Brunton Outback Digital Compass
By: Brunton Average Rating: 4.0 Total Reviews: 5
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 On: 2007-09-23
This digital compass is pretty neat if you like reading a manual and you like bells and whistles. I just got mine out after not using it for a couple years and I had to sit down and spend an hour to go over the manual. And that was just for the basic features and calibration. In my opinion, when you are in a true wilderness area, simplicity and reliability are paramount and the Outback is not simple. Sure, you can use it in its basic mode just like a regular compass without having to study the entire manual but then you can just use a regular compass without reading any manual at all. You have to remember to go through the calibration process with the Outback... something you dont have to do with a mechanical compass. Theres also much more to go wrong with the Outback. Batteries (yes, there are two big button batteries, not one, as someone said in another review) can go dead but, as with any electronic device, many other things could go wrong too. Calibration could go way off and if you didnt know it you could be in trouble. There is no calibration to go off with a regular compass. In addition, a baseplate compass can be laid on a map and even used to draw lines for triangulation, etc. You cannot do that with an Outback. Also, a good traditional compass have other useful things engraved on it such as scale lines, etc. Not the Outback.
The multi-leg and trail blazing features that have been mentioned in a previous review are OK, but they will definitely not get you to your precise starting point on a return trip as claimed by a previous reviewer unless you never veer of course and you maintain exactly the same average speed both coming and going. That wont happen in real-life situations with varying terrain. I think these features are more for fun and not very useful for serious use. You could devise games with them.
That said, its still a neat device and gadget freaks should like it. But in a true wilderness area, I would definitely prefer a good baseplate compass. In fact, I always take one even when I have the Outback. To me, the Outback is more of a toy to play with.
 On: 2006-11-11
This has been one of the best purchases I have made. I have a sailboat and use this compass for so many things. It is fully user friendly. Great to take bearings, has return route,Can be set for deviation corrections. Well worth the money I spent. Purchase price was $129.00
by: Anonymous On: 2003-03-19
To me the electronic digital compass is an answer to a problem that doesnt exist. Here we have an $... electronic device that is incapable of replacing a $...mechanical one, for several very good reasons: 1) It uses hard to find batteries that can fail at any time in the wilderness; 2)It has no protractor function for use with a map (so youll need that mechanical baseplate compass anyway!); 3) It is less accurate in taking bearings to a landmark than a baseplate compass that has either a sighting mirror or long baseplate for alignment; 4) Unlike several baseplate compasses available on the market, it has no UTM romer scales or map scales for use with either a GPS receiver or map; 5) Although its as heavy and bulky as a GPS receiver it cant replace either a GPS or a mechanical baseplate compass, so what good is it?
On: 2002-01-21
This was a gift for my husband, who is a fanatic about geocaching. He is also deeply involved in Scouting activities, and though I knew he would want to keep his regular compass to use with the boyscouts, I thought this compass would be great for him to use with his GPS and geocaching. Good guess! He is enjoying it immensely and it seems to be working well in tandem with his GPS. This is a great gift for hikers, backpackers, campers, photographers, etc. Sorry I cant give more technical information on it...but my husband loves it...
Karen Sadler
University of Pittsburgh
On: 2001-05-16
I was given the Outback as a gift, and damned if I wasnt skeptical. Generally, I avoid buying anything that requires batteries, and I wasnt sure I wanted to rely on a battery powered device to guide me through the wilderness. Furthermore, I already knew how to use a traditional spinning needle compass, and I wasnt sure if I was up to the task of learning how to use the Outback. But, I was proven wrong. The Outback is easier and more fun to use than a regular compass and it is loaded with features. As for performance, I have been using it quite a bit to learn all the functions and the batteries are still running strong (the instruction manual says it will run for about 200 hours on 1 battery ). Beyond easy to use, the Outback has a lot of different menu options but one of the neatest is the Trail Blazer Menu that tracks and memorizes your course as you travel. Once you get to your destination, you can program the Outback to reverse your course so you can end up standing in the very place you left from. There are a couple of other menus that Im still learning about but what I like most is that the Outback is super easy to read and so far has been very accurate. I have been trying to get it to screw up, but it wont. The LCD display is big and easy to read showing headings and digits, cardinal points, and on the compass rose. It also has a back light option so you can illuminate the screen to maintain your course in the dark. No doubt, I highly recommend this product over any other compass out there. The only thing I can imagine to improve it would be a case that attaches to your belt, that would make it easier to get at, but then again, it has a lanyard so a belt loop case isnt really necessary.
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