Not sure what you need to go orienteering? Here you’ll find out the equipment you need to get outside running wild.
Orienteering Shoes
Orienteers wear a variety of shoes, depending on the terrain:
- Fell-running/Mountain-running shoes – specialist running shoes with serious grip! Lots of rubber studs stop you from sliding around in the mud. They range in price from £30-£150 and can be found in places like SportsShoes (British Orienteering members get a discount) as well as from orienteering shops, CompassPoint. Inov8 and VJs are popular brands.
- Metal studded shoes (dobs) – unique to orienteering with dozens of small metal studs embedded in the tread of the shoe. They are very useful in wet, slippery forest terrain, but not great on rock where mountain-running shoes are better. These tend to cost £60-£120 and have excellent grip. VJs and IceBug are popular brands.
- Trainers – perfect for urban and sprint competitions as well as the summer park series. Try tying your laces using the heel-lock method to avoid the risk of blisters or losing your shoes in the mud. Very handy!
If there is one purchase you’re going to make, let it be orienteering shoes. They mean that you’ve sufficient grip to prevent a nasty fall in rough, slippery, remote terrain. Everything else that is listed below can be borrowed.
Compasses
Most orienteers train and compete with a thumb compass. Usually, right-handed orienteers use a thumb compass on their left thumb and left-handed orienteers use a right-thumb compass. Rule of thumb is that you wear your compass in your map-carrying hand. More expensive models are used by elite competitors because they settle faster and are more stable when running. Popular brands include Silva and Moscow. You can often borrow a compass at Club Meets and events.
Gaiters
Gaiters are shin-pads for orienteers. They protect your legs and clothing from the forest undergrowth. An alternative is thick orienteering socks which serve a similar purpose.
Dibber / SI Card / Sportident Card
These are all the same name for the gadget you wear on your finger to prove you’ve reached a control flag. You can hire SI cards at all orienteering events, but if you’d like your own dibber they can be bought direct from SPORTident. The cheaper SI Card 8 is fine for all levels of competition. More expensive models, like the SiAC or AIR dibber are faster, offering contactless ‘punching’, a flash and a beep at each control.
Whistle
A whistle is required for most major races as a way of getting help in an emergency. It’s good practice to always carry one. The signal is six short blasts to summon help.
Control Description Holder
A control description holder is worn on the forearm and holds your control description sheet. This sheet contains information about the controls that will be visited on your course. They are printed on the map, but most orienteers prefer to use the CD holder to avoid constant refolding of the map mid-race.
GPS Watch
Many orienteers wear a GPS watch to record their run and to use for data analysis post-race. A popular model is the Garmin Forerunner. Upload your run to Routegadget to see which way you actually went at that path junction or how you fared against other competitors on your course.
Discount Codes
When buying anything for orienteering, remember you are able to access many discounts from a wide variety of online retailers just by being a member of LVO and British Orienteering!