SUUNTO MC-2 Compass: Top-of-the-line compass for professionals & serious hikers

I was looking for another quality hiking Compass, similar to my circa 1972 Silva Ranger. The hunt to find its equal was difficult, but lead me here; to the Suunto MC-2/LIN Compass. To begin with, let me say I am VERY pleased with it. It has the features and Quality that I was looking for. Its just that even when I ordered it, I was uncertain exactly which variation of the Suunto Line, I was getting. What this actually is, is a Suunto MC-2/360/IN/D/L/NH, also known as p/n: SS004239001. Heres the breakdown of the features: -Baseplate Compass with sighting Mirror -360° graduations on the dial -Ruler on base is in Inches, but includes scales in Miles for 1:24,000 and 1:625,000 scale maps -Has adjustable Declination Setting. comes with tool to adjust this. -Has Luminous Dial & Sighting Points. -Has 2-Zone needle, designed to work anywhere in the Northern Hemisphere. -Has Magnifier built into the baseplate. -Has Inclinometer needle to to measure angles of Elevation -Comes with Lanyard thats both detachable and has wrist loop adjustment feature. You have to admit thats a lot of good features for the price. (I got mine for just under $40). So how well does it do all these things? Amazingly well. The declination tool is Stainless Steel, so its both Strong and yet it wont affect the magnetic needle on the compass. If you arent familiar with Declination adjustment, Google/Bing declination calculator, and you should find the noaa.gov website that will tell you what to set the compass too (pay attention to if its East or West!). Youll find that if you only travel a few hundred miles in any direction, the declination should be within 2° what you set it too. The needle balance is great here at the North edge of the US. And it turns freely even when off of level slightly. The dial turns freely, but not so much that Id worry about bumping it off from my setting. And the cut-out in the sighting mirror makes it easier to sight on something at the same elevation as you. The Lanyard has a large plastic piece that if you squeeze it, you can slide it, making the loop near the compass smaller or larger. I think its so you can keep it from coming off your wrist. I use it on my neck, so its not that important to me. The Magnifying Patch is about 0.5 diameter, and is very nice. I can imagine using it on fine print on maps or even to see a splinter in a finger. So what didnt I like about it? The luminous points seem to dim very fast once you turn off whatever light source you are using to illuminate them. And I used a 300 Lumen flashlight to do this. But thats pretty much standard for anything thats not Tritium (I dont know of any compasses that have Tritium). The Inclinometer is nice to have. But the graduations are too small for me to read through the mirror, unless I have a piece of white paper behind the base of the compass, and the lighting is really good. And sometimes the magnetic needle hangs in the way of the indicator. Its important to set the compass to 270° True, when doing an inclinometer reading. Dont expect to measure angles of Elevation better than +/- 2°. The clasp to swing the Mirror open is very tight. you might have trouble opening it with wool gloves on. But perhaps my single biggest gripe with this compass is the joke of an instruction manual that comes with it. Here you have some outstanding features on this device. But unless you have a lot of experience with other quality instruments, you wont even know what its capable of. And yes, I am picky about such things. I spent several years involved in Search and Rescue as a teenager. Ive Orienteered a few times. And Ive been Hiking for over 40 years. So if you get a good quality compass like this, invest in a good book on using it. Or attend a clinic on compass use. Stay safe out there...

I bought a USGS Northern Hemisphere (NH) version a couple years ago and loved it so much I recently decided to buy another one, but chose the Global version this time. I did NOT like the Global version at all, because the needle got stuck, requiring me to repeatedly shake or tip the compass to get the needle to unstick and point north. With some research, I found that others have had the same problem. The needle on the global version has little vertical feet at both ends, where the clear plastic is bent up at 90 degrees, and these drag on the top side of the capsule a bit. Also, the black (south) end of the needle is much higher than the red (north) end. The whole needle is tilted down toward the red end. I returned the global version and got another norther hemisphere version and the NH version needle is very smooth and doesnt stick at all. I highly recommend the NH version, it is excellent. If I travel to the Southern Hemisphere I will get a dedicated SH compass rather than the global version.

