To enjoy time in the great outdoors you need good quality kit, says outdoors fan Sara Stringer. This means you’ll have a great experience without the risk of being too hot or cold, too wet, or getting injured. So shoes, clothing and bags should at the top of the list when we begin planning an outing.
But there is a lot more equipment that we sometimes forget about. These ancillary items can be just as important as the others, but they sometimes slip our minds. For whatever reason, we just don’t think about them.
Let’s review some of the specialty items we should be thinking about for outdoor sports.
Documenting the fun
A camera will record all those fantastic memories but how many times do you remember to take yours on an outdoors adventure? Also it’s vital that you make sure the camera can cope with the extremes of your outdoors activity. The Nikon Coolpix AW130 can withstand heat, cold, impact and water. You’ll go back home with amazing photographic evidence of the places and challenges you’ve encountered, and all with a reasonable price tag.
Not interested in a stand-alone camera? If your activities aren’t too extreme for your mobile phone, you can stick with it to document your trip. Improvements in phone cases have provided the market with many new options for the outdoors that can be practical for most sports.
The add-Ons
Once you’ve got the necessities bagged up and transported, you have to think about the fun stuff, too. It’s a prerequisite on a canoeing excursion, for example, that someone in the group plays guitar. But no one who values their instrument at all is willing to simply toss it in the boat and float it down the river.
SealLine produces Baja Dry Bags, which are durable containers for almost anything you care to take on the river with you. They are heavily constructed with a reinforced bottom and tightly-sealing lid, and the attached hook permits transport on almost any kind of vehicle or vessel. Inside there’s enough room for up to 20 litres of whatever you want to take; although not necessarily enough for a vintage Martin acoustic, but at least some maracas to accompany it.
Luxury items
Even though you are roughing it, you’ve still got to have a little provision for relaxation and fun. Your guitar picker needs somewhere to sit, after all, and somewhere in the evening’s activities there will be a meal and some time to share stories from the trail, mountain, or river.
The Helinox Camp Chair is just the place to sit for that. Lightweight and tough, it will pack surprisingly small and can accompany you to your destination with minimal disruption. Helinox also produces a line of camp cots for your sleeping pleasure, also built with the same practical materials and design. With both, you can bid farewell to tree stumps and cold rocks for your furniture and instead while away the hours in something that will leave you rested and refreshed for the next day’s journeys.
Whether it’s hiking, mountain climbing, or water travel, you’ll think of something every trip that you wish you’d brought along. And while you can’t get there with every single thing that crosses your mind, choosing gear that is lightweight, compact, and durable will make it possible to bring along a little more than you might have thought possible.
- Thanks to freelance writer Sara for helping with this blog.