Keep in mind that the Silva Ranger you got 25 years ago was made the the real Silva of Sweden, which now owns Brunton and only sells compasses in the U.S. under the Brunton or Nexus trademarks. The current version of that compass IS the Brunton 15TDCL, and its still made by Silva of Sweden.

As I mentioned in the thread above, the Brunton 15TDCL has become my "goto" compass. Very nice, though not cheap. No bubbles - ever.

For a lower cost compass my recommendations are the Suunto M-3 Leader (with the standard needle), or the Brunton 8010G (though the 8010G doesn't seem as refined as the M-3).

I actually carry the Brunton 9020G when I need a real "pocketable" compass, but I've seen several people accidently flip is around and use the wrong end, and I fear this symmetric shape could cause some confusion.

Ken