Of course is not a Brunton compass, but due to the fair accuracy, this is the second time I'm getting this compass to use it in geological surveys. Sadly in this opportunity the plastic body that surrounds the needle stopper came cracked, I hope it doesn't affect the utility of the product, but is not a desirable condition of a new item.

I purchased this with the hopes of laying out the setbacks of my property but I've noticed that there are some accuracy issues. The main one I've found is that the North and South pointers don't consistently read 180-degrees from each other (for example, north was pointing to 30° and south was pointing to 209° instead of 210°--the unit was level and the movement had settled). For the money I suppose I can't complain much but just be aware that 1-degree error could mean you're more than 5 feet off target at 100 yards. Also, the listing said the needle was induction damped but it still takes considerable time to settle, particularly when handheld. Lastly, the instructions are clearly not for this model of pocket transit... There are descriptions for the grade measurement having readings to 10-minutes, the unit I received (and the one in the listing) shows only degree-level accuracy.

If I could rate it at a zero or minus, I would. This was a waste of money. The bubble was incorrectly centered; it never moved no matter where the transit was placed. It could only be leveled toward the LEFT, not toward the RIGHT. We replaced the wavy metal mirror with a more accurate glass one.

There are two options for this particular compass... the BLACK version is described as being made out of plastic. However, the "Army Green" version WAS described as being made out of "Aluminum", which is specifically why I ordered the army green one. However, what I received was the army green one, but it is also clearly made of plastic as well.Seller contacted ME, and apologized for their mistake in the listing (and vowed to correct their listing ASAP), and then refunded all of my money, as compensation for my inconvenience! GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE on their part, to be sure!A great Seller to deal with... honestly... and the compass is still of decent quality, and a good buy for the money! RECOMMENDED!

The product is accurate and a really great value for the money. I checked the accuracy using my military M2 compass (the real stuff). It's as accurate 1/2 of a degree.I would recommend the Svbony. What you are getting is basically an accurate Chinese version of a Brunton transit compass or a M2 in degree for a fraction of the cost. A real Brunton transit compass is around +650$ and more...If you don't know how to use a Brunton pocket transit compass or a M2, read the manual... And yes, it's well written. This kind of compass is highly accurate but a little different to use compare to a lensatic, a normal mirror compass or a base plate compass.You may want to listen on YouTube how the use the Brunton pocket transit too if you are not into reading.I also got excellent service from Svbony when I got a delivery issue (Post Canada delivered to the wrong address). Svbony immediately tried to find a solution. They quickly send me a replacement without any fuss checking I can wait for it.

I bought this Brunton Transit knockoff a few years ago. The current issue of the Svbony is more cheaply made that the previous iteration. The glass lens has been replaced with plastic, most likely Lexan. While Lexan is break-resistant it will easily scratch.While the older version of this compass had a stainless spring steel retaining ring that was reusable, allowing you to open and service the compass (balance the needle, clean the needle bearing, clean the glass lens, remove condensation, etc), the plastic lens is held in place by a soft metal wire that will not retain its shape when you remove it. You will have to make your own retaining ring from spring steel wire.The needle does not have a jeweled bearing. zLongevity is questionable. The needle takes a long time to stabilize, and with handheld use, it may not come to a rest.The declination adjustment ring on the older model worked as smoothly as the one on the Brunton. The declination adjustment screw on the new Svbony is very hard to turn.The bezel around the compass dial has been updated with a luminescent bezel but it glows only weakly even after having been exposed to light from a UV torch.It's a $20 transit and a good one will cost at least 9 times that amount. It's a decent value for someone who wants to try out a transit without spending a lot of money.Two more things: A transit compass is mostly useful for surveyors and geologists. For navigation and orienteering, it is not ideal due to its design.I have read reviews that say the compass dial is printed incorrectly with East and West switched. The dial is printed corrected for a direct-reading compass. A transit compass does not have a rotating compass dial so East and West have to be switched. Also, you may have to read the south end of the needle to get the correct bearing, depending on which way you hold the housing when taking a bearing.

It works, but occasionally catches on the side. Then I need to turn or tap on the compass to free the needle. Not as good as I'd hoped from SVBONY.Update: Changed from 3 stars to 5 stars. SVBONY contacted me and sent a replacement. The replacement unit works flawlessly. Support staff was professional and didn't even ask for an update to the review. Rare to find a company that stands behind their products.

