Online: www.REI.com
URL for this product:

From the U.S. and Canada — Call 1-800-426-4840
Mon. through Sun., 4 a.m. through 11 p.m. PT.
International — Call 1-253-891-2500
Mon. through Sun., 4 a.m. through 11 p.m. PT. English language only.

Brunton O.S.S. 70M Compass

$84.00

(3)

Item # 833991

REI Members get back an estimated $ 8.40 on this item as part of their annual member refund.

The REI Member Dividend

The REI dividend is a unique benefit of membership in the REI co-op. It's comprised of your member refund—typically 10% back on eligible purchases—and/or your REI Visa® card rebates.

Each March, active REI members and REI Visa cardholders who earned a rebate receive a refund in the form of an annual dividend notice.

Only active members receive annual dividend notices. To maintain your active status as an REI member, you need to make net merchandise or shipping purchases of at least $10 per year, unless you joined that year. Member numbers are issued in one name and only that person receives the member refund. Your number can be used by others in your family, but it cannot be transferred to someone else.

Questions? Call us at 1-800-426-4840 for more about your dividend or its redemption.

Learn more

100% Satisfaction Guaranteed
Gear and Advice You Can Trust

This item ships for free! Learn more

To view videos or use the zoom feature on REI's websites, please download the latest version of Adobe Flash Player.

NOW PLAYING

The advanced Brunton O.S.S. 70M compass improves on the award-winning Eclipse 8099, preserving its robust features while adding a new alignment system for greater precision and reliability.

Orbital navigation uses a single color and reduces parallax; dual-pivoting mirror enables precise headings and is center-mounted to run with your direction of travel
Meridian insert preserves Brunton's patented, tool-free declination system and keeps meridian lines down on the map for easy and precise headings
Magnetized disc is more accurate than conventional needles and settles quickly for fast, accurate bearings
Antistatic, liquid-filled dial with jeweled bearing features 1° gradations to ensure accuracy; sighting mirror improves accuracy
Ergonomic rubber shoe on bottom grips map surface and is comfortable to hold
Declination adjustment scale allows you to account for the difference between magnetic and true north; scale on base is adjustable to your location
3 clinometers measure slope angles for determining snow slope stability and surveying; 2 of the clinometer scales offer 5° increments and 1 offers 1° increments
USGS map scale of 1:24,000, Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) and mile scales offer position accuracy
Waterproof field reference cards includes navigational, topographical and survival information that store in the compass
The Brunton O.S.S. 70M compass includes a built-in magnifier, protective, flip-down cover and lanyard

Made in USA.

Item 833991

View all Brunton products

REI Membership

REI Membership $20.00

Brunton O.S.S. 70M Compass Customer Reviews

REVIEW SNAPSHOT®

by PowerReviews

Brunton O.S.S. 70M Compass

2.3

(based on 3 reviews)

33%

of respondents would recommend this to a friend.

Pros

Cons

Best Uses

- Was this a gift?:
- No (3)

Reviewed by 3 customers

Sort by

Displaying reviews 1-3

May

2013

(1 of 1 customers found this review helpful)

2.0

Depends on your experience.

By Man Tracker

from Nashville, TN

About Me Avid Adventurer, Gearhead, Navigation Instructor, Outdoor Enthusiast, Professional

See all my reviews

Pros

Accurate
Strong Construction
Waterproof

Cons

Can't See The Level
Declination Needs Help
Not An 8099 Eclipse
Unstable Needle

Best Uses

Backcountry Camping
Campgrounds
Day Trips
River Trips
Survival

Comments about Brunton O.S.S. 70M Compass:

It depends on your experience and financial standing if you will like the Brunton Model 70M. For me, it's a NO.

I have an extensive background in navigation and navigation equipment. One of my most treasured navigation tools is a Brunton 8099 Eclipse. I treasure it so much, I have a backup to my backup. I would like to have a dozen more. Once, a bubble appeared in the vial. I sent it to Brunton thinking they would toss it and send me another. They actually repaired it. It has worked fine since.

The 8099 Eclipse is quick, smooth and easy to read. Compared to the Eclipse, the 70M is unstable, slow, and more difficult to read. I would have expected such performance if I had paid $20 for the 70M. While researching the 70M, I was sure it would surpass the 8099. I was wrong. It took a step back. A big step.

Silva used to produce excellent navigation compasses. They also had a severe setback in performance. I have some old Silva units that one would have to pay much more than the original price for me to let go of them.

