Inspect a gadget - this season's best camping gadgets and accessories

Camping gadgets come and go, but we reckon there’s a few on this list that may well make it into your kit forever, whether you’re off to a festival or heading out into the great wild yonder. So if you’re the kind of camper who appreciates an impromptu barbecue, a real espresso or a nifty lighting idea, then read on - we might have just the thing for you…

#1 Content & Calm ‘Cot Canopy’

The Content & Calm Cot Canopy™ is a lightweight portable canopy that fits over all standard cots and travel cots to provide the darkness and consistent environment that helps babies and toddlers to sleep well, even when the lights are on, or the sun is streaming through the windows. 

In just 3 simple steps, the canopy attaches to the top of the cot or travel cot and you take your baby in and out in the usual way. Designed with travel in mind, it simply packs up into its neat little carry bag. The clever design allows you to adapt the level of darkness to whatever suits your baby best. There’s an inside layer of darkened mesh that provides darkness and acts as a brilliant insect net – always useful on campsites in summer. The outer layer is lightweight and breathable and provides additional darkness if needed.

£99.99 RRP from www.contentandcalm.com

#2  Mathmos 9 VOLTS LED Battery Light 

These nifty little tea-light alternatives designed by Richard Lawson create a soft, ambient glow unlike some other LED camping lanterns, which can be a bit harsh. The Mathmos 9 VOLTS incorporates a tilt switch - stand up to turn on and lie down to turn off, and they work with regular or rechargeable batteries. They are completely safe for use inside a tent, and are perfect for adding atmosphere to your campsite supper. They also refuse to blow out in a breeze, and let’s face it – who doesn’t have a spare 9V battery kicking around from the 2-pack you bought for your smoke alarm?

£13 RRP (£6.50 special offer) from www.mathmos.co.uk

#3  Handpresso Wild Outdoor Set 

 Just because you're camping or hiking doesn't mean you have to forgo that all important morning espresso. This invention allows you to easily brew up an excellent shot of fresh espresso (with a perfect crema, obviously) whether you're just in the park or half way up a mountain in a tent. Super light-weight and portable, the Handpresso Wild prepares a tasty espresso using a patented high pressure extraction system.

This elegantly designed set is ideal for all espresso enthusiasts. It is the very essence of the nomadic espresso experience. Included in the set is your own Handpresso Wild, 4 'unbreakable' espresso cups, 2 travel mats and your very own thermo-insulated flask.

£135 RRP from www.handpresso.co.uk

#4 Griffin AirCurve Acoustic Amplifier

Perfect for camping or festivals, this completely passive amplifying device enables you to listen to the music on your iPhone at a decent volume, without sapping your battery.  Simply whack your iPhone in this dinky dock and marvel at how it takes sound from the built-in speaker, amplifies it by about 10dB and chucks it out into the room – or in this case, your tent. No batteries or power required.

 £12.99 RRP from  www.iworld.co.uk

#5  Grilliput 

 This is the smallest, most compact barbeque on the market – it can even fit in your pocket. The Grilliput is a very clever piece of design, this compact camping grill is small enough to be stashed anywhere, but opens up into a sturdy 23cm x 26cm BBQ. Made from high quality stainless steel, it's completely dishwasher friendly and even has a cleaning groove notched in it so you can scrape off the grill before you pack it up. Perfect for camping, the Grilliput would be an attractive addition to any campsite this summer. Add the uber-portable fire bowl to your kit, and you can host a pop-up BBQ anywhere!

£29.99 RRP (grill and firebowl) from www.iwantoneofthose.com

 #6  Solar Fairy Lights

Here’s yet another reason to pray for some sunshine whenever you go camping or find yourself at an outdoor event.   These fairy lights will help bring a little bit of that festival vibe right into your tent.  Who says the night has to end when you’re back in your sleeping bag?  The lights are 100% solar powered, so all that’s required is some direct light on the solar panel during the day, and they will sparkle all night.  Just clip the panel onto the top of your tent, and let the rays do the rest!  These lights also have super green credentials - As a rule of thumb, I say you can never have too many fairy lights, but beware of the moths…and late night ravers.

