Gadgets for the outdoor enthusiast

Gadgets for the outdoor enthusiast

Picture the scene.  You are in the back end of beyond, you’ve been hiking all day through the most beautiful countryside, you’re on a high from doing one of the best treks you’ve ever done but you have an itch.  That itch is to reach for your smartphone and take a photo, call a loved one or even worse check your Twitter feed.  Now the outdoors purist would say that if you are in splendid isolation then you should not need a phone or contact with the outside world.  Here are some great pieces of tech for the outdoor gadget freak

Freeloader solar charger

This great little gadget is a battery pack with solar panels.  You can charge the battery before you go out via USB and then with the various attachments included in the kit you can charge various devices including iphone, Nokia, Tom Tom and most things which can be charged via USB,

Viewranger

ViewRanger is a mapping, navigation, tracking, and information app for mobile phonesthat turns your phone into an outdoor GPS.  It works with iPhone, Android or Symbian based smartphones and puts 1:25000 Ordance Survey maps into the palm of your hand.  It uses the GPS in your device to help keep you on the right path and is ideal for walkers, mountain bikers and geocaching.

Suunto Ambit

The latest and most advanced watch Finnish watchmakers Suunto have ever produced.  The Ambit is more than a watch it is a wrist-top computer.  This watch is so feature packed there is not enough space here to tell you everything it does but included in this cool looking watch is a Compass, Altimeter, GPS, Heart Rate Monitor and even tells you the weather conditions. If you are a runner this watch can tell you your speed and distance, mountaineer, it will tell you how high you are and if you are boiling an egg it can have a timer to beep when 3 minutes are up.

Mammut Barryvox Transceiver

Off piste skiing is a dangerous sport and skiers who ski in conditions with a risk of an avalanche should be prepared for all eventualities.  The Barryvox is one of those pieces of tech you hope never to use.  A transceiver is designed to allow you to be found or find others who have been caught up and buried in an avalanche.  In these circumstances every second really does count and the Barryvox allows you to find multiple victims who are buried in the snow using one button and a simple display.  The device has a 200 hour battery life and a five year guarantee.





Author:


Neil Park is the Buyer and chief gadget freak at www.gear-zone.co.uk