I use a Suunto clipper button compass as a backup. It's good enough for basic navigation. At least good enough to find your way back home.

The US military currently uses the Cammenga 3H and has for decades. They're great compasses. Stockard and Yale used to make them, too, and you'll see those with the acronym "SandY" and a four digit year date printed on them. Either the Cammenga or the SandY will be a great compass. I have an old SandY from 1983 that still has a faint glow to it. For a baseplate compass, the Suunto MC-2 and the Brunton TruArc 3 are great tools. On the high end, the Suunto runs about $70. On the low end, the Brunton runs under $20. But they're both made in the USA and I've used and would trust either of them. The Brunton is the simplest and lacks the signal/viewing mirror of the Suunto (which can be very helpful in moving along an azimuth/bearing). The Suunto also has a small magnifying lens on it that in full sun can be used to create an ember in charred material. I've had Silva Rangers in the past that were made in the USA and would wholeheartedly endorse them, but it appears they're made in China now, so I can't recommend them any longer.

Sorry about the abrupt light changes, we were getting intermittent showers all day 😅

I do the same thing. I use a Sunto MC2 Global as my main compass; the declination adjustment is just too convenient to pass up. However; I would never stake my life and safety on a plastic compass. Therefore, my 20 year old, bombproof Camenga lives in my pack as backup. I just have to watch a video on its use every couple years to make sure I remember how to operate it, since it is quite different.

I have both. I just got may lensatic compass couple of days ago and I'm loving it 👍😅

I have a Silva Expedition 4 (baseplate, no adjuster for declination, no mirror) that have been using regularly for fifty years. No breakage, no bubble in the capsule. Declination isn't much of an issue in the UK. When in the army I used a Lensatic type compass and would be content if this were my usual compass now. Like a lot of equipment (eg head torch), it is important to have a backup. For a compass, I am comfortable relying on the somewhat inaccurate compass on my cellphone as backup. The chances of my baseplate compass failing and my phone failing is very remote -it's never happened. Before cellphone, I used to rely on partner's compass as backup but maybe I should have had a second baseplate compass.

The Cammenga is claimed to be able to function at temperatures between -50F to 150F. It is sand proof, waterproof I believe, shock proof, will not eventually develop bubbles, and it is hyper accurate. I use a baseplate compass to map out/calculate my routes (trip/hike planning azimuths and back azimuths distances, ETA, etc), and the Cammenga to physically navigate that route in the field. Baseplate for map - lensatic for ground. Declination/adjustable declination? Until about 50 or 70 years ago nobody had adjustable declination on their compass - they would simply add or subtract the 20, or 12, or 7...or however many degrees of declination/variation from magnetic North, East or West for that area at that time (make sure the date of the map and declination calculations you are using are up to date!), and simply adjust your bezel ring to read the bearing after all the calculations are completed. Not that difficult, really, and I find it more dependable/less confusing to simply perform the simple math (add or subtract), and not even use the adjustable declination option many compasses are equipped with. I take both compasses with me (and map), but that Cammenga is the far better compass. If I could only take one, the Cammenga would be it.

Excellent advice young man. Very informative. My two cents worth, being a "broke" old man who can barely aford the cheaper one, I'm thinking since you are right about the idea of a backup, get Two of the baseplate models. Tuck one away as you do your lensatic. If you break the second one? Ruh Roh. Just a thought. Appreciate and enjoyed your video.

So, MILS is short for Milliradian and is simply another form of angular or radial measurement. It's also abbreviated as "MRAD". It has nothing to do with the military other than the fact the military uses it. The reasons they use it is that it is based on the metric system. Awesome video, great work!

Why not have two Suunto compasses since they are much easier to use. No one is such an idiot, boob that he would break two compasses. I’ll believe that if your greenhorn brother knew how important a compass was, he wouldn’t have put it in a position to get smashed. I’m 65 and I’ve used compasses hundreds if not thousands of times and I’ve never broken one. There is a German compass that has a liquid filled capsule that is made of a plastic that’s not hard so it gives. Because of this feature a bubble can never form in it, because it’s not affected by pressures caused by temperature swings. That one is pretty much indestructible. The brand is K & R. I subscribed to your channel. I would love to see some navigation videos using map and compass. You have some very interesting videos. God bless. John

I've had a Cammenga model 27 ( non Tritium ) for 5 yrs or so and just bought a Silva Expedition ( no mirror ) I sort of had the Model 27 worked out but haven't been out navigating for some time so need to refresh the nav skills. I got the Silva to help with that because of the adjustable declination. But now I'm confused how to use it after the adjustment is made as far as M to G , or G to M calculations. Or are there no calculations now ? But one thing I don't like about the Silva, is the fear of breaking or scratching the hell out of the baseplate. Probably make a soft fabric sleave/ pocket for it Cheers from Oz 🇦🇺 Neil

Can someone please answer the below questions? - When conducting land navigation in open country, is the lensatic a better option? as you can take a bearing to another point far away for better accuracy.

Hi there. Can the Silva compass you have be used in the southern hemisphere. If not what is the equivalent for that for SH. Finally could any compass be used in countries close to the equator, either north or south of it but close. Cheers mate

I have a question do you suggest to buy these compass brands: eyeskey, sportneer, AOFAR? I've found a eyeskey compass that cost just 30€ and I would like buy it but I am not sure if eyeskey make good compass. 30€ seems to cheap for a good device considering that a cammega compass price is 100$. Thank you for your answer and good video!🙏🏻😉

You can get a lensatic compass that doesn't have the triduum or the ruler on the side for under $10.

Is the cammenga the best at pointing precisely toward the magnetic north?

And belt and suspenders, considering how important it is to keep up your pants.

Suunto compass is getting bed quality😢 I had one

two is one; one is none.

Yes, having both a lensatic and a baseplate will cover pretty much any use case you could have. But not the baseplate compass you show. There's not point in paying extra money for a mirror baseplate compass since you don't need the mirror when you have the much superior lensatic to sight. Secondly, you are actually losing features compared to a Silva Expedition 4, which is what I would recommend instead, since it has a bigger base and it's easier to work with it on the map because of that. And one other downside to the mirror baseplate: while they may be more accurate when sighting with them, the actual process of sighting SUCKS. I just cannot overstate what a bad experience it is. You can barely see anything through that tiny notch, the mirror alignment is hard to maintain, and spinning the bezel just ruins everything. I would say that working on a map with a lensatic, trying to align the compass with grid north, is a far better experience than trying to sight with a mirror baseplate.

Two is one, one is none.

Two is one, one is none, you always take a backup, ALWAYS but the Cammenga, as good as it is, would not be my recommendation for hiking.