The ability to navigate is essential to anyone walking the hills of Britain. With personal safety high on many people’s agenda, the compass has long been seen as essential equipment for anyone venturing into the hills. Silva are one of the best known names in navigation aids with their extensive range of compasses used by many walkers. One of the most popluar models are the Eclipse compasses and the model reviewed here is the “flagship” of this range – namely the Silva Eclipse Pro. Ease of use is important and this mirror-sighting compass features a one handed operation. Other features include a built-in clinometer for measurement of vertical angles and slopes and a base plate with magnifier. One very useful feature is a set of information cards. These include survival notes, instructions for using the compass, map measuring scales and conversion tables all of which help to make this a very impressive package. OVERALL VERDICT This is a quality piece of kit designed to make navigation easy. It is accurate down to 1/2°, which is considerably better than most compasses. Provided you have the mapreading skills to match you should be able to walk out of any tricky situation with total confidence being able to rely on a high precision piece of equipment. Useful extra include 1:25.000 and 1:50.000 scales on the baseplate and these conveniently correspond with the OS maps. Criticisms? Spectacle wearers may initially find it difficult to view the mirror. However after a few days of use you will soon discover the knack and use the compass to its full potential. The Eclipse Pro retails at £49.95 and offers great value for a precision compass. Silva has a Sales hotline number for consumer stockist enquiries – 01506 406277 Visit the Silva Website