I originally bought two of this Silva model intending to give both away as Christmas presents to my nephews, but being a compass junkie, I couldn't resist the urge to open the package of one of them to try it out and now I am hooked because it is so good. I decided to keep one for myself and get a watch for my other nephew instead. Maybe I will buy him this compass next year.
This compass is a standout product I bought this year because it is priced very cheaply and yet performs so very well. It is very accurate, i.e. within a 1/2 degree compared to my other very expensive compasses. My other expensive compasses are K&R Meridian Pro Luminous, Francis Barker M88. This $22 Silva agrees with them all. The compass card does not wobble and settles down to the final reading very quickly (within a couple seconds) due to the dampening fluid. It's easy to sight. It's easy to read. It's light weight and built robustly.
Whereas the Chinese-made Brunton military style lensatic compass is basically junk because it is very inaccurate, this made-in-Taiwan Silva military style lensatic compass is very well made. Also don't waste your money and time with the cheaply made Chinese copies of the K&R Meridian compass you see on Amazon. I bought a $10 Chinese copy of the K&R and can tell you it's a piece of garbage.
There are two minor negatives with this compass.
The first negative is that the lubber line etched on the glass is FAR too thick. Its thickness equals a whopping 2 degrees of arc. This makes reading down to 1 degree somewhat challenging and reading down to 1/2 degree downright impossible. If the line had been thin and dark, it would be easy to take a reading down to 1/2-degree precision by eyeballing between the 2-degree marks.
The second negative is that the notches on the bezel ring do not line up with the lubber line. The notches are every two degrees. I have to rotate the ring to set it between two notches for the lubber line to line up with the sighting line. Since the ring is now in an unstable position between two notches it is very easy to knock the ring off back to a nearby notch and cause the reading to be off by 1 degree. This is a sample defect from sloppy assembly rather than a design defect.
Overall, despite the two negatives I pointed out, I am still very happy that I stumbled onto this very accurate and very well made Silva military style lensatic compass at such an affordable price.
| Item Package Dimensions L x W x H | 9.1 x 5.5 x 1.7 inches |
|---|---|
| Package Weight | 0.55 Pounds |
| Item Dimensions LxWxH | 9.1 x 5.5 x 1.7 inches |
| Item Weight | 4.8 ounces |
| Brand Name | Silva |
| Color | Black |
| Material | Aluminum |
| Manufacturer | SILVA TECH4O |
| Part Number | 2801020 |
| Sport Type | Camping & Hiking |