I have to say this is a very close copy of the classic Brunton pocket transit. It has a plastic body, not the aluminum claimed in the listing. The clear cover is also plastic not the glass claimed. The mirror looks good with low distortion. The unit I received overall works well with a few glaring exceptions:1) The bulls-eye level is way off of level--it must be ignored. That's a problem.2) The clinometer level is about 1.5° off which can be accommodated by adjusting the reading by that amount.3) The clinometer adjustment handle is very hard to turn and it follows that it's very hard to set the inclination with any precision.I'm guessing the problem is lack of quality control at the China factory so it may be that another unit has my three issues working properly. The seller is very good at trying to resolve issues but they had no replacement to send me without waiting for a shipment from China.It does have luminous ring around the compass but neither the dial nor needle has luminous markers, so at night you just see the luminous ring in a sea of black. The magnetic North declination setting works well.The printing on the dial is done nicely and it is able to read to 1° precision. As other reviewers have mentioned, the Brunton version has a vernier dial for the clinometer but that area on the Svbony is blank. It seems like it would have cost nothing to include that in the printing operation. Also there is no percent grade scale on the clinometer--but it's easy enough to do the conversion with a calculator. It has a table of cotangents on the cover which is handy for a distance estimate (more useful than a sine table) but you'll probably have a calculator anyway for the trigonometry. The fit and finish is good but the sighting arm and peep sights have excess plastic flash.Overall it is an impressive Brunton copy for a fraction of the price but the bubble level errors on mine make its usefulness in the field limited. Remember folks, this is a direct-reading geological compass: East is on the LEFT of North. Don't buy this if you want a conventional compass. If you want to do geological strike and dip measurements or measure the height of a tree this unit may work for you.

No, it is not a Brunton Compass, but it costs 50x less, it is light and it is pretty accurate.Overall it is a good compass and I am happy with my purchase.

Well it's heavy and looking solid functional seems fine but actually sticky arrow makes kind of crazy tapping all the time to get reading straight...fine for a while then again... expect better for money paid, chep plastic compass work better.... It works all works but this occasionally stuck arrow makes some real annoyance...

Meets expectations. Needs a hole for a lanyard.

I think your getting a lot here for $20. Needle seems well balanced (Calgary), and settles within 10 sec. You can speed this up by pressing the button to stop they sway. This is of course based on the Brunton Pocket Transit compass, which is about 25X the price of this. The clinometer isn't smooth to rotate, and feels cheap with a plastic lever, but works. Other than that, and the needle being slow (I assume compared to real thing) this works great. Funnily enough the manual is probably a near copy of Brunton manual as some of the figures match the Brunton and not this one. They even left the words "Brunton Pocket Transit" in it in one place. lol. It also comes with a pouch, but unfortunately the belt loop is on the bottom, which means you would basically have to wear it upside down or it would flop around, putting a lot of trust in the pouches button. I'll update this review if I have any issues.

I have had this compass a several days now and have had time to check it out and, for what it is and what it cost, it is good with only one really serious issue. That issue lost this review two stars.45 years ago I spent my last dime (I put myself through college by working and a little help from the GI bill) and bought a genuine Brunton Compass as part of my "professional gear" that I thought I must have. Made of metal and glass it was/is heavy and fragile and being so expensive, I really didn't/don't carry it or use it much. I sincerely wish I would have had this lighter version available to me at the time I bought my Brunton since this unit does everything my old Brunton does and is so much lighter and seemingly more rugged. No, it does not have the "feel" or the quality (nor the prestige) of a "real" Brunton, but it is 1/10 the cost of a Brunton (and even cheaper than the Brunton leather case) and if it gets ruined or lost, it won't break my heart. Of course, a geology student must consider how (s)he will feel surrounded by peers who have "real" Bruntons, but being long past that stage in my life where prestige matters, but where cost, utility and function are the only important things, this geologist's compass is perfectly adequate.I have always had a compass of some kind in my day pack, but not my old Brunton because it was too heavy, expensive and fragile. This plastic Brunton style compass is the one I shall carry with me from now on. My old Brunton does make an outstanding artifact in with my other geology mementos there in my living room.About the only things I will say bad about this little compass is the clinometer was a little sticky and hard to rotate so that hand held altitude angles were hard to get. I put in a tiny drop of dry silicone lubricant and now, after a few days, it rotates without sticking. I've also noticed that the round bubble level isn't nearly as accurate or as sensitive as the Brunton's. As noted in another (really excellent and recommended) review, there is no percent grade scale (from which I used to get my tangent readings), but the unit has a much more usable table of cotangents on the case cover. My Brunton has a table of sines which I never found useful and never understood why they included them.The worst thing I will report is the bad wobble in the hinge of the top cover. I feel this is a serious issue and I don't understand why the makers of this compass neglected this critical part. I found this wobble so unacceptable that I removed the two little pins that the hinge came with and machined a long, tight fitting precision pin and then peened the ends for a tight fit. I doubt that many people will have my equipment (or skill) to make such a pin, so THE MAKERS OF THIS COMPASS SHOULD PROVIDE THEIR CUSTOMERS WITH A REPLACEMENT PIN AND INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO INSTALL IT OR PAY TO HAVE THE COMPASS SENT BACK FOR A RETROFIT. The hinge that holds the front sight has no such issues, so why is the critical top cover hinge done so poorly?Having made and installed a top cover hinge pin for a tight fit, I am very happy with the compass, but I deducted two stars because of the top cover hinge issue. P.S. I have just added two photos to show what I did to fix the wobble problem, but they may be too small to see anything.