Review Date
March 2, 2003

Overall Rating
 1 of 5

Value Rating
 1 of 5

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 1 votes

Reviewed by: Bobthearch (Unregistered User) ,  Day Hiker

Price Paid:  $0.00 at local sport shop

Summary:
This compass sucked for three main reasons. 1) The numbers wore off in a couple of days - they are only painted on, not etched. 2) The solid-colored circle at the center meant that laying it on a map hid that section of the map. 3) Most compasses have lines on the base for map alignment - this one doesn't. The secnd two reasons make this compass inappropriate for mapping or professional use. The first makes this compass an unwise choice even for recreatitional use.

My background:
I am a Supervisor for a professional archaeological firm. I also have a wide range of outdoor experience including dayhiking and backpacking.

Thanks for reading.

Customer Service:
Brunton finally sent me a refund check for the purchase price. Their usual practive is replacement, but that would have been as useless as the original.

Similar Products Used:
Can't say enough good things about the Suunto M3 compass! Very sturdy, every feature commonly needed, and priced less.

Review Date
July 17, 2002

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Reviewed by: Robbie (Unregistered User) ,  Mountaineer , from Moore, OKlahoma

Price Paid:  $24.00 at Ebay

Summary:
Great compass. Well worth the cash. It is really well made and durable except that you can get sand/grit/dirt in the bezel and it grinds when you turn it.

Review Date
February 7, 2001

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 1 votes

Reviewed by: Sam Walton(Unregistered User) ,  Day Hiker , from Arkansas

Summary:
I got a Brunton 8097 about a year ago to do orienteering. It is fairly easy to use and align the circles to get your degree heading, and fits comfortably in the palm. It's a pretty big compass and probably not ideal for pro-level orienteering, but for ordinary hiking it's great.

Similar Products Used:
Various Suunto and Silva orienteering and hiking compasses