there probably isnt a better alternative to this compass out there at present...perhaps a k&r alpin is an equal of this suunto mc-2g compass...ill let others much more experienced outdoor navigators/orienteering pros extoll its particular functional virtues as im much more of a laic in this game... if youll get this compass, you can be sure you have the best, most dependable baseplate/sighting mirror combo compass out there... the global [g designation] needle option only makes it more useful for those who venture out into the outdoors outside of u.s. of a, it also sets on point quicker than most others.... this compass allows for a fair degree of tilt while still taking an accurate reading, relative to other cheaper units... it has a built in clinometer, and declination adjustment...it has 2 most popular [in america - the 1:24,000 and the 1:62,500] map reading conversion scales...i havent had the chance to check how long its luminousity lasts on its bezel yet...the rubber anti-slip feet on the bottom are very useful when taking a reading on a map... oh, the mirror can double as a signaling mirror [make sure you remove the adhesive protective film cover from it] and the magnifying lens as a fire starter.... after reading the negative reviews I saw that they pertain primarily to the map scales...if youll order this compass here, itll be shipped with the standard american map scale conversions... yes, as Ive just checked on the photo enlargement option, the compass pictured here is shown with the [european] map scales of 1:25,000 and 1:50,000 but youll get the one with the american units regardless... therefore, if you need one with map scales commonly used in europe, australia, et al., youll need to clarify - or ensure prior to ordering - that you want the suunto mc-2g-mm version...ergo, the one with european map conversion scale... i think that forestry suppliers here on amazon sell the mil version as the metric model... theres only one single thing I dislike about this excellent compass - the tiny declination adjustment tool is easy to lose...magnetic declination changes slightly each year and it varies quite a bit depending on where youre located..if you like to take readings with the declination already adjusted properly or you travel frequently between states youll need to regularly adjust it and that tiny wrench iis easy to misplace...either secure it to the compass on its lanyard or tape it well to its case... lastly, Ive read some reviews where there clearly seems to be a confusion of who manufactures the most popular brands of compasses and where... suunto today is heads and shoulders above the quality of both the brunton and silva branded compasses of comparable models, if youre buying from american based vendors/amazon site...all 3 brands were once very respected and of high quality...however, due to some complicated trademark business laws, and brand names that were owned/sold within the past several years - as of present - the silva branded compasses are NOT the quality units made in sweden that you can buy if youre ordering via european amazon site...you can google it for more info and its quite complicated... bottom line is - if youre ordering from american vendors/amazon site, youre no longer able to buy the swedish, quality made silva compasses...the ones labeled as silva but sold on american market are actually made by the current brunton company, and manufactured in indonesia, not sweden...brunton retained the rights to the silva name only for distribution in the usa because they were once a single company for a while hence the confusion... silva - the swedish co. - no longer has the rights to distribute its swedish [quality] made compasses in us of a therefore the made in sweden silva units you can currently buy in europe are completely different than the silva compasses one gets here in north america...unfortunately for us here in the usa....the only way to get the high quality silva compass here in the u.s. is to buy an older, used model or buy from overseas... similarly, because brunton co. is no longer the same company of old, which exclusively made some truly high quality compasses at one time, the lower-priced brunton labeled compasses of today are crappy units made and finished en masse in china or india with very questionable quality [they easily develop bubbles, break or dont show the actual north]... check hiking/orienteering forums and youtube for reviews if you want to spend the time... the higher priced models of brunton are still u.s. made and there are some very good, dependable ones but theyre very expensive and mmade mainly for professional surveyors, forestry workers, etc... were talking $300-$1,000 price range [pocket transit line] with options that a common hiker will likely never use or even learn how to use... the higher end of the o.s.s. line of brunton compasses are still made in the usa as far as I know, at least the higher priced models, but Ive read mixed reviews of these by some very experienced compass users, mostly negative...im all for supporting american made products but apparently, with the lower priced models, one cant be sure what one gets as far as quality and more often than not it will be sub par...at least in the most recent years, this might still change for the better....use your own research to determine if its something youd want...it IS still the only american made compass brand i believe at present... now, if you order a suunto compass - from american based amazon site/vendors - youll still get the original high quality unit made in finland... and its truly a hard use, dependable product...if this is a type of the baseplate/sighting mirror combo youre looking for, the suunto mc-2g is imho the best you can get for the money and itll serve you well and long...

