Cool Camping Gadgets for an Amazing Outdoor Experience

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Here are some essential camping gadgets you’ll need for a fun and safe outdoor adventure, whether you’re planning a month-long hike or a weekend camp.

Borrowing from survival expert Jessie Krebs, here’s a breakdown of the best hiking gadgets and camping tech, divided into three categories:

There are options for each: a simple budget option for day hikes or campsites, and an alternatives for more ambitious adventuring.

Camping Gadgets for Signaling and Communication

Day Hike Option

You can easily carry a signal mirror, the size of a credit card, in your backpack or wallet until you need it.

It’s paramount to find an acrylic model like Luca Elf Aid’s military-grade survival mirrors, which are tough to break and have additional useful features like a small compass, whistle, and lanyard.

If a person finds themselves in trouble, they can use a signaling mirror to alert aircraft, vehicles, and people over long distances. It’s vital to learn how to use it before a person sets out on their adventure.

Global Solution

If a person is going hiking in the Himalayas, it’s likely they’re planning on disappearing into the backwoods for a few weeks or longer. They should consider taking a satellite communicator, like ZOLEO’s pocket-sized two-way global SMS and GPS Location smartphone accessory.

With a satellite communicator, a person can send and receive messages worldwide using satellite, cellular, and Wi-Fi signals. You can pair ZOLEO’s accessory with your phone and configure it to send regular check-in messages to your loved ones, ensuring their safety. In addition, they can share their GPS location.

This device has a host of other useful features, like SOS alerting with 24/7 monitoring options, GPS location sharing, and the weather forecast for the user’s location, sent straight to their phone. It’s also lightweight, IP68 waterproof, shock and dustproof, and has an 8-day battery life.

Camping Gadgets for Water Filtration

Campsite Option

The Platypus GravityWorks camping water filter system is a great choice for anyone spending the night in the wilderness because it is lightweight enough to carry on a longer hike.

Available in 2, 4, and 6-liter versions, this is a super-simple filtration device that requires no pumping. After filling a bottle, hang it above another to allow gravity to push the water through the filtration housing. The camper will clean out the water while they set up their tent.

Note that while water filtration will remove bacteria, parasites, and heavy metals, if there is a risk of viral contamination in the location where the camper is staying, they’ll need to add iodine, chlorine, or chlorine dioxide to the filtered water or use a SteriPen (see below) to kill off any viruses.

Hiking Option

This all-in-one solution filters out bacteria, protozoa, particulate matter, and viruses. It is super tough and filters 2.5 liters a minute.

This nifty gadget provides a camper with all the clean water they need on a longer hike. The long tube is handy for reaching water sources that aren’t right on the surface or when water levels are low.

It’s especially useful when arriving at a site only to find that the only water source, a natural spring, has almost dried up. The Guardian’s tube and silt filter enabled it to descend directly into the muddy remnants of the spring and still obtain clean water.

Unfortunately, they can break, even if rarely. Although it was still usable, the handle snapped, which made pumping more difficult. You can pack the second option as a lightweight backup or an alternative.

Backpacking Option

Now that people can drink cloudy water made safe with the SteriPen, will customers do so? The SteriPen eliminates the worst of the dirt from a pool of stagnant water. As a last resort, the SteriPen will kill anything unsafe.

The SteriPen’s main advantage is that it weighs next to nothing. For instance, during a month-long hike in the Himalayas, we left the MSR filter at a teahouse for collection on the way back, as it proved unnecessary.

You might only need the SteriPen and a piece of muslin if there is likely access to flowing water, such as rivers, streams, or springs.

Camping Gadgets for Exploration and Navigation

GPS watch

The Suunto Peak GPS watch is the best available recommendation. This watch can save hikers when fog or other challenging weather conditions roll in if they take the time to accurately plot the route before the trip.

Never underestimate the ease of becoming lost in the wilderness. A couple of years ago, while trekking in the Fagaras mountains in Romania, a hiker came across a man who was hopelessly lost in the fog, less than 100 feet from the cabana he was staying in.

Another hiker climbed Suunto Peak, which kept them on the right track despite visibility as low as 2 meters and an absence of any clear path. They got back safely.

Analog Option

A compass can, at the very least, prevent a hiker from going in circles once they have mastered its use.

Poor visibility won’t stand in the way, and the compass will keep the hiker oriented towards a target destination as they work their way around a clear trail in similar conditions. It can be a lifesaver on a clear day, or paired with a detailed map.

The low-cost TurnOnSport Orienteering Compass is an excellent option for learning how to use a compass. This simple, cheap, but rugged option is the ideal starter compass for learning how to navigate the old-fashioned way.

Wrap-Up

Going outdoors no longer means regressing to the Stone Age, and with these useful devices, you can reduce the likelihood of becoming lost or in danger in the wilderness.

Moreover, it’s now simple to get well-equipped for long trails and have everything you need without wasting space or investing in expensive items.

Even if you don’t go far into the wild, these items can really come in handy on your journey, so consider them the next time you decide to go camping.