Brunton and Silva 70P deck compasses

The shop where I purchased my new kayak did not have the right deck compass in stock at the time of 'yak purchase. So I requested that they order one. They said “OK, that will be a Silva 70P” (which is what I thought it would be). Today they called to say that it had arrived, but mentioned that it was a Brunton 70P and not a Silva. My web reading on this question (including and old discussion here on paddling.net) seems to tell me that the Brunton and Silva compasses are the same, with the Silva being sold in Europe (or ex-US, anyway) and the Brunton being sold in the US. Images that I can find online (plenty!) seem to look idenntical, although occasionally a slightly different angle or such throws me off a bit and I wonder.



Are they truly identical (aside from labeling)? If there are any differences … what are they? … are they meaningful?



Thanks in advance.

Same compass
and it’s excellent. You can search the archives here for mounting tips if you’re not already dialed in on that. Enjoy.

2nd that
Mine has been rock solid despite my best efforts to wreck it.

Yes …
… they’re both the same, excellent compass, but sold under different brand names. I seem to recall that Brunton and Silva merged a few years ago, though don’t quote me on that …



Here’s an article on compass installation and setup:

http://www.aquadynology.com/compass_install1.html



Good luck!



Delphinus

Silva is swedish
Brunton is owned by Silva of Sweden. Johnson family of wax owns the Silva name in the US so no other products sold in the US can have silva on it unless it is from them which is usually a cheap junky import.



Some of the same products will have the Brunton brand for US distribution and some Silva products may sneak into the country.



I bought a Silva 70UNE for sailing as a hand bearing compass a while back and it was very hard to find in the US. I ended up ordering it from the U.K.

Thanks, All ,
Will have it installed sometime next week. Looking forward to trying it out.