Comments about Silva Guide 426 Compass:

It is what it is, an orienteering compass that floats. With the lid open, it fits perfectly under my deck bungee right next to my cockpit. Set your bearing and go. If I roll, I don't lose it. Others say the hinge looks flimsy, which is true. It does "look" flimsy, but it's not. I've had mine for several years and the hinge shows no sign of weakening. Only complaint is that the base is short and isn't see through. That doesn't affect me too much, as I map out my coordinates in advance.

Did I mention that it floats?

Comments about Silva Guide 426 Compass:

This is a great compass. I've had Silva
brand compasses since I was in the
Boy Scouts 40 plus years ago , and have
never been let down.I did have one of those 80.00 military compasses about 18
years ago,and coming back to camp in the dark,it bound up on its axis and got me really badly lost for about 6 hours.
Never had such a problem with a Silva

Comments about Silva Guide 426 Compass:

Good basic compass with mirror for increased accuracy. No problems with the plastic hinge, it's survived two years of direct contact with Boy Scouts and shows no signs of weakening. I expect to get a few more years out of it...

Comments about Silva Guide 426 Compass:

the cover for the compass is actually one piece, so the "hinge" is actually the plastic bent over. so opening and closing it a few dozens times at will eventually brake. i bought this as a back up but am afraid to use it. the compass itself seems to work great though. not really what i thought i was getting. i know, "what do you want for less than [$]!". but had i known how the case was made i would not have bought it.