Give yourself a well-deserved pat on the back for making it through another winter season. As we head into March, the time is coming to dust off the hiking boots, surfboard, or mountain bike and take in the clean, crisp, and ever-warming air offered by early spring.
We created a Mini Gear Guide to help you start this year’s outdoor adventure activities on the right foot:
The 24-ounce Water Filtration Bottle allows you to fill and drink instantly from freshwater lakes, streams, rivers, or while traveling. It includes Sawyer’s high performance 0.1 micron absolute hollow fiber membrane filter, which removes 99.99999% of all bacteria, such as salmonella, cholera and E.coli, 99.9999% of all protozoa, such as giardia and cryptosporidium, and 100% of microplastics. The kit includes a 24-ounce BPA free Tritan bottle, cap that fits standard wide mouth bottles, the dual threaded Mini Filter, and a backwash syringe. Use it for hiking, backpacking, camping and emergency preparedness, and travel. $36
A lightweight, versatile personal filtration system, the second-generation Sawyer MINI Water Filter fits in the palm of your hand and has a total field weight of just 2 ounces. Perfect for everything from camping with the kids to traveling abroad where tap and bottle water can’t be trusted, the tiny MINI provides 0.1 micron absolute filtration for clean drinking water on-the-go, filtering out bacteria, protozoa and microplastics. $21
A phone GPS may do the trick for most outings, but for off-grid wilderness adventures, you need to bring out the big guns. The Garmin 700 GPS Montana is built to withstand everything nature can throw at it. The durable, water-resistant handheld is tested to U.S. military standards and features a glove-friendly 5” touchscreen that’s 50% larger than previous Montana models. Add in features like topoactive maps, public land boundaries, satellite views, ABC sensors, active weather forecasts and a pre-loaded trail finding app, and you have an essential piece of tech for hikers, hunters, cross-country cyclists or any outdoor enthusiast. $600
The Unibank Power Bank offers the power of energy in any situation. Pulling the cord for just 90 seconds can give you 25 minutes of talk time on a typical smartphone. As well as its built-in LED torch and unique pull & power charger, Unibank offers a choice of a portable ambient light, wireless speaker, panic alarm, and laser measure attachments — all controlled from an intuitive, free app. Perfect for camping and hiking, the Power Bank is also an indispensable tool to keep in the glove compartment in case of emergency. $100
Keep your home secure will you’re out adventuring.
The SwitchBot Lock is a smart lock option that requires no refitting, so users can control their door to open or lock remotely via smartphone or Apple Watch. SwitchBot Lock uses 3M VHB to stick to the door and has a thumb-turn adapter to control the thumb-turn to lock or unlock. It also has an automated lock feature so that when you leave your house, the door will automatically lock. Of course, it wouldn’t be a true smart device without remote control and voice assistant support.
By adding a SwitchBot Hub Mini, users can control unlock or lock remotely to let a family member or a friend in during long hikes and camping getaways. SwitchBot is compatible with most deadbolt locks. $104
