The silva compass idea was to combine a compass and a protractor in one unit. Before that you either used a separate protractor or you made a reasonable guess.
Since most people line up to grid north and never bother to factor in the magnetic variation a good guess is probably just as acurate.
I've said this before but I used to walk the hills of Westmorland when I was a lad in an old anorak (not waterproof), jeans and shoes. I didn't own a compass, I had an old Bartholomew half inch series map and some Kendal mint cake.
I still rarely use a compass to navigate though I carry one, and my GPS is just used occasionally for finding ancient features not shown on the map.
I learnt to navigate by looking at the land and the sky, knowing where I was, where I had come from and where I was going.
Sometimes I think this "head up, brain on" approach is becoming lost amidst the responsible, safety first brigade.
Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying safety isn't important, but I have met many people on the hills with all the right gear, that have no clue as to where they really are!
They can point to a map and say "we're on this path" (Often they're nowhere near it.) but if you ask them where they are going in the landscape or where they crossed the horizon they have no idea.
Owning the right kind of compass is not substitute for knowing how to navigate.
All I can say is it's a good job most hills are covered with paths and other walkers to follow because half of these people are lost even bofore they start out.
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Since most people line up to grid north and never bother to factor in the magnetic variation a good guess is probably just as acurate.
I've said this before but I used to walk the hills of Westmorland when I was a lad in an old anorak (not waterproof), jeans and shoes. I didn't own a compass, I had an old Bartholomew half inch series map and some Kendal mint cake.
I still rarely use a compass to navigate though I carry one, and my GPS is just used occasionally for finding ancient features not shown on the map.
I learnt to navigate by looking at the land and the sky, knowing where I was, where I had come from and where I was going.
Sometimes I think this "head up, brain on" approach is becoming lost amidst the responsible, safety first brigade.
Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying safety isn't important, but I have met many people on the hills with all the right gear, that have no clue as to where they really are!
They can point to a map and say "we're on this path" (Often they're nowhere near it.) but if you ask them where they are going in the landscape or where they crossed the horizon they have no idea.
Owning the right kind of compass is not substitute for knowing how to navigate.
All I can say is it's a good job most hills are covered with paths and other walkers to follow because half of these people are lost even bofore they start out.
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. The manufacturer didn't reply when I enquired about changing the card and needle. For walking on a bearing and sighting it would be a great compass but, no, it won't do the protractor bit. I think Silva do a version of the type 54 with prismatic sighting on. I think I'll be sticking with my current Silva till the bezel markings are unreadable and then get one of those.
