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This winner of the 2003 Backpacker Magazine 's Editors' Choice Gold Award keeps you moving in the right direction!
| Analog or Digital: | Analog |
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| Clinometer: | Yes |
| Declination adjustment: | Yes |
| Declination scale: | Yes |
| Dimensions: | 4 x 2.5 inches |
| Increments: | 2 degrees |
| Liquid filled: | Yes |
| Magnifying lens: | Yes |
| Sighting Mirror: | Yes |
| Weight: | 3 ounces |
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View other products from Silva classified in Hiking & Camping > Compasses. View all products from Silva.
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Sometimes, we can't be sure that the product is the same across the stores that offer its, so you may find the same product listed more then once on GearBuyer.com, we these list highly similar products below.
 | Silva Ranger Compass #515CL | $45.99 - $59.95 |
 | Silva Ranger 15-CL | $54.99 - $62.99 |
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Declination and Degrees Off Course | |
| Rating: |  |
| --"Slop" of compass housing and degree dial in the baseplate represents a +/- 1 full degree margin for error in either direction in my sample. On further research, all samples on the shelf at the store exhibited similar slop. --Declination scale and orienteering arrow requires constant attention and readjustment. In my sample, the declination adjustment moved between 2 and 10 degrees under minimal stress depending on the way the adjustment screw seated when the setting was made. It should be noted the adjustment screw is not a "stop down" type screw, but rather some type of slotted gear or modified worm gear. It activates the declination scale slowly in either direction but does not feature any mechanism to secure the scale in place once adjustment has been made. The above two concerning findings are disappointing only because they represent inadequate attention to detail on the part of the manufacturer. They should, however, cause only minimal concern to the average user who can mitigate any potential for inconvenient results by utilizing good orienteering practices and checking his or her heading regularly (see example below). Let's be honest, walking a straight line with less than 1-2 degrees margin of error is a challenge. This product is well suited for use as a recreational navigation tool or as a backup to a GPS device (meaning: nearly all recreational customers). It is not suited nor designed for precise map work off the semi-beaten path or for use in a professional setting where the margins for error are much smaller. For those purposes, investment should be made in one of the many heavier, more costly, much more inherently accurate offerings available on the market today (and generally not found in a recreational equipment store). Example: A one degree error of heading or declination would result in a 920-foot error off course after traveling a distance of TEN MILES. A five degree error of heading or declination would result in a position 4,600-feet off course after traveling the same 10-miles, according to the U.S. SAR Task Force Website. Anyone who travels 10-miles without checking their heading would result in a position on someone else's expedition, if I had any say in the matter. | |
| Propter Hoc at REI on 12/11/2007 | |
A great compass for 4-season use | |
| Rating: |  |
| I've hiked, camped and skied in the backcountry nearly 30 yeras now, and I'm not going to jump on the GPS bandwagon quite yet. Besides, you have to understand map and compass reading before you should graduate on to GPS. Even then, you should always have a hardcopy map and a good compass in the event that your GPS fails. The Silva Ranger is your compass. This compass will allow you to obtain accurate readings for triangulation bearings with the sighting mirror. In the event you don't know exactly where you are, this information is invaluable. The inclinometer serves well for winter travel - backcountry skiing, snowshoeing - to gauge avalanche-prone slopes. The declination adjustment is a nice feature so you don't confuse yourself out there - wait, was it "add 10 degrees to the map reading, or subtract it...?" Be careful though, the declination adjustment screw is NOT permanent and easily slips. Make sure to check it before applying your reading or you may be quite far off. Also, the declination is adjusted with a little metal tool that initially comes attached within the lanyard & toggle for the compass. If you're new at this, make sure that metal isn't near the magnetic needle. Other typical features - rectangular base to draw your bearings agains, area for magnification, various units of measurements, can be found on most compasses, but when they are absent - they are noticeably absent! This compass has it all. You'll never need a different one. | |
| burnsie at REI on 09/12/2007 | |
the timeless classic | |
| Rating: | |
| You can't possibly go wrong with this--go with the compass that has proven itself for decades. Don't be one of those idiots who goes into the woods with a cell phone but without a compass--get this and know how to use it. I've used this same model for 3 decades, both for pleasure and sometimes even for work. Again, this is THE TIMELESS CLASSIC. Don't leave home without it. Better yet, give it as a gift to someone you love. | |
