Skip to main content

Gear Up: The Manual’s Summer Camping Essentials

Now that summer is officially in full swing, it’s time to gear up for all the warm weather adventures you’ll soon be having. We’ve come across a slew of incredible new outdoor gear in the past year, so to help you get prepared for your next trip, we took some time to round up a few of our favorite products.

1. Gerber Bear Grylls Survival Knife – Regardless of what you think about Bear Grylls, this knife is awesome. Inside the blade’s rubberized handle there’s a flint firestarter, which, if struck against a steel surface (like the back of the blade) will send off a burst of sparks. You might not need the flint on every trip, but on the off chance that your lighter runs out of fuel, you’ll be glad you’ve got it as a backup.

Recommended Videos

2. SteriPen Adventurer – If you want the confidence of knowing your water is safe to drink, but don’t want the nasty taste of iodine, the tediousness of reverse osmosis pumps, or the  arduousness of boiling it first, then get yourself a SteriPen. These badboys use high intensity ultraviolet light to kill 99.99 percent of waterborne illnesses in just a few seconds.

3. ECOxBT Waterproof Speaker – take your tunes along for the trip with Grace Digital’s ECOxBT wireless bluetooth speaker. This thing is waterproof, dustproof, shockproof, completely buoyant and self-righting, and holds a charge for up to 10 hours. The sound quality is pretty good too.

4. NiteIze Reflective Rope – Tripping on your tent’s guylines in the dark will be a thing of the past if you pick up a length of this awesome rope from NiteIze. It’s woven with super reflective material into it, so even just a tiny bit of moonlight makes it shimmer and stand out in an otherwise pitch black campsite.

5. Kammok Roo Hammock – Woven with Kammok’s proprietary diamond ripstop fabric called LunarWave, the Roo backpacking hammock is lighter and more durable than most camping hammocks on the market, and also packs down into a package no bigger than the palm of your hand.

6. Shwood Ashland Sunglasses – Shades are a must when you’re out in the summer sun for extended periods of time, and while any pair of shades will likely get the job done, this pair of wooden specs from Shwood will protect your pupils with style. The tri-layered zebrawood frames just seem fitting for a woodland environment.

7. Kaufmann Mercantile EDC Kit – Face it: assuming you drive there, you’re probably going to have to bring your keys along on any trip you’re planning, so why not make them useful instead of just extra weight tucked away in a pocket? This rugged little keychain from Kaufmann Mercantile features a bunch of useful tools that’ll come in handy in the backcountry, including a capsule lighter to get your campfire going and a pair of needle-nose tweezers that’s great for loosening up tight knots.

8. NeverWet Waterproofer – Unsure about the weather you might encounter out in the wilderness? Just pack a couple cans of this stuff and you won’t have to bother packing along GoreTex. This superhydrophobic spray can be used on anything – tents, clothes, boots, backpacks, matches, and basically anything else you might need to keep dry.

9. Vipukirves Leveraxe – Summer camping means summer campfires, so you’d better be prepared to split some wood this season. This Finnish-made axe improves on the design of the traditional splitting axe by using a lightweight, off-center axe head that splits wood more efficiently. Check out the video to see it in action.

10. Ceramic Growler – Let’s not kid ourselves here; if you’re going camping, you’re probably bringing beer. If you plan on packing brew along, skip the six packs full of bottles and grab yourself a growler. This one, made by Portland Growler Co, features thick ceramic walls and a rubber seal, ensuring that your brew stays cold and contained no matter where you go. When it’s all said and done and you don’t have to pack a bunch of empty bottles out of your campsite, you’ll be glad you picked one of these things up.

11. BioLite Campstove – ditch your climate-killing gas campstove and hop on the biofuel bandwagon with this awesome little stove from BioLite. It runs on nothing more than twigs and bits of wood, can boil a liter of water in just under 4 mintues, and also features a thermoelectric generator that can charge up your USB-powered gadgets with all the waste heat the stove creates.

12. Earl Backcountry Survival Tablet – Sure, you probably don’t need this, but you definitely want this. Think of Earl as a map, compass, GPS unit, weather station, two-way radio, and survival manual all rolled into a thin, durable, and lightweight slate. In addition to being completely waterproof/dustproof/shockproof, it can be charged just about anywhere via the twin solar panels on its backplate.

Did we leave out any of your favorite backcountry gear? Tell us about it in the comments below!

Drew Prindle
Drew is our resident tech nerd. He’s spent most of his life trying to be James Bond, so naturally he’s developed an…
Beginner’s guide to cigar shapes and sizes — and why they matter
Why your cigar choice says more about you than your watch (and how to pick the perfect one)
A collection of cigars

Walking into a cigar shop and facing what seems like a million options is enough to make anyone panic. Cigars stacked everywhere, each with a strange name, size, and a slightly different shape from the last one. If you haven't done this before, it's tempting to just grab something, anything, and run!But hold on a second. Those shapes actually matter. They aren't just there to look fancy or make things confusing. The size and shape change the whole experience of smoking that cigar – how it tastes, burns, and feels. It's kind of like how driving a tiny sports car is way different than driving a big truck. Both get you where you're going, but the experience along the way is not the same.

What are cigar vitolas?

Read more
The writer of one of Netflix’s biggest drama is taking on James Bond next
We still don't know who will star in this new installment.
James Bond at a casino

The news that Denis Villeneuve would be taking on the next James Bond film was certainly exciting for many, and as we continue to speculate about who might take over as 007, we're also learning more about who else will be working behind the scenes on the film.

We now know that Steven Knight, the writer behind Peaky Blinders, will be writing the next Bond movie. While Knight is best known for his work on TV, which includes Peaky Blinders and the recent Stephen Graham series A Thousand Blows, he's also the writer behind Spencer and Maria.

Read more
Every new Game of Thrones spinoff explained
George R.R. Martin's television world continues to grow
Matt Smith starring in House of the Dragon

When it first aired on HBO in the early 2010s, Game of Thrones dazzled audiences with revolutionary special effects and terrific acting in a unique fantasy world. Based on author George R.R. Martin's series of novels, the universe depicts the battles between several different noble families as they try to climb to the top of the continent of Westeros, both politically and figuratively. The war scenes, family drama, and massive number of characters helped make the story feel fresh and new every time a new episode aired.

As Martin's attention shifted to television and away from his books, fans have looked to the TV series to finish some of the stories he couldn't finish on the page. Game of Thrones left fans wanting more, despite its poorly received finale, and a plethora of spinoffs are on the way. House of the Dragon already has two seasons completed, and there are several others in the coming years to look forward to.
House of the Dragon
House of the Dragon finished its second season in 2024. The show chronicles the heated family dynamics of the Targaryen empire almost two centuries before the events of Game of Thrones. The third season should pick up the civil war between Queen Rhaenyra's forces and King Aegon's after a slow-building conflict throughout the second act.

Read more