How to Choose: Compasses June 12, 2022
Is it time for a new compass? Curious about the different options available? Let us help you determine the best option for you.
Top 10 Christmas Gift Ideas November 24, 2020
Christmas is on its way and if you've got orienteers on your shopping list, then you've come to the right place! We're here to help you find just the right gift for all the orienteers in your life. Take a look at the following top ten gift ideas!
1. Handmade Note Cards |  | These greeting cards are perfect for orienteers to address notes, letters, or gifts to loved ones over the holidays. They are designed and created by orienteer and artist Silva Tratnik. What better way to celebrate the holidays than by supporting a local artist? | Order here |
2. Scents of Direction Lip Balm |  | This lip balm makes a great stocking stuffer. It is created with all natural ingredients and has a delicious, lemony scent. Fight the dry winter air with a delightful, locally made lip balm. | Order here |
3. Stephen Stagg Story and Puzzle Books |  | These adorable books will definitely become your child’s favourite. With flowing rhymes, beautiful artistry, and fun puzzles, Stephen Stagg can be read many times and reveal something new every time. | Order here |
4. Murder at the 14th Control Novel |  | For the older reader in your family, Wilf Holloway’s classic Murder at the 14th Control is a must read for every orienteer. | Order here |
5. SI 10 Timing Chip |  | Does someone in your family need an upgrade to their SI timing chip? This is the perfect time to surprise your loved one with an SI timing chip that will help them achieve their orienteering goals. | Order here |
6. Orienteering Canada Buff |  | It’s getting chilly out there! Provide your beloved orienteer with a comfy, multi-purpose neck warmer and support Orienteering Canada’s High Performance Program at the same time. | Order here |
7. Orienteering Board Game |  | This is a fantastic game for the whole family! Imagine sitting by the fire, with a nice cup of hot chocolate, all cozy in your blankets, and having a great laugh as the family races toward the finish line of this orienteering board game. | Order here |
8. Orienteering Themed Rubik's Cube |  | Do you have a puzzler in your family? This orienteering themed rubik’s cube is a fun twist on the classic cube puzzle, with an extra challenge (orientation matters!) | Order here |
9. Orienteering Bumper Sticker |  | Everyone knows someone whose car is an homage to all of their marvelous adventures. These bumper stickers are an excellent addition to any orienteer’s bumper sticker collection. Or maybe this gift will jumpstart a new love of collecting bumper stickers. | Order here |
10. Gift Card for o-store.ca |  | Got an orienteer who’s tricky to buy gifts for? How about a gift card for Canada’s orienteering store? You can choose the value so they will be certain to find something they’ll love. | Order here |
New Product: Start Clock October 19, 2020
The O-Store family is very excited about a project we did during the pandemic: an orienteering clock! The o-clock has all the features of a regular race clock plus the universally recognizable orienteering beeps! Our clock is great for use as either a start clock or a finish line clock at all your events. And of course a clock with all the start beeps is particularly valuable at any championship event. As organizers and participants ourselves, we’ve tried to incorporate in our clock all the features that we would want to have available. Here are some details:
Display
- Size: 34 x 8 cm
- Each digit is 11 x 16 LEDs
- Adjustable brightness, with 5 settings
- Red LEDs
- Excellent visibility from large angles of centre, readable in direct sunlight
- High-accuracy, temperature-compensated internal clock
Case
- Size: 46 x 20 x 13 cm
- Weight: 3.6 kg, including battery
- Aluminum handles for easy carrying; doubles for hanging the clock
- Multiple set-up options including,: stable on a flat surface; hangs easily using straps through handles either left to right or back to front (through the hollow handlebars); sits nicely on a tripod using tripod mount on base of case
- Case has no parts sticking out, no pieces to cause damage or get damaged during transportation
- Battery pocket at back of case makes inserting and removing the battery an easy task
- Case is water resistant, but should have tarp above it if being used in significant rain
- 12 key numeric keypad for easy programming of all modes
- Built-in, waterproof speaker allows ample volume for beeps to be heard throughout the starting arena of your race
Power
- Rechargeable battery and charger included
- Battery life: 8 hours at regular brightness with beeps
Modes and Command Codes
- Count Up or Count Down modes; count down mode can stop after reaching 0 or can begin counting up
- Numerous beeper options include
- Intervals of 60, 30, 15, or 10 seconds
- One beep per interval or "O-beeps" (10 second warning beep, followed by leadup beeps (optional number) and, longer beep on the interval)
Click image to enlarge
Now that you know a little bit about the clock, we hope you'll invest in one for your club or event and let us know what you think of it! We are always open to feedback and are looking forward to continuing the development and improvement of this passion project.
If you're interested, read on for a little bit of behind the scenes/making of!
The R&D Process
This project has been on our minds for a long while and the COVID-19 lockdown provided the perfect opportunity to spend some quality time with it. We now had the chance to delve in and start building.
Our home office white board was perfect for drawing out our design ideas.
Here's a few more early drawings. These were our ideas for the battery case.
We tested various possibilities for the display and software design. Here you see the time display on two panels. We decided to add another panel, allowing us to increase the size of each digit.
We used one of our favourite toys in the basement, the CNC router, to create the front of the case.
Here you see the three panels and larger digits with the front of the case for a better sense of what it would eventually look like.
Even during breaks we couldn't stop thinking about the readability of our clock 
Even once we had the design it took several attempts to perfect the battery case.
Here's an early pre-assembly of the clock case.
How to Choose: Glasses and Magnifiers July 5, 2020
Are your arms getting too short to read the o-map? Do you have trouble distinguishing a boulder from a cliff? Do fences look like trails? Maybe, just maybe, it’s time to admit you need some assistance reading the map.
How to Choose: Shoes June 28, 2020
Have your orienteering shoes finally bitten the dust? Hoping to find a pair that will suit your feet and your needs? Let the O-Store and our guest Emma Waddington, a national team member and ambassador for NVii shoes, help you find a pair of new O shoes! In this blog post, you will find some major ideas first, followed by an overview of the products available at the O-Store.
How to Choose: Control Description Holders June 21, 2020
New to orienteering and wondering what those things on people's arms are for? Or do you have an old control description holder that's getting a little ratty? Let's walk through the available control description holders.
How to Choose: SI Timing Sticks June 7, 2020
Are you trying to determine which SPORTident timing stick is best for you? Read on for a comparison of each of the available options.
The Winning Eye/L'oeil qui gagne March 15, 2020
We now have in stock Michel Gueorgiou's excellent book in both English and French.
Aluminum Control Posts March 4, 2020
Last year, the O-Store spent much time, many aluminum rods and loads of experimentation with our new CNC router developing a new Control flag post. We are very pleased with our final product.
Holiday Gift Idea #5 November 26, 2019
Gift Suggestion #5 from the O-Store is our orienteering themed Rubik's-type cube.
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