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Get your tech fix while holidaying in a tent with these camping-friendly gadgets
If you feel like going camping, but can’t bear parting with your beloved gadgets, we round up the best afforable and portable tech to bring with you.
the reader Jim Lawson
Gadget addict Jim Lawson wants to put his new tent to use this summer, but doesn’t want to go tech free. He needs goodies to keep him connected, fuelled and adventure-ready in the wild.
10TomTom Spark 3 Cardio + Music
TomTom’s GPS smartwatch is ideal for fitness fans looking to stay active on camping holidays, especially if wild swimming is on the cards – yes, the Spark 3 is water-resistant to 40m. A Route Exploration feature can help you find your tent again, should you get lost, with onboard storage for 500+ songs soundtracking your steps, all logged by 24/7 Activity Tracking. £219.99, tomtom.com
02BioLite CampStove 2
It’s not the owls keeping you awake at night, but the thought of running out of smartphone juice. You needn’t worry when armed with a BioLite CampStove 2, because this lightweight burner turns fire into electricity. Excess heat from the stove’s flame generates power, sending it to a built-in battery and USB port to charge your phone. 20 minutes of burn time provide an hour of battery, so get that water boiling! £135, snowandrock.com
03TP- LINK M7350 4G MOBILE ROUTER
Create your own Wi-Fi hotspot with TP-Link’s clever mobile router. A built-in 3G/4G modem means you can insert a 4G SIM (bought separately) into the router to establish a dual-band Wi-Fi hotspot in the wild. 4G support provides up to 150Mbps download speeds, enabling you to watch HD films or play games in your tent without any with buffering. £69.99, maplin.co.uk
the expert Claire Davies
Associate Editor Claire Davies gets hands-on with outdoors kit for T3, and has camped at many of the UK’s beauty spots. Here she rounds up key pieces of gear to help Jim get his gadget fix.
04 OOMPH PORTABL E COFFEE MAKER
Treat yourself to perfect coffee, regardless of how remote your camping spot is, with Oomph, a hand-powered portable coffee maker designed by a genuine coffee engineer. This handsome, easy-clean gadget, which doubles as an insulated travel cup, brews velvety smooth coffee in under two minutes, holding up to 13oz at once. £42, the-oomph.com
05HEIMPLANET MOTION ARC 20L
Taking a ton of tech on your camping trip? Stash it neatly inside Heimplanet’s dashing Motion Arc backpack, designed with a 15-inch laptop compartment and a water-resistant floating inner liner to keep smaller gadgets and clothing dry, should the heavens open. 3D-molded padding on the back and shoulder straps makes it super comfy to wear as you trek around, too. €135 (£117.80), heimplanet.com
06VANGO ROCKET 120 BLUETOOTH LANTERN
Featuring a built-in speaker and CREE LEDs, Vango’s robust Bluetooth lantern pumps out sound and a brilliant white light at either 40 or 120 lumens, depending on which setting (high or low) you choose. The Rocket 120’s built-in rechargeable battery can be juiced up via your car’s adapter, delivering 16 hours of battery life on a low setting or six hours on high. £50, vango.co.uk