As I get ready to leave I've found that one of the best and worst parts of starting you own business is buying things. On the down side it gets very expensive very quickly but on the upside there are some pretty interesting products out there to buy. Of course as an ecotourism company most of the products that have caught my attention relate directly to the outdoors and camping but a few find uses in other situations as well. The following are the coolest of the many outdoor products that I have had the fortune of finding and buying. Unfortunately almost all my stuff is packed away so a couple these images were combed off the net.
Nothing revolutionary here, just simply neat. Yes I am a child and you can add your ridicule to that of my friends but I don’t care. I have always loved Nalgene bottles because they provide an ecofriendly way to keep yourself hydrated and they are ridiculously resilient. Add the fact that things that glow always attract attention and you have a winning way to quench your thirst.
Despite being able to sleep anywhere and everywhere I still prefer my nights to be as comfortable as possible. Unfortunately taking my double bed out into the bush is a little impractical and I am not a fan of hammocks. So I was quite happy to find that there are some excellent air mattresses on the market. This is a very light weight air mattress that folds up very small, the main selling point for me though was how it inflates. Most light air mattresses require you to get blue in the face blowing it up, but this one has the pump built inside which means you can be sleeping comfortably within a few minutes without too much effort.
Following the trend in simple camping accessories these are a must if you plan to be anywhere damp. Nothing new in camping tech I would only say that they are a lot more accessible and come in a larger variety of sizes, shapes and brands than they used to. The seal line backpacks are designed similarly to most dry bags but don’t seal as well as most dry bags. This means you can’t submerge them for too long but they will keep your stuff totally dry in even the biggest downpour. They are probably the most comfortable way to carry around stuff you want to keep dry as I can attest to after many a day riding around Toronto in the rain.
The most expensive item on the list, but by no means a wasted investment. You can buy some really cheap binoculars out there but most times in the field they are no help or actually make it harder to look at wildlife. Some of the lower priced quality binoculars are a huge step up but usually are fairly chunky and not as resilient. Water proof, excellent image quality and good range, in my opinion this set of binoculars are the best value pair on the market.
By far the most popular gizmo among my friends and easily my first choice, this thing couldn’t be much better. Steripen has long been known for making quality water purification systems but this time they have outdone themselves. By combining their UV sterilizing light with a rig that allows you to power it mechanically they have created a purifier that gives you clean water anywhere any time without batteries. Aside from having an excellent core concept it’s all the little things that make it great. It can detect if there is water in the bottle so you aren’t unnecessarily using the UV light, it lets you know when you have finished purifying the water and the crank handle stores away into the body of the purifier for a smaller profile when not in use.
You may have noticed that almost all of these products have to do with water in some capacity but that’s to be expected considering my destination. Know of some other cool outdoor items? Let me know in the comments.
-Intrepid Explorer
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