Why are lensatic compasses so expensive?

[Gotte]

The Silva Ranger 3 compass I own cost about £20, and works wonderfully,but I fancied getting one I could take an easier bearing from, and had a look round for the lensatic style, and there seem to be a load of cheap ones which don't work, and a lot of expensive ones which, I assume, do.

I thought maybe there's be army surplus ones available, but I saw prices of £200 +

What's so different about a lensatic compass that makes the functional ones so expensive?

(and if anyone knows of any cheap ones which work, let me know)

Thanks

 

[Graham_S]

The British Army Lensatic Compass is so expensive, mainly due to the accuracy and reliability.
It's a very high quality piece of kit, and the price reflects that.

 

[Corso]

'cause it rings your mum when your lost....


I know crazy prices would love one too but too much for my pocket

 

[santaman2000]

Try one of these: www.[B]cammenga.com[/B] I have two; one each of the phosphorescent and the tritium ones and they're great compasses. The phosphorescent is only $59.95 (about 40 pounds)

 

[IanM]

Do you mean 'prismatic compass' which are highly engineered precision compasses which will last a couple of lifetimes.

The US style lensatic compasses are cheap Chinese copies for a fiver or less and you get what you pay for.

Or do you want a sighting compass of which the Silve range offer a very good balance between functionality, weight and price.

 

[santaman2000]

Do you mean 'prismatic compass' which are highly engineered precision compasses which will last a couple of lifetimes.

The US style lensatic compasses are cheap Chinese copies for a fiver or less and you get what you pay for.

Or do you want a sighting compass of which the Silve range offer a very good balance between functionality, weight and price.

Yes there are cheap Chinese copies of the US compass. The link I posted however was to Cammenga's own website and they are the actual manufacturer/supplier for DOD contracts and have been standard issue for over a half century. The cheap Chinese copies are usually found in Walmart for about $5 (only about 3 pounds)

BTW. Over here Silva is now a Chinese copy but I believe they are still Swedish made in Europe and the UK.

 

[bilmo-p5]

Wayland comprehensively reviewed a more modestly priced compass from Deal Extreme about 18 months ago.

I think its in this thread...

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=60038

 

[santaman2000]

I might also reccomend the following book by Bjorne Kjellstrom (the founder of the Silva company) www.[B]amazon.com[/B]/Be-Expert-Map-Compass-Orienteering/dp/...

 

[udamiano]

I've got a Francis Barker M-73, and the cost does relect the quality, these are precision instruments, and as stated above, will be something to pass down through the generations, the build quality is exemptional (I know so is the price), but like many said " you get what you pay for". What you must decide though is it going to get the use to justify the cost

 

[Ian S]

If you're talking about the Frances Barker jobs,

-made in the UK
-made out of machined brass
-small batch manufacture
-lots of individual parts
-maybe hand assembly
-some of the optics are pretty decent high precision kit
-fully serviceable

adds up to pricey.

Have you thought about the Silva 15 or 16? Plastic sighting compass, easily give a bearing to 1 degree and can be used as a baseplate compass so easy to use with a map. They cost less than £50 new, I think.

Cheers

 

[Gotte]

Thanks for that. I did see a Silva sighting compass in Decathlon for about £15, but then held off when I read somewhere else that there were two Silvas, and the American company (who apparently won the rights to the name), produced junk from the far East (as mentioned above). There was also a Decathlon sighting compass a bit more expensive - the funny thing is, the Silva seemed a lot more precise and didn't need time to settle, as the Decathlon one did (it seemed to be dragging on the internals). I had a look at the Silva (Swedish) range, and alas it wasn't there.

Thank for all the links. I'll have a look and see what I can afford.

 

[Gotte]

Yes there are cheap Chinese copies of the US compass. The link I posted however was to Cammenga's own website and they are the actual manufacturer/supplier for DOD contracts and have been standard issue for over a half century. The cheap Chinese copies are usually found in Walmart for about $5 (only about 3 pounds)

BTW. Over here Silva is now a Chinese copy but I believe they are still Swedish made in Europe and the UK.

THanks for that. I had a look at the website, and they seem about the right price for me, and just what I'm after. I wonder if they are available in the UK. I'll have a google.

 

[santaman2000]

THanks for that. I had a look at the website, and they seem about the right price for me, and just what I'm after. I wonder if they are available in the UK. I'll have a google.

Just be careful if you order from anywhere but the Cammenga site. As someone pointed out, there are cheap copies out there.

 

[Gotte]

Thanks for that. Advice taken.