Discussion: Where to buy Silva Jet 6 Spectra or Brunton 6Spectra?

I'm looking for one of these for use in the US, but am having a lot of trouble finding them for sale. Any help?

http://home.comcast.net/~galeso/O_Gear.html

lists the 6Spectra . Whether he has any in stock is another question.

When looking for orienteering supplies in the U.S., start here:

http://orienteeringusa.org/orienteers/o-vendors

That said, the A&E Orienteering link doesn't appear to be working.

I'm in the same boat, looking to buy a compass. Just in the research phase right now.

I did see some of that kind on Ebay (ships to US but not in US)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Silva-6-Jet-Spectra-Left-/...

Thanks. I saw those, too.

Is it safe to assume that any "Northern Hemispere" compass will work in the USA? I noticed on a few of the Moscompass auctions I looked at that they specified that the compass was designed to work only in certain latitude ranges. (I'm new to this, and want to make sure whatever I buy will work in the USA.)

I ordered a compass from outdoorgb.com a few weeks ago to replace my Jet 6 Spectra, which was taken from me in a stolen backpack. I actually bought the 66 OMC model, but they also have the Jet 6 Spectra. The price, including shipping to the US, was less than $80 USD.

http://www.outdoorgb.com/search.asp?q=silva&p=1&a=...

Thank you, Andrew! I assume no issues with it working in the US. Can you tell me how long delivery took?

I think it was about a week, more or less. I think the Silvas only come in northern and southern hemisphere models with the longitude not making a difference.

I think you'd have to get pretty close to the magnetic pole (which you could do if you were at a meet in Alaska or Yukon Territories) before you'd run into any trouble with a compass in the northern hemisphere. Even though the US is at a lower latitude, the pole is on our side of the globe, so compasses designed for Nordic countries are very well suited for the lower-48. That said, as a beginner you shouldn't be using the compass for much more than orienting your map and just about any compass will get that job done. That's not to say that a nice compass is a waste of money, just that things like a fast settling and stable needle are much more important than whether it's accurate to half a degree.

Thanks, guys. I ended up ordering the Silva from OutdoorGB over the weekend.

I'm in your neck of the woods, Eric. I just did the SLOC's Turkey-O as my first event, and am anxious to get my compass (and for the weather to cooperate) so I can get out to Rockwoods for some practice. (Do you know of anyone that has made a clue sheet for the practice course? I did buy the map.)

I went back & forth over baseplate vs thumb. The thumb just makes more sense to me for how I saw the faster people using their compass at Turkey-O. I didn't see anyone actually taking & following a bearing. It was more about using the compass to orient the map (like you mentioned) and confirming the general direction, then using the map features to lead you to the controls.