Professional Pocket Geology Compass with Leather Carrying Pouch

Pros: Got this compass today (July 26, 2010)
- DX pictures match product exacly
- Case is fake leather with decent foam inside.
- Paint is textured and all hinges are firm.
- Mirror is glass.
- Declination adjust works the same as a Brunton, comes with small flat screwdriver but needs to be filed to fit screw.
- Needle locks when case closed (pushes up against main glass).
- The circular and long levels seem decently accurate, but are simply assembled/glued , probably not fine calibrated, but do serve their purpose and do match a good quality 2' carpenters' level.
- Unlike the original, there IS a place on the hinge to put a lanyard (thin string, small holes).

Cons: - No english instructions but just download the Brunton manual to learn how to use it.
- There is NO dampening, needle hunts and has a tendency to rattle if not balanced (see Other Thoughts for fix). The copper winding on south part of needle seen on photo is for weight only, not EM dampning. the Needle is decently magnitized and has a teflon/HDPE bearing that sits on the needle pin via gravity (no saphire bearings here).
- There is no zero pin, only a GITD dot spanning 2.5 degrees. There are also GITD dots on the azimuth ring for the cardinal directions.

Other: - Overall a decent price for an Ok copy if you undestand how it works.

Pros: Solid unit. Points north like it should. All buttons and bubbles (levels are inside the case area to show balance/inclination) work as they should

Cons: None. The package reeked of oily factory smells, but everything was clean inside and packed really well. the box it came in was flimsy, and considering this comes in a standard shipping bubble envelope, DX might wanna thing about at least adding a second envelope to cushion for such a long journey. Mine arrived intact, but the manufacturer box was rumpled and bent by the time it got here, despite its outer bubble envelope's best efforts.

Other: This item is going for hundreds of dollars more on other sites, and I'm talking the China-made version, not the actual Brunton geo compass. Fantastic price, good construction. But keep in mind this thing is HUGE compared to a standard lensatic or map reader. Not really meant to be used in place of those, but could probably be done so in a pinch. it points north, which is more than could be said for some of the cheaper compasses sold.