooting bearings and such though.

Link to comment
Guest GrouseTales

I use a Silva Ranger, type 15T. I'm not sure if I would call it much of a "sighting" compass compared to the "puck". Works great for projecting degrees on your topo maps.

 

Seems very accurate and easy to use. It is

a little goofy when sighting your bearing. It is kinda awkward looking into the mirror to get your reading.

 

Price is about $50. Got mine on sale for about $30.

 

BJ

Link to comment

g of 267 degrees. Now I will just whip out the hand bearing compass and should be able to pick out a good land mark and walk to it and go again. This is difficult to do with my present map compass. I will post what I think of it when I get it which will hopefully be soon icon_smile.gif

 

mcb

Link to comment

g of 267 degrees. Now I will just whip out the hand bearing compass and should be able to pick out a good land mark and walk to it and go again. This is difficult to do with my present map compass. I will post what I think of it when I get it which will hopefully be soon icon_smile.gif

 

mcb

Link to comment

icon_biggrin.gif I got my Suunto KB-20 Vista handbearing compass today. Pretty cool. cool.gif I am pleased with the construction. It is a little smaller than I expected but that is good. It is very light but does not feel chincy in your hand. I got the gray color it is also availible in yellow. The top bezel is marked out in labeled 30 increments 10 major tick marks and 5 degree minor tick marks. The sighting bezel is lable at 10 degree increments with major tick marks at 5 degree and minor tick marks at 1 degree increments. Both are easy to read black on mat silver. The sighting bezel is very easy to read and with just a little practice I was able to look in the eye peice with my left eye and superimpose the hairline and scale on what my right eye was looking at. It made taking a bearing very nice. The hair line and scale are easly read to the advertized 0.5 degree I bet if you have good eye you could even guess to the 0.25 degree reading but I think you would have trouble actually lining things up this accuratly but this should give you an idea of how clear the scale reads in the eye piece. The lanyard is made of a braded nylon cord. It a little strechy. It is also the exact same cord that my 14 year old Suunto A-2100 map compass with a Boy Scout logo on it. It has be a good compass to me and I still plan to use it with maps but I think the new KB-20 will make homing in on a cache alot easier. I hope to take my "girlfriend with to rings" on a hunt next weekend. I will let you now how it work after a real field test.

 

mcb

Link to comment

icon_biggrin.gif I got my Suunto KB-20 Vista handbearing compass today. Pretty cool. cool.gif I am pleased with the construction. It is a little smaller than I expected but that is good. It is very light but does not feel chincy in your hand. I got the gray color it is also availible in yellow. The top bezel is marked out in labeled 30 increments 10 major tick marks and 5 degree minor tick marks. The sighting bezel is lable at 10 degree increments with major tick marks at 5 degree and minor tick marks at 1 degree increments. Both are easy to read black on mat silver. The sighting bezel is very easy to read and with just a little practice I was able to look in the eye peice with my left eye and superimpose the hairline and scale on what my right eye was looking at. It made taking a bearing very nice. The hair line and scale are easly read to the advertized 0.5 degree I bet if you have good eye you could even guess to the 0.25 degree reading but I think you would have trouble actually lining things up this accuratly but this should give you an idea of how clear the scale reads in the eye piece. The lanyard is made of a braded nylon cord. It a little strechy. It is also the exact same cord that my 14 year old Suunto A-2100 map compass with a Boy Scout logo on it. It has be a good compass to me and I still plan to use it with maps but I think the new KB-20 will make homing in on a cache alot easier. I hope to take my "girlfriend with to rings" on a hunt next weekend. I will let you now how it work after a real field test.

