Top 10 🤩 SUUNTO MC-2 Compass: Top-of-the-line Compass For Professionals & Serious Hikers ⌛

6 reviews for Top 10 🤩 SUUNTO MC-2 Compass: Top-of-the-line Compass For Professionals & Serious Hikers ⌛

1. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   old cars rule – July 27, 2013

   there probably isn’t a better alternative to this compass out there at present…perhaps a k&r alpin is an equal of this suunto mc-2g compass…i’ll let others much more experienced outdoor navigators/orienteering pros extoll its particular functional virtues as i’m much more of a laic in this game…if you’ll 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 haven’t 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 you’ll order this compass here, it’ll be shipped with the standard american map scale conversions… yes, as I’ve 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 you’ll get the one with the american units regardless…therefore, if you need one with map scales commonly used in europe, australia, et al., you’ll 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…there’s 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 you’re located..if you like to take readings with the declination already adjusted properly or you travel frequently between states you’ll 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, I’ve 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 you’re 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 you’re ordering via european amazon site…you can google it for more info and it’s quite complicated…bottom line is – if you’re ordering from american vendors/amazon site, you’re 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 don’t 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 they’re very expensive and mmade mainly for professional surveyors, forestry workers, etc… we’re 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 I’ve read mixed reviews of these by some very experienced compass users, mostly negative…i’m all for supporting american made products but apparently, with the lower priced models, one can’t 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 it’s something you’d 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 – you’ll still get the original high quality unit made in finland… and it’s truly a hard use, dependable product…if this is a type of the ‘baseplate/sighting mirror’ combo you’re looking for, the suunto mc-2g is imho the best you can get for the money and it’ll serve you well and long…

2. 

   Rated 4 out of 5

   Danny – April 15, 2016

   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 Amazon’s advice, I ordered the MC-2 360/D/L/IN/NH again. We’ll 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 don’t 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. That’s 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 didn’t 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 couldn’t 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.

3. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Reezwan Tan – October 5, 2022

   This compass works perfectly as I had expected due to its reputation. However I am a bit disappointed when I received the package. Whilst there was no physical damage to this excellent compass, there were some scratches on the base plate. When I opened the casing/plastic cover containing the compass, the 1/25K and 1/50K roamer scale had faded lines due to rough packing by Suunto. The direction of travel red arrow was slightly worn off due to rough packing by Suunto. Overall this is a fantastic gem of a compass, but Suunto could do better when packing their compasses to prevent scratches to the base plate and wearing out the scale markings.

4. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   jock k. – October 20, 2022

   Great product made to last unlike Chinese made compasses believe me this will be the last compass you’ll need. Several scales for map orienteering, mirror and sighting hole so don’t waste your hard earned money on the rest buy this compass.

5. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Myles Robles – October 28, 2022

   I’ve worked in the field for 30 years and always used the Silva Ranger. These used to be durable but the last two I had were much more poorly made than the old ones. the new Silvas have the key integral with the lanyard and it always comes apart. The Mirrors fall out, they leak easily and develop bubbles. This Suunto seem better in every way than the Silva. Metal declination key, simple nylon cord, strong and tight hinge/closure – seems like the quality has not taken a nose dive like everything else in the world. Very satisfied.

6. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Jana – November 28, 2022

   Absolute tip of the line compass, don’t explore without it