Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I hate having to do reviews like this, but when a manufacturer earns it, well... Several weeks ago I ordered the Suunto MC-2DLIN from Amazon (great service as always) for evaluation. I own a number of Suunto compasses and have used them in some pretty harsh environments (Middle East) and I've always been impressed with the quality of the company's products. Suunto is the ONLY brand of compass I've owned where the needle capsule did not develop air bubbles. I can't say the same for some other well known brands, particularly Silva and Brunton. A relative told me he was interested in buying this compass for his son for use in Boy Scouts and asked my opinion. I told him I'd buy one and check it out. Overall the compass is a well made example of a classic design and first impressions are very good. However, on close examination of the compass needle capsule it is clear that the alignment arrow in the base of the compass capsule and the parallel alignment marks/declination scale indicator are slightly offset. This indicates that the two scales are not concentric. To get them properly aligned you must set the declination scale at approximately 2 degrees east declination. This means that the compass capsule (which carries the needle and alignment arrow) is not set on the same center as the movable declination scale! This offset is easy to see if you place the compass on a piece of graph paper to check the alignment of all the scales. This amount of built-in error is simply too much for an instrument that is supposed to 'replace luck'. I figured that my compass was just a single example of something that slipped through the QC checks at Suunto, so I arranged with Amazon for a replacement. When the replacement compass arrived I was very disappointed to see that this compass also has the same issue. I can only conclude that this 'error' is built into the Suunto manufacturing process and that Suunto is shipping thousands of MC-2 compasses around the world with an extra 2 degrees of error built in. I have decided to keep this compass as an example to my students as to why you should always check your compasses at a known azimuth station (check with your county surveyor to see if there are any azimuth stations in your area). The good news is that the adjustable declination scale allows you to adjust out this error. Sorry Suunto, but I simply can not recommend the MC-2D compass until you clean up your manufacturing and/or QC issues.