LAST WEEKEND saw more than 60 teams take on the Focus Ireland Four Peaks Challenge, including a group of us, let’s say, more mature walkers. That our team was called Midlife Crisis will tell you plenty. Here are a few tools that we should have brought along with us for the challenge:
CamelBak Flow Meter
CamelBak is well known for hydration packs, water reservoirs that you carry in your backpack or as a standalone wearable unit, with a tube that lets you drink as you walk, cycle or pant. That’s where its new Flow Meter comes in.
Attach it to your drinking tube and an LCD display shows how much you’ve had and what’s left in your tank. You can set it up based on weight and it’ll calculate your so-called hydration goal. It’s part of what CamelBak calls intelligent hydration. What’s certainly intelligent is not to run out of water when you’re
walking the hills. And any excuse to get a new piece of gear is a good one.
The Flow Meter itself is about the size of your thumb and attaching it is simple. Made for CamelBaks, it’ll fit any similar diameter tubing.
Of course, there’s always the very smallest chance it may also get “tested” in the pub après outing for some less intelligent hydration.
CostUnder €40 (camelbak.com)
Steripen Adventurer Opti UV Water Purifier
Continuing the hydration theme, here’s a gadget that certainly isn’t just for outdoors types. The Steripen Adventurer Opti (we geeks do love a multi-syllabic name) uses UV light to zap all the nasty bacteria, viruses and protozoa in water to make it safe to drink.
It couldn’t be easier to use. Turn it on, stick it in the container of water, it glows purple and a timer indicates when it’s done. Ninety seconds is all it takes to purify a litre. That’s a very short time to sidestep potential gastric meltdown. Say no more.
The Adventurer’s mini UV lightsaber is effective against 99.9 per cent of micro-organisms, including such beauties as giardia, cholera, hepatitis and salmonella. So this is perfect for suspect tap water in sub-Saharan Africa or South America as for a stream up an Irish mountainside.
Like all the best toys, even serious ones, batteries are included and the UV lamp is good for up to 8,000 zaps. There’s even a built-in LED for a useful map-reading, keyhole-finding torch.
Cost$99.95/€81.27 (amazon.com, steripen.com)
Powermonkey eXplorer Solar, Mains USB Charger
We’ve no end of personal electronics to haul away with us on trips nowadays. And what’s not to love about that. But keeping everything juiced up can be an issue.
Powermonkey is a leading players in the whole power on the go arena, however this is one of their most usefully flexible units. (That’s another regular symptom of gadgetitis, the mid-word cApital.) This can charge your kit by solar power, as an adapter off the mains in 150 countries or through a USB. It comes with a whole family of tips to fit everything from iPods to PSPs and DSs, as well as phones from Nokia and Samsung among others.
The eXplorer’s casing is rubberised to take a bit of robust handling and comes in a selection of colours, because you really wouldn’t want the social horror of having mismatched electronics. A Velcro strap allows it to be hung it off your rucksack or out of your car window to charge on the go. And there’s also a neat companion piece, the UV Monkey, that tells you how much UV the sun’s giving out to optimise solar charging. Or just to get on more slap.
CostPowermonkey eXplorer from €75, UV Monkey €2.50 (53 Degrees North, Dublin).