Any good compass will do the job. Silva is a well know brand and I am happy with mind. With respect to needing a differenct compass for the North and South hemisphere; that is a myth. It was hashed out here a while back.

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/ubb...ML/000137.html

Yankee Dog

Sorry, must disagree. I have personal experience of this. While it's true most compasses will work in most places compasses ARE regional and to get the best performance you should buy one made for that region.
I accept there is difference of opinion on how nessecary this is but it's not a 'myth'.
matt

Just out of curiosity, what experience did you have that taught you this. My experence was using the same two compasses from Alaska to Kenya and numerous places here in the US. Neither compass showed any sort of erratic behavior no matter where I used it.

Yankee Dog

I have a s.h. compass bought in New Zealand (Good brand- Silva)which works superbly in the Southern Hemisphere but takes on such a tilt that I wouldn't contemplate using it in Scotland, or indeed anywhere in Europe. I can't comment on Alaska and Kenya having been to neither, but Kenya is not very far south. Perhaps your compass might not work so well further south?
Also, I have never attempted to use a Northern Hemisphere compass 'down south', having been made aware of the effect before my first trip to NZ, so can't comment on wether my n.h. would have the same problems but I imagine it would as the angle of the magnetic feild would equally different if you see what I mean!
I reckon from a practical point of view, 99% of people are never going to be bothered by this phenomonon, particularly adventure bikers as the level of navigation accuracy required is less than for, say, a mountaineer. I reckon it's worth people being aware of though as some people (e.g. Kiwis!) might have problems navigating in the north.
I've just had a thought too, NZ is about as far south as populated areas get, so maybe Silva compasses for the NZ region are particularly susceptible to the phenomenon. Any Aussies out there had experience of this phenomenon with Aussie compasses?
Matt

Make sure it has a mirror on it... so you can see who is lost!

I have a S.hemisphere compass and am trying to use it in the UK, it is about 15-20 degrees out, sometimes 180 degrees wrong!

Incidently, Kenya is in both hemispheres so is both North and South!

You can contact Silva directly and ask them for information re buying a compass or you can buy one from a shop in the country you are visiting, such as Rhino Leisure & Safari that specialises in this sort of thing

http://www.rhinoleisure.com/

cheers G

p.s. the mirror can also be used for signalling.