Best traveling tech and camping gear in 2020: Make your outdoor vacation more comfortable

Are you headed to the woods this summer — to avoid the crowds but still get in some R&R? Well, there are tech gadgets that can make your trip to the outdoors more comfortable. There are even items you may not be able to manage without. For instance, here are useful gadgets that not only make your life easier while traveling but can make your camping trip fabulous.

Wacaco Pipamoka portable coffee maker

Wacaco

The Pipamoka coffee maker works a little like a french press — only in reverse. Fill the reusable micro-filter capsule with good ground coffee, fill the cup with boiling water, and drop the capsule into the cup. Screw the lid on and wait a couple of minutes.

Then, slowly screw the bezel away from the cup. The screw thread lifts up the capsule through the coffee, forcing water through the grounds. When you get to the top of the thread, lift the screw thread off the coffee, and enjoy.

The cup has a sealable lid and double insulated walls to keep your coffee hot. It will only make about half a pint of coffee, however, so if you want a second cup in the campsite, you’ll need to keep that kettle hot.

$50 at Amazon

Jackery Solar Generator Explorer

Jackery

To power all of your gadgets, you need a power charger that will cope with anything and last for a long time. The Jackery Solar Generator Explorer portable power station will power anything rated under 500W. It will charge your phone over 20 times, or your laptop three times.

It will even power a 60W TV for 3 hours. Plugged into a power source, the Jackery will take about 8 hours to fully charge. Keep it topped up just in case you have a power outage and need to keep on working for the rest of the day

$499 at Amazon

Chakor 120W portable foldable panel

Chakor

The Chakor portable folding solar panel charger provides a 120W output from its solar array that can charge up to 3 amps in direct sunlight.

Unfolded, its 56-in x 16-in panels can be adjusted to catch the sun’s rays and charge your devices. It comes with two USB ports and a variety of connectors

$210 at Amazon

Mylivell fingerless gloves with LED torches

My Livelli

If head torches aren’t your thing, then try these Mylivell fingerless gloves with LED torches attached to the index finger and thumb. Now you will be able to see exactly what you are doing with your hands in low-light conditions. If you have trouble reading in bed, these gloves will let you under the covers in the dark.

$14 at Amazon

Alpicool CF55 refrigerator

Alpicool

Forget the ice box when you go on trips and serve your drinks nicely cold from a proper refrigerator like the Alpicool. It plugs into your car and will carry up to 60 cans of drink or 18 bottles of wine.

You can also use it as a freezer instead of a fridge. If your campervan only has a tiny fridge, this also works well as a fridge extender for your salad vegetables, freeing up your main fridge for the important stuff.

$359 at Amazon

lcfun rechargeable and waterproof lighter

Lcfun

Wild camping often means wild weather, so it is useful to be able to light a fire — whatever the wind is doing. The lcfun is a rechargeable lighter that uses plasma arcs to light a fire and is waterproof and windproof. It holds a charge for a while and takes less than 30 minutes to fully charge.

$16 at Amazon

Katadyn Vario

Katadyn

The Katadyn water filter has three filters that can filter up to two quarts per minute of continuous water flow with its handheld pump. It uses activated carbon granules, ceramic, and glass fibre filters depending on the water flow required and the cloudiness of the supply water.

$95 at Amazon

Atomic Bear

You never know when you are going to need one of the useful tools provided in the Atomic Bear paracord bracelet.

The bracelet includes a compass, whistle, knife, flint steel fire starter, and 12 feet of paracord that is adjustable for whatever wrist size. Even if you do not go trekking, this bracelet will make you look like you do.

$13 at Amazon

Pumteck rechargeable electric air pump

Pumteck

Pump up your airbed with this Pumteck rechargeable electric air pump. It will inflate and deflate quickly and will inflate up to 0.65 PSI. Inside the box, there is a variety of nozzles and a USB charger.

Its 4,000mAh battery means that it can be recharged from your portable phone charger or portable battery charger. You do not need to connect it to the car to inflate your items — which is really useful if you are camping some distance from your vehicle.

$26 at Amazon

CompuClever memory foam pillow

CompuClever

If the rigours of camping leaves you with sleepless nights, invest in this memory phone camping pillow from CompuClever. It is only 17 x 5 inches yet it will easily roll up for storage.

It is a really useful pillow to support your neck while you sleep. You can also use this as a lower back pillow when sitting during long journeys.

$21 at Amazon

Runacc camping LED light bug zapper

Runacc

Attract annoying mosquitoes, bugs, and other flying pests to this flashlight bug zapper. Hang it in your tent to provide light for the critters so that they focus on the light instead of biting you.

$26 at Amazon

Pena multi-tool bracelet

Pena

The Pena multi-tool bracelet combines 29 different tools such as ring spanners, screwdrivers, hex wrenches, and bottle openers. A really useful gadget for people who put tools down and then forget where they left them.

$39 at Amazon

Assaber 13-in-1

Assaber

To make absolutely certain that you will have everything you will need for survival, the Assaber survival kit combines emergency equipment such as a compass, with useful tools such as a rule measure, carabiner, and even a pen and survival blanket for those “just in case” moments.

$28 at Amazon