Silva global needle compasses any good?

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Cavendish

Member
Sep 1, 2023
16
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London
I normally use a Suunto Global MC-2G for my nav needs and it's served me well on trips to quite a few destinations around the world. I say "it" because a couple of times over the past 15+ years the capsule has developed a bubble and had to be replaced. Otherwise I like the compass, although a minor preference would be for a long base-plate model instead of a sighting model. (The Suunto M-3 is a bit short so thinking along the lines of a Silva Type 4 but useable anywhere)

Which takes me onto my question: I see Silva are once again selling compasses with global needles and I wondered if anyone had any experience of them? The reviews on sites like Amazon are decidedly mixed... Amazon Silva Expedition Global
 
Ive not used a silva global. However the other week I bought a silva expedition 4 (to replace a Suunto as I'm not keen on the romer scale layout) and worryingly, the index pointer on the housing wasn't correctly aligned with direction of travel arrow. It was a couple of degrees out. Something to watch out for!
 
I have heard that silvba quality is not as good as of old. There are alternatives still and one is made in Europe too. It could be Suunto and Recta are better but I am no expert. Just recalling something discussed online in the past, perhaps even on here. Search for compasses and the brands on here to try to find it if it was on here.
 
Thanks both for your responses. I've definitely read quite a few opinions about Silva quality declining - maybe, but not certainly, related to offshoring production. Still interested specifically in their version of the global needle though.
 
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