UKC

hi 

im looking at getting a new compass, haven't brought one for years, was wondering what peoples opinions are about paying for a £35 silva compass compared to paying £5 for a euro hike compass with pretty much all of the same features as the silva one ? is it just the brand ? quality ? 

cheers 

For a quality compass I'd say go for a Suunto model these days. A few people I know who've bought Silva compasses in the last few years haven't been that impressed.

If I was looking to save a few quid I'd probably get a compass from Alpkit, not a Go/Blacks own brand model.

I agree with Guy, Suunto all the way for exactly the same reasons.

I see a lot of bargain compasses on nav/mountain skills courses. They're all pretty much junk and a waste of money. Your compass is a really important navigation tool and a precision instrument which is worth spending some money on. 

I've got a few Silva Type 4 which work well, and their customer support has been good when they've developed bubbles after a few years. 

I'd be wary of cheap models, a lot of junk ones that don't settle, are unstable or just don't work well.

Ive a Silva type 4 expedition compass and really rate it - though some prefer a shorter base plate.  I also like the roamer setup on type 4 models more than others, 1:25, 1:59, 1:40k al covered and arrange so the you have then on both northing and easting axis making taking a grid ref really easy.  A lot of other models only have 1 axis which isn't as straightforward.  

Build quality on Suunto is better imo but still prefer my type 4 for reasons above.  Though if someone pointed me at a Suunto model that has the above roamer arrangement I'd be sold I think!!

Cheaper compasses can only align to the earth's magnetic field. 

Whereas most of the more expensive Silvas and the like can also connect to the geomagnetic field, and angle of magnetic dip which gives about three times the accuracy, although you need to pay extra for the subscription. 

Also, if in the South of England, a Merlin compass will also allow you to align with Ley Lines which is very useful if on Salisbury Plain, or trying to find Glastonbury Tor. 

I bought a cheap one from Decathlon last year having got fed up with the price and longevity of Silva ones. So far I havn't got particularly badly lost.

I've got a suunto and several Silva explorers. There's nothing wrong with the suunto but the romer on the Silva explorer is definitely better.

I've got a stack of busted Silva compasses (no receipts for return unfortunately).

The basic suunto ones are only a few pounds more than the Silva 4 so as long as you don't plan on needing 1:40000 should be fine.

I've been happily navigating round the hills for 50 years and just had to google what a romer is. Never felt any need for one.

Never felt curious about what the funny corner scales on the baseplate were for...?

I’ve in the same camp, had no idea what a romer was. I guess I’ve never spent enough on a compass to have one.

I was once at the Saunders mountain marathon, CP1 was cubic bolder 2m x 3m x 4m (or something similar), clag was down and it was in a boulder field. Dozens of folk were stood at a boulder exactly matching the description and apparently at the right grid ref. It turned out none of us knew how to use a grid ref. We were all stood close to (but very slightly South West of the given 6 fig ref, however it turns out that the given 6 fig ref refers to the SW corner of the 100m x 100m square containing the feature so we were all about 100m SW of the intended feature.

I thought this was fairly poor planning from the route planner, having a feature matching the control description so close to the intended feature however he was completely unapologetic and said that everyone should have a romer and know how to use it. 
 

As a maths teacher this tale does give me an example of when truncation is used rather than rounding, however I still don’t have a romer.

I've got a 27 year old Silva that still works fine. It's the type 4/54 - the one with the little sighting mirror. I don't think they make it anymore but I have no complaints about the build quality given the abuse it's had over the years. The only issue is that the 1:63360 scale has partly worn off. Not that that's overly useful anymore!

Some 30 years ago in orienteering comps, you only saw Suunto or Silva… having just checked (orienteering supply shop), it seems there are now three options. Suunto, Silva, and WOL.

While a cheaper Compass can work, their longlivety can be a problem. Compasses made for orienteering competitions can take a lot of abuse and stay functional. So spending the Odd 15 quid more is well worth it. In fact, I still have my beginner Compass (either Suunto or Silva can’t remember) that I think I got at 87 or so. Used it a bit last year, still bang on completely functional.

No. Not sure it has even registered with me really. 

Must be a maths teacher thing then! And I've taught hundreds of kids doing D of E about grid references without knowing truncation was meant to be used.

I don't think I've ever used any sort of ruler or romer to get a grid reference. Just estimated it off the map and never had any problems. 

Yes, they're unnecessary for actually navigating, but they're important/essential for jumping through the unrealistic hoops set by navigation training schemes and MRT nav assessments.

If you got your compass in 1987 and you didn't buy it on holiday I'm sure it's Suunto. It would have been basically unpatriotic to buy Swedish! When I first went to Finland in the mid 90s, I was shocked by how almost everyone had the same stuff in their homes. It was like a middle class and tastefully designed version of communist China. If everyone had the same Iittala glasses, the same Fiskars scissors, the same Marttiini sheath knife, I can't believe any scout or school age orienteer, wouldn't have a Finnish compass!

OP: I've always had Suunto compasses going back to the early 90s. I still have my first which I still like in winter as it has a clicky counter wheel on it to help you count your paces. I've bought a sighting one since, a smaller lighter simpler one (supposedly for teaching other members of my to map read with - limited success but not the compass's fault) and a wrist one for skiing in poor visibility. They all still work fine. But maybe 5 years ago I found a Silva type 4 in the snow in North Wales so sometimes I use that now just to 'mix things up' a bit! 😀 You can't go far wrong I don't think (unless you don't know how to use your compass!).

Since it was for actual competition use, either is possible… you’re not as patriotic If the other product is superior and thus your performance. That being said, it was most likely a Suunto one. How ever in early 90s, when I got my first ”thumb” compass, it was indeed a Silva one… Most likely some earlier model of ARC JET… I remember this, as I bought it with my own money.

Str8 have been gaining traction too. Simple, very fast to settle. No idea about how fast to Settle though. 

Grid refs are for communicating position, not navigating.

Compass bearings (the numbers) are for communicating, too, not navigation.

Probably depends on how far you are away from there! If you're in Carlisle and jumping on the train, not too long and very scenic as you go.

Busted how? I've got a couple of Type 4s which have both developed irritating bubbles - especially when it's cold, curiously - but there isn't much else to bust, unless the spinney housing can come loose.
I'd be tempted to replace with a Suunto equivalent if they're less prone to bubbles, but otherwise I'm used to the Silva feel and layout now

Combination of big bubbles and more problematically not pointing north.

My Suunto got grit/water under the bezel. Couple of years old, they replaced it under warranty. The new one seems slightly better - the needle now seems to be packaged in a sealed system and is much quicker to align.

The only downside of the Suunto is you need a separate romer, but then you probably would anyway if you want to get an accurate position.

Silva are very good at no quibble replacements if they think build quality or manufacturing was a problem.

I queried one last year, had it under a year and an air bubble was slowly growing. Emailed a picture and said when I'd bought it (no receipt as I'd been using it for months), they replaced it, turns out they had a batch that hadn't sealed properly. 

I know, I just haven't got proof of purchase for any of them.

Personally I just carry a needle. I magnetise it by rubbing it on my hair, pop it on a leaf and float it in a puddle. 

I'd still ask, nothing to lose, a compass to gain.