It seems like a good compass however I received a different configuration that is not with a glow in the dark dial (as shown in all pictures of the product description). The one I received is a lower price version too... based on other reviews this is not the first time this has happened.

This compass is one of the best on the market for under $100. The sighting mirror is wonderful. Its very accurate and precise. It is also really easy to use for sightings. I passed my bearings certification exam with this compass. I highly recommend this model.

WARNING!!! I ordered the MC-2 360/D/L/IN/NH compass, but received the MC-2 USGS compass. When I looked at the packaging, it is evident that someone put a MC-2 360/D/L/IN/NH sticker on the outside of the plastic packaging, over the original Suunto UPC/description for the MC-2 USGS label. (See photos below.) The only real differences are the scales printing on the baseplate. As I am in the US, I still like the USGS compass, but it is not exactly the compass I wanted. I contacted Amazon, and they started a free return of the USGS compass. On Amazons advice, I ordered the MC-2 360/D/L/IN/NH again. Well see what I get this time. The price dropped about $3, so that was good at least. UPDATE: Compass # 2 arrived - Still the incorrect MC-2 USGS compass!!!! :-( FINAL UPDATE: I love Amazon! I called customer service about receiving the wrong compass twice. They refunded both purchases fully, and told me to keep bot hot the compasses! I used this compass for a Wilderness survival class that had 3 navigation components and the compass worked beautifully. I dont have the exact baseplate scales I ordered, but this compass may actually be better. Again: YEA AMAZON!!! Also, the picture of the MC-2 360/D/L/IN/NH in this ad is not of the MC-2 360/D/L/IN/NH compass, but is a picture of the MC-2 Global compass. I bought this compass after returning a defective Silva Ranger, and a K&R Alpin, due to several issues. I like this compass better for a few reasons. This review is very long, but I did a thorough comparison of the three head to head. Executive summary - This compass is better than the Silva Ranger and much, much better than the K&R Alpin that costs twice as much. 1. Needle - Suunto is perfectly level, and highly visible, as it should be! The Silva needle was also very visible, but dipped down on the red side so much that just a 1/4 tilt of the baseplate caused it to bottom out. Thats why I returned it. The K&R needle was hard to see because the doghouse is a plastic notch on top of the compass dial, and the entire tip of the needle is encased in a plastic luminous material. In daylight, this made it tough to see, and at night, the needle tip didnt absorb enough light to make it glow enough. Double fail. 2. Luminous attributes - The Suunto luminous dial glows for 20 minutes or so after just a 10 seconds of exposure to my Princeton Tec Remix headlamp on the lowest setting. I can still easily read the numbers on the dial for about 10 minutes or so. The needle and north indicators luminous points are very easy to align, and hold a useable glow for about 30 minutes. The dots on the cover at the top and bottom at the aiming Vs are actually rods about 3/8 long of solid luminous material. This is nice because when you have the compass cover in position to use the mirror to take a bearing, the rods still absorb light from the top and glow nicely. 3. Declination/clinometer - The red numbers for the Suunto are printed so that they can be read from the back of the compass. This is good because the declination adjustment screw is on the reverse (and works nicely). Also, when using the clinometer, and finding an angle with the mirror as you are supposed to, the numbers are readable in the mirror. Brilliant! To be fair, the Silva is also printed on the reverse, just with black numbers, which are also easy to read. Also, the declination indicator pointer on the Suunto is very thin, and thus easier to set accurately, much more so than the wide black indicator on black hash marks on the Silva Ranger. To set the declination on the K&R, you turn the inner part of the compass face. This seems simple and great, until you realize that now the bearing pointer at the top of the compass no longer lines up with the numbers on the inner ring of the bezel ring, and the inner ring has no numbers. It can be very confusing getting the correct bearing because of this. I can imagine if I was tired, I would easily get the wrong bearing. 