If you are in North America, all "Silva" brand compasses are marketed by Johnson Worldwide, who owns both the Silva and 'Ranger' brand names in North America. JW appears to source their better compasses, such as the Ranger models, from Suunto in Finland (check for 'made in Finland' on the box). Elsewhere in the world, 'Silva' still means Silva of Sweden, the original manufacturer of the Ranger.

Original Silva of Sweden compasses, including the Ranger 15 and 25 are sold in North America as Brunton Nexus 15, elsewhere in the world as the Silva Ranger 15 or 25. The top of the line Swedish Silva Ranger is the 25TDCLE with built-in illumination, which Brunton doesn't seem to carry anymore.

I like most of the Silva Ranger-style compasses, including the Suunto MC-2G, one of the best. Along with the other Ranger-type features such as adjustable declination, the MC-2G is of very high quality, has a FAST-settling needle, a FULLY luminous and clearly-marked dial with raised degree markings, and two sighting ports (high notch and eye-level)for different-height landmarks.

I really don't like the Brunton Eclipse compasses at all. Both the 8099 and 8096 I own get frequent bubbles with rapid temperature changes. The 8099 is just plain too bulky and clumsy, requiring removal of the rubber boot and cards to use with a map or to take a bearing at chest-level. The mirror is small, and the twin plastic cover pieces have quite a bit of slop or play on my example. The numbering system inexplicably uses hard-to-see green ink for the forward bearings, yet black ink for reverse bearings. The Eclipse declination system uses only friction to hold its position and frequently slips (unlike the geared screw systems used on most Silva and Suunto adjustable compasses). The circle-on circle magnetic indicator on the Eclipse models is actually slower to settle and more inclined to bob than most ordinary needles and is NOT luminous (nor is the dial or the direction-of-travel indicator). This compass is completely unusable in low light without constant flashlight illumination. Finally, the dial markings are printed on cardboard instead of engraved on the dial, the baseplate roamer & scale markings come off easily as they are just printed on and not engraved, and the meridian adjustment lines are limited to two tiny red lines on the outside of the dial (which is not transparent) instead of the bottom of the clear capsule, making it hard to align them with a map meridian when taking a bearing from the map.

The Brunton (in North America) or Silva of Sweden (elsewhere) 54LU prismatic compass is basically a Silva Type 4 NATO baseplate compass with a compass card instead of a needle, and a built-in prismatic sight. It is considered a military model compass and is used by Australian military forces, among others. It can be used at waist-level or with a map like an ordinary baseplate compass, but the 54's prismatic sight also allows 0.5 degree accuracy with eye-level sighting in ideal conditions (one must be careful not to tilt the compass as the compass capsule is quite shallow and it is easy to 'ground' the compass card, and the prism is also not that visible in poor light). Because of the special prismatic sight design, the 54 is not available with adjustable declination. Its luminous sights work well. Outside North America, the Model 54 is also available in a tritium-illuminated version.