These outdoor gadgets are perfect gift ideas for this holiday season.
Everyone has at least one person in their lives who is nearly impossible to shop for during the holidays. While they may have a love of the outdoors, finding an outdoor product they need but don't already have can be quite the challenge.
You can go the usual route and buy them simple upgrades to stuff they already have, or you can think outside the box and come up with some unique gift ideas for things they never knew they needed.
Fortunately, we have some ideas for some unique new outdoor gadgets we have been introduced to this past year here at Wide Open Spaces. All of them have a practical use that your hard-to-shop for person is sure to appreciate.
Zeus Portable Jump Starter and USB Charger
As much as we like to get away from modern conveniences in the great outdoors, it's always helpful to have a power supply for your cell phones and other outdoor gadgets. The Zeus, from Uncharted Supply Co., is a 20,000 mAh battery jumper that can jump start large vehicles if you're stranded deep in the wilderness. That makes it a great safety device. The Zeus has two USB charging ports to help bring cell phones back to full power and it can also be used to bring drained power tools and other battery-operated equipment back online. It even has a built-in flashlight. It's also extremely compact. Uncharted packages this device in a nice carrying case that will fit nicely into a glove box or under a car seat until it's needed.
Pedco Tripods
Many outdoorsmen and women love photography. One way to make their shots better is to use a tripod. However, most tripods are bulky and not suited for long treks into the backcountry. That's not the case with Pedco's line of tripods feature vinyl feet to help keep them stable anywhere and they can be mounted almost everywhere. These tripods handle everything from the latest and greatest in DSLR cameras to a simple cell phone. The other great thing is the weight, which makes them perfect for backpacking. Many of these tripods come in at five ounces or under. Their latest offering, the Ultrapod 3 Tripod weighs just 3.2 ounces, yet can handle a 10-pound camera with ease.
VSSL Flashlight Kits
Travis Smola
We got the chance to review these awesome flashlights earlier this year and they are still some of our favorite new pieces of outdoor gear in 2020. The concept is simple, fill a hollow flashlight body with first aid or survival gear and you've got a great emergency kit for a variety of outdoor scenarios. Bandages, gauze, disinfectant, thermometers, fire starters, fishing gear, water purification equipment and even fishing gear are packed into these kits. The 200-lumen light has three modes including an SOS flasher. VSSL wastes no space with these flashlights, which is why they fitted an oil-filled compass into the opposite end. We have quickly made these flashlights our go-to for all our outdoor adventures this season.
UCO Flatpack Grill & Firepit
We love grilling our meals when we're out camping in the great outdoors, but we hate how bulky many grills are. Most aren't built with space savings and weight in mind, but that's all changed with the UCO Flatpack portable grill and fire pit. As the name implies, this stainless steel grill folds down flat, down to only 1.5 inches thick to be precise. That's slim enough to slip behind a car seat, into storage in an RV or even into a larger backpack. The grill sets up in only 30 seconds and the sides act perfectly as a wind break. You can use this grill not just as a place to prep meals, but also as a fire pit in areas that don't allow the digging of a fire area. It's a nifty little device and for only $40, that's a hard price to beat.
Pocket Shot 3 Piece Takedown Arrows
The folks at Pocket Shot are constantly pushing the envelope and coming up with new and unique ideas to improve their line of compact slingshots. A few years ago, they introduced arrow-shooting capabilities to this unique product. However, they weren't content to stop there. After all, arrows are long, and harder to store in a small pack or vehicle without them getting in the way. The solution was to build these three-piece takedown arrows that come apart and store much more easily. Now you can keep the Pocket Shot and the arrow ammo stored in the same place on a boat, float plane or even in your pickup as a nifty little survival item that's always there if you need it in a pinch.
UCO Gear Sprout Mini Camping Lantern
Help light up the night for the camper in your life with this impressive little lantern. We got the chance to test the Gear Sprout+ a while back and came away thoroughly impressed with the battery life and light provided by such a tiny lantern. When we say this thing is small, we're not kidding. It comes in at just 2.5 inches across by 1.8 inches high and weighs less than three ounces. Yet it puts out 100 lumens of light that lasts for hours on end. It's also powered two ways, via a rechargeable LI-ION battery or three standard AAAs. It's perfect for backcountry backpackers and through-hikers that need a good light that's not going to take up a ton of space in their pack.
PepperBall Life Lite Mobile
For those concerned with self-protection but nervous about carrying firearms, this non-lethal Pepperball LifeLite Mobile launches projectiles from as far as 40 feet away. It has a laser sight, built-in flashlight, and a large, easy-to-employ trigger. We'd recommend it for home protection, nighttime walks, or an on-the-go safety measure.
Hunter's Kloak Gen 2 Kloak Mister
For the hunter in your life, scent control is an important part of a successful hunt. Help make things easier for them with the Gen 2 Kloak Mister. This small, but portable misting device intermittently releases a small mist of cover or attractant scent to either hide the hunter from the deer or to help lure one into range. This system is simple and far less messy than using traditional bottled cover scents. It will help these types of products go further because the cartridges last up to 4.5 hours each, making it a far more efficient use of scent.
For more outdoor content from Travis Smola, be sure to follow him on Twitter and check out his Geocaching and Outdoors with Travis YouTube channels.
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