From my experience, most men have this fantasy of some sort of road trip, or of camping in the wilderness, that will enable them to access their survival instincts and abilities. It’s perfectly natural (no pun intended!), but the civilized homo sapiens nowadays would have a hard time adapting to harsh living conditions, so every now and then he needs a little help making his way through the jungle/forest/backyard.
With this in mind, here are some cool gadgets and tools every guy would love to own:
1. A flashlight
The Panasonic BF-BM10 Any Battery Light
Now this is what we call an awesome flashlight, its only drawback being that it would take up a bit too much space in your backpack. It measures 12.5 x 13.5 inches (h x d), but you can hold it by the handle, so it’s not that difficult to carry around.
The Panasonic Any Battery Light has compartments for AAA, AA, C and D batteries, but it won’t make use of all of them at the same time; instead, you can use the rotating power switch to move from one battery to another once they’re emptied. This flashlight can be powered for 86 hours, so if you haven’t settled into the woods for the rest of your life, this will help you for many nights.
It was released in January this year, so we couldn’t find a reliable store that sells it, but it is expected to retail at about $50.
2. A first aid kit
Care Plus® First Aid Kit Basic
We know you’re no stranger to this rule. No traveler should leave home without a basic first aid kit. It’s better to prevent than to heal, but sometimes life just happens and we have to be prepared for all situations.
You can probably buy a first aid kit at any local pharmacy, but as far as we’re concerned, we’re super excited about this company we just found out about, called Care Plus, which offers a wide and nicely put together range of aid kits, for different purposes and situations. They specifically provide travel healthcare products, thus focusing on a number of health issues that may appear during your trips. They are a company based in the Netherlands, but have stores in other European countries as well.
The basic aid kit that we’re showing you here is suitable for people taking a short trip and who need the basic equipment. Its dimensions are 9 x 4 x 16 cm and it weighs only 166 grams.
I strongly recommend checking out the rest of the website, I think you’ll find some interesting health products.
3. A multi-tool
The Mo-Tool Wood Inlay Axe
We realize that when you’re out and about in the wilderness it’s all about functionality, but we thought a handsome multi-tool wouldn’t harm. This Mo-Tool could make a great – manly, but elegant gift, with its handcrafted red oak handle and a belt pouch for easy carrying. It includes: axe, hammer, wrench, straight knife, serrated knife, saw, flat head screwdriver, Phillips screwdriver, can opener, pliers, wire cutter, file.
You can purchase it off Amazon, for $30.61 http://amzn.to/Y4dM1l
4. Fire starting kit
There are a lot of companies selling this kind of kits, so we were torn on this one. We liked two products in particular, so we had to choose between versatility and durability.
The first kit is the cheap one, but it incorporates flint, whistle, compass, saw, and ruler. In our opinion, it looks a bit poorly made, but at this price you can easily buy 2 or 3 pieces to have in case on of them breaks.
The price is $3.99 http://bit.ly/YZfB31
The second fire starter kit that we chose looks a bit more sturdy, so this is the ideal product if you don’t need the compass or the other tools that the other one incorporates. The price is higher, but this will last you a long time.
You can purchase it here http://bit.ly/Xju7SG for $20 (£13.27)
5. Water purification kit
The LifeStraw Personal Water Filter
This is an amazing device that will be of help when you’re traveling or camping and you want to drink from a lake or river, but you’re not sure of how clean the water really is. This straw has a filter that removes 99.9999% of waterborne bacteria and 99.9% of waterborne protozoan parasites. It’s very lightweight, easy to clean and very durable. Plus, it can filter up to 264 gallons (1,000 liters) of water.
Keeping all this in mind, we think it’s well-worth the $19.95 it retails to. You can read more about it and buy it here http://bit.ly/r7nP90
To this list we add… another list of basics you will need for your trips. Here are some other tools that MUST have a place in your backpack:
- A sturdy rope
- A sleeping bag and/or a tent
- All-weather matches
- A compass/ GPS/ map
- Signalizing objects, like a well polished piece of aluminum that will reflect light and a strong whistle
- FOOD! Dry food that won’t spoil, for example cereal/protein bars