Customer Reviews

Brunton 8099 Eclipse Compass

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I love compasses. I don't go anywhere without one. In my car, in my backpack, on a plane, If I'm going out...a compasses is going with me.

I bought a Brunton 8099 a while back. I wasn't sure I liked the Brunton's circle in circle idea so I was hesitant to buy one. I finally decided to give it a shot and purchased one. After playing with the compass for an hour I decided I really liked it. I love the design of the compass although the rubber base gets in the way of opening up the entire top. But the 8099 has all the features you could want in a compass and then some. I liked it so much that I decided to buy a 2nd one a month later to have one in my camping stuff and one for local use.

After having these compasses for a while now, I am very sad to say that I will not recommend it to anyone. There are two huge reasons why I cannot.

1st. The circle in circle idea. On the surface it sounds great. And when you see it in action, as a quick once over, it comes across as great an innovation as Brunton pitches it. And there pitch is that it is more accurate then the line compasses. However, if really put to the test it doesn't hold up. Why? This is a bit hard to explain in words but if you go to your local outdoors supplier and check it out, hopefully you can see what I am trying to get at. If you look straight down on the compass and align the circles all is fine and dandy. However, if you view the compass by the mirror or from a large angle (yes I know the center line down the mirror is so you are not looking at it from a left and right angle but bare with me), the accuracy comes into question.

To see this in action, place the compass on the edge of something solid and view the compass through the mirror set at the 45 degree position. Now if you change your view higher or lower you will see the circles start to appear misaligned. So of course your reaction is to turn the compass to align them. But if you were to look straight down at the compass you would see they are in fact not aligned now. And that viewing problem becomes more pronounced the closer to left and right the N and the blue circle are pointing. Just viewing the compass straight down and moving your head around a bit will show the same thing.

When you are out in the field and holding it by hand, you cannot guarantee that you are going to hold the compass at the exact same eye level every single time when viewing through the mirror. So the question becomes how do you really know when the compass is reading true.

So, the circle in circle sounds great, but it is flawed. I would prefer Brunton go back to the standard parallel lines. With the lines, even if you view the compass from an extreme angle, or the mirror isn't in the exact same position, you know when the compass is aligned right. How? Even if the needle doesn't `appear' to be centered with the guide lines, when viewing from an extreme angle, if the needle and the guide lines are parallel with other, then you know your compass is reading true.

2nd. As I stated above I bought two of these. Both formed bubbles in them without going to any extreme temperature or elevation. I sent both back and paid the $5 per compass fee for repair. One of them has once again formed a bubble. I don't even plan to send it back for repair.

I really really want to love these compasses. There is so much to them. But these two huge issues are keeping it down.

I was dissapointed. Quality was poor overall. The cover was supposed to lock in various positions, but just flopped around helplessly. The indicator would only float freely when the base was held off-level. Lanyard interferes with cover action. I went out and bought a $15 cheapo that works better.

It does work however and the instructions were OK. I expected a much better quality instrument for the money I paid.

First off, I wouldn't take any of the 1-Star reviews for this compass seriously. One of the "1 star reviewers" proposed a test supposedly proving that the circle on circle eclipse system doesn't work. I tried it and have no idea what his point is, as everything checked out fine for me. Other "1-star" reviewers complained of stuff that is easily resolved if you take a little time getting familiar with the 8099. There were also complaints about some petty things; things that should NOT justify a 1-star rating - more later.

This compass is intelligently designed and innovative. It is also full featured. The hard plastic casing and rubber boot offer superb protection for the the compass dial and transparent base-plate, which has all of the most commonly needed map scales. The Eclipse 8099 has a 1-degree graduated dial, marked for both forward and reverse sighting. It has a magnifying lens over the graduations that allows for easy reading. A separate magnifying lens (larger than on many other base-plate map compasses) allows you to check out map details more easily. The rubber boot serves also as an eraser for pencil lines on your map. There is a magnetic declination adjustment, of course, and a clinometer for measuring heights and slopes. Contained within the boot are a set of quick reference cards that thoroughly explain how to use all of the map, compass and clinometer techniques. There is a tangent conversion table (Card 8). There are map and roamer scales (Card #6) Cards 9-11 even provide some basic survival and first aid reminders. I don't know of any other compass that gives you all of that in a self contained package.

Prospective buyers might be interested to know that my son was a high speed US Special Forces guy, by necessity an expert in land-navigation. He is very familiar with use of the classic USMC Cammenga Lensatic compass and he says he'd much rather use my 8099.

Now for some of the complaints that supposedly get this item a 1-star rating:

"The circle over circle alignment system doesn't really work" - This is bogus nonsense or - if you prefer - BS. As I said above, I tested the fellow's theory and the compass checked out fine. If it didn't work out for him, he apparently was not using the mirror sighting lens correctly.

"It's hard to open the case completely" - The protective rubber shoe should be thumbed off first, which is easy enough. If the opening the case completely is still too hard for you at that point, you are probably too delicate to risk being outdoors anyway and might do better to just stay home.

"It got a bubble" - Maybe there are compasses out there that will never get a bubble but having used several brands and models, I don't know of any. I confess - my 8099 compass developed a bubble when I took it out on an early winter camping trip a few years ago. Cold temperatures do that to compasses because the damping fluid within the capsule contracts. Set them out in the sunshine on a hot summer day and the bubble goes away (or at least shrinks to near nothing). Anyway, since this compass doesn't use a traditional needle, bubbles present no functional problem.

One more remark has to do with value. When originally introduced - at a retail price of about $80.00 - the Eclipse 8099 was pretty pricey. But at the current pricing - about $30.00 less - the Eclipse 8099 offers what I consider to be very good value.

I got this compass because many on the net have referred this as the best compass on the market. I think this may be too much for most users but if you want the best this is it. Its a professional grade product with a lifetime warrantee so you cant really go wrong. Its a little bulkier than most other compasses I have used but it does have a nice rubber housing which doubles as a pencil eraser (for erasing pencil marks on topo maps) and a bunch of referenc cards housed behind the compass. This compass includes an inclinometer for measuring slope grades but I have not had the opportunity to use this feature. Good for orienteering, SAR work, professional pursuits....but might be overkill for general outdoor use.

This is the ideal amateur field surveyor compass. It is easy to sight a bearing, but more importantly, the magnetic declination can be preset.

The Eclipse is great! Looks good, has huge aray of uses, and functions well in the field. Comes with great directions in booklet form and also cards which neatly fit in the compass consule to take with you. After jostling along in a fanny pack, carrier, etc... it does take a couple of seconds to wake up (free spin) once you take it in hand to use it. But once the needle is free - it works flawless. Very Nice!

Recommended by the S&R team as a primary or backup compass as well as map tool. Well done Brunton.

I am a search and rescue technician (SARTECH I) certified by NASAR (National Assoc For Search and Rescue). I have used at least a half dozen compasses over the past 10 years and find this model to be far superior to anything else I have tried. It does a lot of things and it does them all well. There is a steep learning curve in the beginning but once you figure it out (it comes with directions for many common operations) you will love this compass. If you have a topo map and this compass, you can't get lost.

... as mentioned. A little sluggish when using the clinometer part though. No problem of any sort in the compass part.

Pros:
- tough shell casing
- comes with a lanyard
- comes with a Nat Geo map download promo

Cons:
- need to shake a bit to make the clinometer work

This is just right for the price. I could just bought the clinometer app but that is not allowed.

I got this compass for use in hill country (like the Ozarks) and it works great. Is has great features and seems to be built very rugged. If your looking for the best compass on the market, this is it. Nothing negative to say about it.