BruntonOmni-Slope Sighting Clinometer

Well, I held off on writing a review until I had a few different seasons of field use on this clino to make a hopefully helpful review.Aliminum body, rubberized outer skin, adjustable eyepiece, three-scale clino (fluid damped). Lanyard, leather belt case, and well packaged with adequate instructions.Accurate for professional field use; concurred with my tested and reliable laser hypsometer and backup clino (different manufacturer).So, why four stars? With three scales, the eyepiece adjusts best for viewing one or two at the same time, but you'd be hard pressed to have all three visible and in focus for a reading at the same time. Quite honestly, I'd thicken up the sighting horizontal bar just a bit for low light use (forestry, that's the majority of the time in closed canopy situations).Save us industrial users a bit of cost, and don't bother selling us the nice leather belt pouch/holster that comes in the package; it's just going to go in our cruisers vest pocket, anyway. Also, that lanyard, a bit looser weave than the competitors, snags on limbs and brush, and soon wears out by losing strands and being unmanageable. Velcro tab on your vest pocket? -Thats where you'll find the lanyard, a balled up mess that takes time to unhook before use (fewer plots per day, less money in my pocket).Overall size is a bit bigger than it's competitors clinos, which might not fit in some cruisers vest pockets. That rubberized exoskeleton can exacerbate the pocket fitment issue (I had to move from an upper to lower pocket...).So, as a forester classically trained and using the competitors clinos (ryhmes with Suunto) for the previous 19 years, with their two scales, base price, eyepiece changes through time, and rebuild process (send them out for a new cartridge), I'm being fairly critical of the Brunton, but hopeful they keep at it to give their competition a run for their money.Overall, want to see your purchase dollars stay closer to the US? Give these Bruntons a try. I found them to be acceptable, with just the few issues identified in this review. For what it is worth, I'm replacing my bubbled backup clino with a second Brunton!

Bought for nephew as graduation present. He loved it, especially the carrying case.

This worked as designed and felt solid. However, it was larger than expected (I returned it and got the Suunto PM-5 which is probable half the volume of the Omni-Slope) and the rubber casing was loose in spots as if it had been stretched out as well as scratches on the front window. The case was also much larger than it needed to be adding to the bulk of a product that will spend a lot of time in the field with me (my primary use is avalanche slope assessment, secondary is timber measurement. I feel like these are signs of poor quality control and at the price point was not inclined to keep it. I could find no good comparison before purchase between this and the Suunto PM-5. The Suunto feels equally as well constructed and durable while being in a package about half the size. The Suunto's case is little more than a padded nylon sleeve, but it protects it without adding unnecessary bulk. For wearing on a belt though, the Brunton case would be more useful. Suunto also does a better job specifying the operational temperature range and other details for the PM-5 than Brunton does for the Omni-Slope, so if you might take it into extreme environments, I feel the PM-5 is better as at least one knows what its limits are.I originally bought the Brunton because they where an american company and I could not find anything that compared the two options well. I'm glad to have the Suunto now that I've held them both.

After some experimenting and a little trial and error, got the hang of this tool and won't leave home without it now. I use this to accurately measure the height of trees for felling and inventory. In place of a forestry hypsometer I use this in tandem with a laser distance finder and it helps me to gauge the targets around trees to be felled. Measuring the log length after felling with the laser distance finder, proves this clinometer to be incredibly accurate. No problems with functionality even in extreme cold (below -20°C). Sturdy construction has resisted many bumps, drops and the general rigors of the field. I heartily endorse this product!

So simple, yet so useful: Thanks, Brunton!

Works great!! Seems more durable than my old Suunto clino

Bought a clinometer from Brunton several years ago. Worked great for about a year then fluid started drying out. I tried calling and emailing Brunton but got no response. It looks like a quality build but did not last and no customer service. Two stars is because when it worked it was fine but now it is going in the garbage. I am looking to buy a new one from another company, hopefully with customer support.

Wonderful. Thank you. :)