Okay- this is for you long time surveyors out there.
I have reached the end of my rope- and it did not have a knot.
Over the years I have had most of the compass/clino combinations available, from the standard single piece Suunto, to the dual Suunto with prizms (my current) and other off-brand versions.
Unfortunately, I have had the same problem with all of them. You see, I sump dive. A lot. And then invariably survey on the other side. I keep the instruments in a dry container through the sumps so that they are dry on the far side, but invariably they become either completely (for short periods) or intermittently submerged through low air space areas, or the 100% humidity and/or sloppy operation by various operators (I always sketch) seems to reduce their effective use period to about 4-6 hours before either the lenses fog or become completely obscured with debris. I figured the removable lenses would be the ticket when they first came out, but quickly realized that they suffer the same problems as the rest- and that I could carry a bunch of q-tips, but once the lense is out to clean, I'm one foot down the slippery slope, as the remaining q-tips become soggier and soggier. I then moved to the prizm model, but found to my dismay that mud and water still manage to get between the bezel and the prism. One would figure that it would be attached in such a manner as to preclude this. Not true.
So- to get to my point I have an old Brunton pocket transit- of the old non-waterproof type. I have always thought it easier to sight in most cases- particularly when a station is placed so that it is difficult to get behind (yes, yes that can sometimes be avoided). It appears that the newer models are somewhat waterproof Could this be? I would be interested in anyone's experienced related to the newer com-pro models or the older PTs in general-
And this might be a great time for folks to chime in with their tricks of the trade for waterproofing and maintaining the Suunos for the newer surveyors!
8)