Silva History

Known for the unsurpassed accuracy of its compasses, the Silva® brand has been an essential among compass users since its founding by orienteer Björn Kjellström in 1946. Today, Silva offers compass designs ranging from beginner models to those for the experienced outdoor professional.

The idea of Silva compass was born, in the 1930’s, by a need. The sport of orienteering (a map and compass sport) had begun to gain in popularity in Sweden, its country of origin. Efforts were made to develop better equipment, especially compasses. Existing compass factories joined in these efforts with active orienteers.

A lucky coincidence brought the instrument maker Gunnar Tillander, himself an orienteer, together with the three successful orienteering brothers of that time, Arvid, Björn and Alvar Kjellström. They all realized the value of a better and more reliable orienteering compass. Along the way, each Kjellström had been deeply involved in the development of a liquid dampened compass combined with a protractor that would enable one to take a fast and accurate bearing from a map.

The name “Silva”, meaning forest, was an apt title for this wilderness navigation instrument. In the beginning, the growing sport of orienteering helped to increase compass sales and vice versa – the introduction of the Silva system compass helped to promote the sport. The Kjellström brothers realized this and energetically helped to promote the sport; but, they also understood that the largest sector of the compass market was the sales to outdoor people – hunters, scouts, and other professionals. They soon started to widen the product program to suit all needs.

Since 1946, Silva brand compasses have been distributed throughout the United States. Our compass designs range from models for the beginner right up to those for the outdoor professional.

Tech 4o History

Tech4o was born out of a need for something greater.  In 2005, Silva engineers decided to employ their expertise of traditional orienteering to the growing wave of digital outdoor instrumentation. The marketplace was (and still is to a large degree) flooded with half-baked products that either didn't work, were overly complicated, or way too expensive.  Consumers were quickly growing tired with the shortfalls of the current technology.  Ultimately, users' experiences were being ruined by their growing frustrations.  Enter Tech4o:  a brand whose chief focus is bettering the overall customer experience, through advanced technology and better product development.

Tech4o's ever growing line of products continues to support you in the pursuit of your next great adventure.  The latest benefit that the company is incorporating into their watches is the heart rate monitor.  Tech4o heart rate monitor watches are now one of the most accurate in the market.  This is natural as the company has had engineers working for decades on other advanced electronic features such as compasses, altimeters and barometers.  Tech4o heart rate monitors are manufactured to the same engineering excellence as these other features. 

We hope you will take a look at our selection.  The Heart Rate Watch Shop only carries the best quality brands in the market.