£29.99 RRP from www.thesolarcentre.co.uk

#7  Rite in the Rain 

Developed way back in the 1920s, this 100% recyclable paper is a patented substrate created for use in soggy outdoor writing situations. Just use an ‘all-weather pen’ (pencil) – and hey presto, no more squelchy scribblings, damp drivel or smudged sentences. (Bad poetry may still look decidedly wet).

Journal - £6.99 RRP

Field book - £16.99 RRP

both from www.riteintherain.com

#8  SEATRIEVER Waterbuoy
  

As seen on Dragon’s Den, this amazing device can rescue up to 1kg of your most precious gadgetry from the depths of the ocean.  Never fear losing anything overboard again.  When this device hits water, the buoy instantly inflates a balloon from a gas chamber, bringing your gear to the surface and saving it from Davy Jones’ pesky locker.

Waterbuoy is the world’s first and strongest intelligent, miniature flotation device that is also visible at night.  The Waterbuoy can be attached to anything under 1Kg in weight, including: keys, GPS units, cameras, PDAs, Mobile phones, radio receivers, fishing tackle and portable radios. 

£9.99 RRP from www.blacks.co.uk

#9    YETI ‘Sherpa’ 65 litre Ice Box from the Cool Ice Box Company 

 These guys call themselves ‘The coolest icebox company’, and with puns of that calibre, how can you possibly resist?

A great size for the average family, these super-tough boxes will keep your food and drink fresh and cool while camping. Made from roto-moulded UV polyethylene (the same material as those indestructible kayaks used for white water rafting), these ice boxes have recently been certified as grizzly bear proof by a US Forestry Agency committee…which is a comfort when camping in Devon.  They promise to keep their contents cold for up to 10 days using no gas or electric power.  All you need to do is pre-chill the box using the medical-grade gel ice packs, which will then stay frozen for 3 days! You can even buy extras, such as a non-slip mat to transform the box into a useful surface for preparing or eating food, or a fitted cushion for when extra tent seating is required.

£176.95 RRP (accessories and ice packs sold separately) from www.coolicebox.co.uk

#10  Barbecue Frying Pan 

We’ve all done it – lovingly marinating and preparing a beautiful prawn or scallop before placing it tenderly on the barbecue, only to watch helplessly as it falls between the griddle and meets its fiery end on the white hot coals.  This clever pan will put an end to harrowing barbecue tales like these!  Just remember not to use it for your fry up when you get home…

Durable, with easy-clean enamel coating.

£11.99 RRP from www.lakeland.co.uk

#10 ½  All-in-One Cutlery Set 

Never find yourself with four knives and only one fork again with these interlocking cutlery sets.

The All-in-One Cutlery Set slots neatly together so knife, fork and spoon are always on hand. Pop it in your pocket or camping kit, and be prepared for any impromptu, alfresco dining situation.

£1.29 (per set) RRP from www.lakeland.co.uk

And one for the future… Biolite

BioLite is a revolutionary stove that makes cooking on wood as clean, safe and easy as modern fuels while generating enough electricity to charge cell phones and LED lights off-grid.

Consider the humble camping stove. It requires fuel - perhaps some unwieldy bottle that air carriers object strongly to. Maybe it needs batteries to run a fan, or billows out smoke so you smell like smoked sweatshirt for the rest of the trip. The solution might be the BioLite stove - it's a collapsible wood-burning cook stove that uses almost any forest-found fuel and converts its own heat energy into electricity to achieve efficient combustion with ultra-low emissions.

The stove itself operates by utilizing the "woodgas" principal, whereby the thin gas layer that burns around a solid fuel is separated and added to oxygen to burn more efficiently. The BioLite power pack captures wasted heat energy from the fire and converts it to electricity via a thermoelectric generator (TEG). This is then used to power a fan which pushes oxygen into the chamber creating hotter, cleaner more efficient combustion.