Cammenga 3H Cammenga G.I. Military Tritium Lensatic Compass

I do alot of hiking and trail blazing and this GI issue compass is a very sturdy and accurate piece. I use a gps with the compass. the compass is for back up in case and when the gps goes out which does happen from time to time. I would recommend this for everyone that is in the outdoors. never rely only on a gps unit. learn to use a compass. the tritium works very well at night in fact it's bright enough that I use it as a little night light in the tent at night. I believe this may be the last compass I will have to buy. dont have to worry about any plastic breaking are needle coming loose. The needle gets looked in place when the lid is closed. I know it is alot of many but money well spent. I believe it will be a one time exspence.

There are Good Compasses, and there are Cheap Compasses; but there are no good cheap Compasses.. .If You haven't used a military grade compass, you simply cannot understand the Survival Value of such equipment. It performs it's prime function without fail, even in the dark. There is Much more to using a Compass Accurately than turning on UR simple Phone and Pressing the Compass App - You would NOT believe how much more accurate and useful this does it's job, - than an app.

This arrived with no wrapping that I could identify as being legitimatley Carmenga. The compass, however, is legit; solid, new, properly stamped with Carmenga identification. Mine has nice, bright tritium, and is dead accurate.A couple of months ago I took it to Ranger School used it to pass the land nav without trouble. I didn't finish the rest of the school but that can hardly be blamed on the compass ;)By the by, I prefer this lensatic style of using the lens to read from the dial over the mirror style from manufacturers such as Suunto. It's more natural for the eye to focus on the numbers, you're less likely to tilt the compass while reading (ie. to get a good look in the mirror). It's a great, great compass.

This is the same Compass I was issued in the military with self-powered luminous elements and accurate measurements on the compass rose. I'm satisfied as I knew I would be.

If all else fails you can put it in a stinky sock to smite your enemies.Only reason it gets -1 star from me is that it really should have a brass bezel with higher accuracy (more clicks) than the plastic one. Accuracy is sacrificed so they can use the cheaper plastic option, because smaller plastic indents wouldn't last as long nor be as securely held in place. Great compass otherwise though. Thanks.

Will be used for hiking for mapping directions.

Just to get it out of the way, I bought 2 of these from ToysNGamesEtc. I understand there are some bad feedbacks which should have been left for the seller specifically. ToysNGamesEtc is selling exactly what this item describes, in the retail packaging. The only difference is that I got the Cammenga, not the Rothco. There shouldn't be any difference, as they are made to the same specs.I've had a Cammenga H3 for about 15 years, the one that was issued to me in college ROTC. This is the same compass, minus a few details, but considering it's been 15 years, I can understand. My old one had a brass bezel ring, and this one is plastic. Not sure that it will make much of a difference. My old one had the brand name on the back, and this one has it one the front along with the NSN.If you're wondering about the life of the tritium, my compass from 15 years ago is still glowing, but barely. It's still serviceable in the dead of night, but it was just time, you know?The compass is exactly what was expected. Buy with confidence (at least form ToysNGamesEtc) that you're getting the military one.Here's my caveat: Some people have complained that this isn't the one with the radioactive symbol on the back. That's true, but those were probably made in the seventies, judging from the posts. There have been improvements made in the past 40 years. people! This one's not oil filled either, something they also stopped doing quite a while back. In my opinion, that would be like going to a Ford dealership and complaining you can't buy a new Mustang II.This is it, and at half the price. Price on post is $135 for the same product.

The compass is very easy to use. Each click turn on the ring in the counter clockwise direction gives you three times the degrees in azimuth. Thus, to turn the dial 51 degrees azimuth, you will need to make 17 clicks (= 51 / 3) in the counter clockwise direction.At night, you won't be able to read the tick marks on the dial. The only things you will see at night or in a dark place are the three fixed luminous dashes lines made of the self powered green glow light from the Tritium. The other things you could see in the dark are the two boxes enclosing the letters W and E so that you will see which direction is West or East. The other visible box at night is underneath the sight line in the dial so that you can read the numbers. The tritium luminous line in the middle of the black arrow pointing due North is also visible.Here is how to use the compass. First ensure that the luminous line on the ring aligns with the black sight line that is fixed inside the glass cover of the dial. This sight line has ready been aligned with the other sight line formed by two luminous dashes on both ends of the sight line embedded inside the metal cover of the compass, which can be seen after opening the compass. Then, orient or turn the compass so that the luminous line on the arrow aligns with the luminous line on the ring. This is your North direction. If you desire to travel in the direction of 51 degrees azimuth, turn the black ring counter clockwise by 17 clicks. Then, turn yourself again until the luminous line on the arrow aligns with the luminous line on the ring. This is your due North direction. The other direction pointed to by the sight line embedded inside the compass cover now points to the 51 degrees azimuth. That is the direction of your desired destination.