 

mcb

Link to comment
Guest gstrong1

I also have the Suunto KB-20 Vista, and it has proven itself time & time again.It has made a number of my cache hunts less frustrating. I have it with me on every hunt. icon_biggrin.gif -Gimpy-

 

------------------

Gary "Gimpy" Strong

Rochester,NY

Link to comment
Guest gstrong1

I also have the Suunto KB-20 Vista, and it has proven itself time & time again.It has made a number of my cache hunts less frustrating. I have it with me on every hunt. icon_biggrin.gif -Gimpy-

 

------------------

Gary "Gimpy" Strong

Rochester,NY

Link to comment
Guest Moss Trooper

Well being a Brit, if you need a sighting compass there is only one in my book.. British army prismatic marching compass.. The design hasn't changed since the Boer war (why fix it if it aint broken).

 

This is a site I found with a good picture of one. http://www.deutscheoptik.com/product.php3?cat=range&id=35

 

As sighting compasses go, they are the best, knocks spots the lenstatic, suunto, silva etc.

 

Only one problem very expensive, could by one of the cheaper GPS for what yer pay for one of these compasses.

 

Moss

Link to comment
Guest Jebediah

I have one of these 'oil bottles', and they are excellent compasses. P14_fbc.jpg Mine is marked in mils, and it's more difficult to sight a bearing with it than the Suunto KB-77 P143-1.jpg or Vion handbearing compasses since the prism is small and must be held directly against the eye. There's no simultaneous backbearing either. They are expensive, which may be why the British Army also issues the Silva Type 4 now.

 

[This message has been edited by Jebediah (edited 05 July 2001).]

Link to comment
Guest Artful Dodger

I dont know what the big deal is about using a compass while geocaching??

 

When I get to within a close range of the geocache and the directional arrow on my GPS goes awry, I just flip to the satelite page which shows my realtime Latitude/Longitude and navigate using those numbers against the caches posted numbers from the website.

 

Once I get the two sets of numbers to match exactly(by walking left/right up/down) a compass is pretty much useless. I then check the immediate area and pretty much find the cache.

 

It works for me all the time - no compass needed.

Link to comment
Guest Cache Money

To the guy above, I just got started geocaching using a Magellan 315 and under heavy tree covers, the latitude and longitude numbers also go crazy. I really wished I had a compass yesterday in order to figure out which way north was since the sun had gone down. The 315 has some strange "averaging" mode it goes into after about 4 seconds of no movement and if you are walking around slowly to look for a cache then it stays in averaging mode and does not give accurate lat/long numbers. Maybe it is because I have a cheaper GPS unit that I do not get accurate readings always, but I sure wish I'd had a compass. Never did find that cache yesterday after a 30 minute hike into deep forest to find it.

Link to comment
Guest Artful Dodger

quote:
Originally posted by Cache Money:

To the guy above, I just got started geocaching using a Magellan 315 and under heavy tree covers, the latitude and longitude numbers also go crazy.


 

Hmm. I see your point. I have been fortunate enough to have at least a satelite lock at the actual cache's location. In your case I can see the merits of using a compass. I just question the cach owner's reasoning in placing the cache in a place where there is no satelite lock... confused.gif

Link to comment
Guest logscaler

the open. Cache Money, if you flip your screens to the tracking part, you can tell what your 315 is doing. If you are getting a lot of poor readings, this screen will look like some kids etc-a-sketch, with the lines jumping all over the screen. Thats where the compass comes in. Back out, get a good lock, shot a bearing and pace the distance, and your there. Cheaper or more expensive, they all have problems in heavy cover. Also, stop and look around and after a while, you will be able to just about guess where the cacher stashed at just by the clues, terrain, cover, and access. I have some out in the open that have been walked over by cache hunters and then I get e-mails that the cache is not there. Wrong. Hiding in plain site is the best way.

 

[This message has been edited by logscaler (edited 09 July 2001).]

Link to comment
Guest Prime Suspect

quote:
Originally posted by Artful Dodger:

I just question the cach owner's reasoning in placing the cache in a place where there is no satelite lock... confused.gif


 

Some receivers are more sensitive than others. And tree-cover density can vary greatly, depending on the time of year. A cache might be easy to find in the dead of winter, and next to impossible in early summer.

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...