Cammenga Official US Military Tritium Lensatic Compass, Accurate Waterproof Hand Held Compasses with Pouch for Hiking Camping Navigation Survival Backpacking Orienteering
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Although I am unable to comment on the manufacturing location, I do believe that this compass is suspicious for another reason. The outside panels are not depicted in any way. What is the significance of this? Because those would be dead giveaways whether or not it was aimed at the US military market. Also, because tritium has a very short half life, it only lasts about 12 years in service. US military compasses have a date stamp on the inside that indicates when they should be retired. (Think of it as an expiration date.) ) I don't see any of this in the photos. This is just my opinion, but I believe it's a Cammenga knockoff.
Because I did not purchase this item, I am unable to confirm that it complies with the MIL-STD-810 requirements. SPEC. However, if it's done in MIL-style, it'll be much better. SPECS: The bezel will have 120 detent notches, each of which corresponds to a three-degree arc. Rotate the bezel one click for every three degrees between NORTH and the desired course to align the luminous line with the fixed black line, then rotate the bezel one click for every three degrees between NORTH and the desired course. An easy example is as follows: To travel west (270° Magnetic), turn the bezel 30 times clockwise, then align the north seeking arrow with the luminous line; 270° will be under the black line. Of course, with this style compass, you must do the math to compensate for the mag. in your area of influence Consider a Silva Ranger or similar compass, which allows you to declinate the compass to whatever area you're navigating and eliminates the need to do the math. However, because the Silva lacks radioactive markings, you'll need to periodically "charge" it with a light, which brings us back to your original query. For decades, I used military issue compasses and thought they were fantastic, especially the older versions with Radium paint instead of Tritium. Radium dials were much brighter and had a much longer half-life.
The Compass is packaged in a high-quality nylon pouch with a snap closure. The pouch has a strong strip of heavy nylon on the backside that can be clipped to web gear with Alice or Molle type clips. The compass also comes with a high-quality nylon lanyard that can be worn around your neck. This is a well-made compass that, in my opinion, is well worth the money. I hope you find this information useful.
The manufacture dates on all of the compasses in our stock are within the last five months.
Selected User Reviews For Cammenga Official US Military Tritium Lensatic Compass, Accurate Waterproof Hand Held Compasses with Pouch for Hiking Camping Navigation Survival Backpacking Orienteering
As a heavy-duty general-purpose lensatic compass, like the one I used in the Army, it's great for shooting a magnetic line to a distant object using the sight wire; as a civilian, if my goal is to walk in a straight line using that sight wire and get relatively close to what I'm looking for, this is the compass for me. This is not the compass for me if I want to know if my compass is accurate and if I intend to stick to the bearing I've set based on a map reading. br>br>Without going into great detail, this paragraph briefly discusses why magnetic declination is important for compass readings when using maps. Magnetic north will not always read true due to the declination (curvature) of the magnetic fields because our planet is a spherical ball and not a flat surface. As an added bonus, this declination value changes over time due to changes in the magnetism of the north and south poles, making the ability to adjust a compass to account for your local declination value extremely useful. As of this writing, the magnetic declination for Portland, Oregon is 15° 31' East, while Los Angeles, California is 12° 9' East, and Atlanta, Georgia is 5° 1' West, which means that if you're standing in Portland, Oregon, your compass reading for magnetic north will actually be 15° West of "True North," which you'll need to know in order to navigate by map accurately, so it's easy to see how quickly a magnetic reading can throw you off course.
A great alternative compass for civilian hiking where you are not using mils for measurement (the outer black ring on the Cammenga 3H) or would.
Because the item description says "Tritium Lensatic Compass," I assumed it was the Model 3h when I bought it. This isn't a tritium compass; instead, it's the type that requires a flashlight to "charge. " The phosphorescent pads attached to the "W" and "E" markings had come loose and were tumbling around inside the compass in the first one I received. I exchanged it for a new one that was free of the problem. However, if I hadn't needed this compass for an upcoming course, I would have returned it for a refund because the item description was so deceiving.
When I first used Compass for training, it broke. Moisture began to seep beneath the glass, and the bezel ring began to fall off, eventually allowing the front glass to fall out. I used the product for the first time, and now I'm unable to return it because it's been over a month since I ordered it. I would not recommend this product.
M-79, a civilian-issued M-79, that has recently been manufactured. Compass from the year 1950. Dry lensatic compass of exceptional quality. If you understand how and why it's used, this is a great unit. This is the civilian-side of the equation. The US military's M-series rifle has been reissued. MIL-DTL-3H field compass, 1950 (MIL-DTL-3H field compass, 1950). PRF- 10436N). Cammenga puts each batch through extensive testing to ensure that it meets military specifications (such as shock resistance and magnetic accuracy). The compass is the same as those used by the military. Cammenga, the company that makes the compass, was founded in 1992 with the goal of supplying the US military with the model 3H compass. Both the degree and mil scales are extremely useful to me. br>br>The build quality is excellent (you have to love aluminum). I enjoy having tritium in my possession. It isn't particularly bright, but it is adequate for night navigation. On the bottom of the unit I received, it says 3H (tritium). It lacks the radiation indicator that is commonly found on tritium compasses. Ignore any reviews that claim the item was manufactured in 1977. The manufacture date and lot number are printed in black on these compasses inside the compass next to the site wire. "14 09 77" is written on my compass. This indicates that it was made in September of 2014 (14). The lot number is indicated by the last two numbers. The "77" is a generic number that means the unit was not made under government contract, so I was glad the seller sent me a newly manufactured version (since tritium is only good for ten years). (12 years old). br>br>I deducted a star because the site wire is slightly crooked (which affects the efficiency of siting). The rotating bezel is a little flimsy/loose and does not click (though it does stay in place). The included pouch is quite unsightly and awkward (it is, after all, military issue). Because of parallax, it's difficult to align the bezel properly on this compass (especially if you're facing south). Furthermore, there is only a one-to-one correspondence. If you're in the United States and still have a 1:50 scale, don't worry. To get UTM grid coordinates from 24k scale topo maps, you'll need an extra aid/scale. If you're as cheap as I am, you can use waterproof tape to make your own 1: 1 marks along the straight edge. The scale is 24k. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes Cammenga also offers a one-year warranty. Cammenga is very easy to contact and responds to phone calls quickly. They do have a compass rental program for Boy Scouts (and other youth organizations). To learn more about their services, you must call. I believe they would rent their baseplate compasses for $15 per month, with the option to buy them if you wanted to keep them for your Boy Scout troop.
This item is advertised as Military Grade and comes with a price tag to match, but it is actually quite flimsy; This isn't a tough guy. When the item arrived, it was damaged or defective. There isn't any free time on the dial. It does not float, but rather flops around. The fact that this item was shipped without any original packaging and in a soft envelop may or may not have aided in its condition. The most basic function of this compass is not being performed; which is the direction of Point North.
This is not a military compass! This is a lower-cost version of the original. It's also not true tritium. Only lightly used, the bezel has leaked and is now completely useless due to a large bubble in the fluid.
The compass has become stuck and has stopped rotating on its own. I've had others for years, but this is the first time it's happened to me. br>.
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