4. Mirror - The Suunto alignment guide down the middle of the mirror (to align your eye with the center of the compass) is wide enough to use, but not too wide to get in the way of getting your bearing. The Silva Ranger guide line was so thin I couldnt even see it. The K&R was a slit that blocked out the entire center of the compass, and even the needle itself near a 0* or 180* bearing. The Suunto and Silva mirror itself appears to be glass, and is like any other mirror in that it reflects very well, and projects a great flash for signaling. The K&R is metal, and thus unbreakable. It was not as bright for signaling, though. 5. Lanyard - The Suunto lanyard is woven with reflective material, and really reflects my headlamp light! It would be super easy to find this compass if you dropped it in the dark. A very nice feature indeed! I did not use the included plastic attachment thing on the Suunto, as I read it could fall off and you could lose your compass. I could easily see that. I just larks-headed it on. The Silva just had a plain red cord. Both had a little stainless steel flat screw to adjust the declination. The K&R lanyard was the most comfortable, and easily removable from the compass using the quick release buckle, but it flapped in a breeze, as a ribbon will do. Magnifier - I believe it is a 5x magnifier on the Suunto and the Silva, and a 6x on the K&R. All three compass magnifiers easily ignited my char cloth in the noon-day sun. Bezel ring - Besides being luminous, the bezel ring numbers are a slightly larger font on the Suunto. The Silva ring had more notches for your fingers, so it was a bit easier to grasp. The black ring, not being luminous, was impossible to see at night. The Suunto and Silva had numbers every 20*. This made it easy to know the 10* bearing in between as there was only one. Also, since the cardinal directions (N, NE, E, etc.) are printed on the on the black part of the Suunto ring, and the luminous part has numbers all the way around the ring (16 total numbers), with 4 numerical bearings between each of the main cardinal directions tick marks. (N, E, S, W) The K&R had numbers only every 30*, (just 8 total numbers) so there were two 10* bearings in between, plus the 4 cardinal direction letters. This made me double check myself more often, and seemed far less intuitive. The K&R was luminous, and smooth to turn, but maybe a tad too tight. Baseplate Feet - the K&R had 4 grippy feet in the corners. I made it a bit more stable when holding it down and drawing a line on your map. The Silva and Suunto have 3 trippy feet. This is still fine, but you just have to press on the center foot or the compass will rock a little bit. A very minor issue.. Final Tip - the Suunto cover snaps closed VERY tightly. It does loosen up a bit over time with use. Also, I found that if you put your thumb against the cover lip and rest it on the baseplate and sort of twist your thumb upwards, it acts to lever the lid open easily, vs. just pulling on the lid. My only gripe with the Suunto (and the reason for only 4 stars) is that the compass housing could be a tighter fit in the baseplate. It does move a bit side to side in the baseplate (maybe 1-2 degrees worth of slop). My work-around is to make sure the compass is firmly up at the top where the direction pointer is. My bearings are fine this way. If I could give this compass a 4.5 star rating, I would.

Please note that this compass is graduated in mils, and not in degrees. While there are 360 degrees in a circle, there are 6400 mils. Each degree is worth approximately 17.78 mils. Conversely, each mil is worth 0.05625 degrees. So you may have to do a little conversion work, depending on how you use your MC-2 compass. However, G-M angle information is given in mils as well as degrees, so you can simply use the declination adjustment in mils on your compass: if the GM angle is easterly, add the G-M angle to convert magnetic to grid azimuths; subtract the G-M angle to convert grid to magnetic. If the G-M angle is westerly, subtract the G-M angle to convert magnetic to grid, and add the G-M angle to convert grid to magnetic. A compass graduated in mils can offer greater accuracy in obtaining bearings--thats why the US Armys artillery units use mils--for greater accuracy. The compass is well-built. The global needle floats well anywhere in the world. The acrylic baseplate is great for computing grid azimuths when using a map. Once you set the declination adjustment to compensate for the G-M angle, no further math is necessary. You can see why the MC-2 Global compass is rated to highly--its made to the highest standards and its one of the most versatile compasses on the market. Even if you never travel to the Southern Hemisphere, the global needle will ensure smooth operation wherever you go.