If you are considering purchasing a 70M, search for an 8099 Eclipse first. It will be half the price and twice the compass. Brunton will likely go the way of Silva. So, get an 8099 while you can still find them.

If you are determined to get a 70M, you will likely be getting one of units that I'm going to return.

Comment on this review

Apr

2012

(5 of 8 customers found this review helpful)

1.0

poor customer support

By PorkToasterFromWI

from Madison WI

About Me Techie

See all my reviews

Pros

North in the circle
Strong Construction

Cons

Tool free declination

Best Uses

Comments about Brunton O.S.S. 70M Compass:

Brunton's "Patented, tool-free declination" was horrendous on the unit I received. I nearly tore the skin off my fingers trying to adjust it. I eventually suited up with a sturdy pair of leather work gloves and was able to turn it all of several degrees. Seeking help I wasted my time sending an email to Brunton support. I never heard back.

Another issue I had with the unit I received was the vertical line on the sighting mirror. Mine wasn't vertical, leading to an odd view when sighting. It seems like the mirror has some extra space in the area it's glued into and it wasn't glued in properly. Maybe Brunton should outsource the gluing of the mirror to Asia if USA isn't able to do it properly.

I took it back to REI and bought the Brunton 15TDCL. The tool declination adjustment on it works fantastic and I am happy with it.

Comment on this review

Apr

2012

(20 of 20 customers found this review helpful)

4.0

Accurate, easy to read, bad instructions

By Fred 1234

from Idaho

About Me Avid Adventurer, Gearhead, Navigation Instructor, Outdoor Enthusiast

See all my reviews

Pros

1 good clinometer
Accurate and Exact
Circle in circle easy use
Easy To Read

Cons

2 lame clinometers

Best Uses

Backcountry Camping
Day Trips

Comments about Brunton O.S.S. 70M Compass:

I just got this Brunton and it is my favorite compass, but it has room for improvement.

It is my favorite compass because it is very accurate and you really can get 1 degree accuracy. Most other compasses are just too sloppy to get closer than about 2 degrees consistently.

It also has a larger magnifier than most compasses, and the magnified index mark combined with the 1 degree ticks on the bezel really do allow you 1 degree accuracy.

I also really like the circle in a circle needle. It is easy to read and people don't accidentally align it 180 degrees out like you can with other compasses.

Some problems.

First, the instructional literature is horrible; it looks like leftovers from previous models and does not address any of the specifics of this model. Particularly disappointing is the section relating to how to adjust the tool free declination. Brunton, you need to get some better material on your website and some videos. Here is the trick: the declination scale on the back (bottom) side of the compass does not move; it maintains a fixed relationship to the black ring. What moves (with a huge effort) is the clear center sealed capsule that contains the needle. In my compass, that capsule was so stiff that I could not move it at all with my fingers. Finally I very carefully removed the back declination scale disc and removed the capsule and added a little silicon spray, reassembled the compass, and now it works fine and is reasonably easy to adjust without having it accidentally change declination. You don't need to remove the back ring to add the silicone spray.

This compass has three clinometers. Two are lame and inaccurate, one is good. The clinometer on the cover pivot only reads to the nearest 5 degrees, and requires you to look down at the bubble and then sideways at the hinge, so you are lucky to get within 10 degrees. This feature is not ready for prime time. The other clinometer scale is printed on the white cards that sit behind the baseplate. Unfortunately, these marks only serve to conflict with the similar but not identical marks on the clinometer inside the needle capsule. It is so bad that I added a piece of white paper behind my compass so i could read the in-capsule clinometer.

Third problem is that the cards have a number of typos and errors in them. The cards are a good idea, but the info needs editing. (clinometer instructions relate to a previous model; formula errors in height measurement formula sign and spelling error, knot info poor choices, etc.). The multiple scales of UTM readers are nice, but would like to see a heavier gauge plastic.

The sighting mirror works well, but since I also want to use this as a signal mirror, it would be better if this had a full size mirror like other sighting compasses.

Brunton added a bubble level to this model, but unfortunately, you can't view the bubble at the same time you are shooting a bearing, so you are loosing an opportunity to improve the accuracy. Hopefully the next model will fix this.

There are no luminous marks on this compass, so i will keep my Suunto MC2G for night work.

Overall, it is great compass, more accurate than any other and easier for most people to read than other models. It just needs some refinements.