| glennalanb at REI on 09/12/2007 | |
Search & Rescue Recommended | |
| Rating: | |
| This was on the recommended list when I did the search & rescue training 5 years ago so I got one. It's the only compass I've used since. It's very accurate with the sighting mirror and just a good, basic compass. | |
| Duckweed at REI on 12/05/2007 | |
Quality lags | |
| Rating: |  |
| I have used several recreational class Silva compasses over more than forty years of wandering around in the weeds and until purchasing this model had found them to be entirely satisfactory and durable for their intended purpose.I typically lug around a heavy old Brunton pocket transit for my more precise field work. But as I am in the process of lightening up my load it became clear that the Brunton had to go. So I bought the Ranger, fully expecting it to be an adequate tool, though certainly not the equal of the Brunton.Unfortunately I found the Ranger to be poorly executed, loose in its baseplate to the point of being inaccurate (approximately 4 degrees of "slop") and therefore unacceptable to my purposes. Upon returning [...] I went immediately to the stock of Silva compasses, of which there were nearly a dozen, to check whether or not all of the Rangers were similarly loose, fully expecting the looseness identified in my compass to be an aberration, an example of quality that had escaped control.Unfortunately all of the Rangers that I inspected shared this same looseness. I don't know whether Silva considers it a defect or not but I certainly do.I thereupon returned the Silva, replacing it with a Suunto MC-2, a tool of almost exactly the same design, but tight, and with which I am entirely satisfied.The Ranger compass has been the tool of choice for many, many outdoorsmen and foresters for many years. That being the case, it is truly a disappointment to see such poor quality being shipped today. | |
| Senior Trekker at REI on 11/13/2007 | |
Not a the real Swedish Silva compass | |
| Rating: | |
| Go for Brunton if you want the real thing. The Suunto MC-2 is also excellent. Well made products. I bought this in an REI store in Dallas, not knowing that it was not an original Swedish Silva Ranger compass. It had received a "gold choice award" by Backpacker magazine. An easy purchase I thought having several Silva and Suunto compasses. The quality is very low compared to the original Silva products. Almost identical. It was interesting comparing the two. The "legal fake" is inaccurate and poorly made. Not to be trusted for expedition use. The real thing is excellent. An expedition classic. After some research I found out the same thing as stated by the previous reviewer. A sad story really. "Silva is the original Swedish company that makes the Silva compasses, including the standard Ranger sold outside the US. They also own Brunton in the US." The "Silva" brand name is owned by Johnson Outdoors in the US due to a legal process in the past. | |
| The Swede at REI on 04/13/2009 | |
A legal fake! | |
| Rating: | |
| Silva is the original Swedish company that makes the Silva compasses, including the standard Ranger sold outside the US. They also own Brunton in the US. For some reason the "Silva" brand name is owned by Johnson Outdoors in the US, and this company sells the "Silva Ranger" here, a poor quality product made in the far east. (The one I returned had an eyelash floating in the needle capsule, among other things.) The real Silva Ranger made by Silva of Sweden (in Sweden) is sold under the name Brunton 15TDCL, which is a great product. You probably don't need to know all this trivia to buy a compass, but when somebody older than you says "buy Silva Ranger, I've used it for a long time" they really mean Brunton 15TDCL. | |
| suha at REI on 09/10/2008 | |
not what it use to be | |
| Rating: | |
| all my SAR friends championed this silva model as a true friend in the field for all their needs...but theirs all date from 5+ years ago - when i picked up the newer version of the same model i found the bezel numbers were black on clear instead of white on black and much harder to read- the play or slop in the housing allowed for a plus or minus 3 degree error- which was not acceptable for my navigation testing and i had to give up on it...the other new silvas of the same model all exhibited the same looseness... | |
| sanchiryu at REI on 05/03/2008 | |
Poor product | |
| Rating: | |
| The first thing I noticed when I got this compass was that the declination panel shifts with the touch of a finger (or the inside of a bag). The second was that the compass housing shifts 3 - 5mm back and forth. Both of these defects render the compass inaccurate. When I returned the compass I exchanged it for another Silva Ranger CL which also had the exact same problems. | |
| markofka at REI on 10/20/2007 | |
New version is poor quality | |
| Rating: | |
| I have been in the mapping profession for almost 20 years. I teach map and compass. I own an old Silva Ranger that was made for Silva by Nexux. The Brunton 15TDCL is made by Nexus. This Silva Ranger is made by another company. From my students, I have seen that this compass is poorly constructed, with a stiff movement, and clunky mirror. Get the Brunton 15TDCL! | |
| Steve the Backcountry Skier at REI on 05/16/2008 | |
