5 useful gadgets for trekkers

Not so long ago holidays meant going to destinations with plush hotels and gigantic malls to shop imported clothes and shoes But gradually our definition of a holiday has changed thanks to our frenetic pace of life Now rather than seeking materialistic comfort most of us prefer to have some metime where we can reconnect with natureOn my last work trip to Taipei all I wanted to do was spend some time trekking So as soon as my work finished I packed my backpack with some basic necessities and set off to the jungles And as I realised during the trek here are some absolute musthave gadgets that can help you make the most of your nature tripsSuunto Ambit2 Rs 16000 onwardAvailable in various models depending on your budget and requirements Ambit2 range from Suunto is a GPS Altimeter and a training monitor all built into a wristwatch The watch has a fullfeatured GPS with location in multi coordinate systems waypoints and route navigationIt lets you plan your route mark point of interest along the way and retrace the route if you get lost To repeat the route at a later date you can select it and let the watch lead you The Suunto Ambit2 features an Altimeter that can measure GPS altitudes the total ascent and total descentIt can also measure vertical speed and produce an altitude graph for your reference The watch is equipped with a weather detection function wherein it can measure Barometric pressure temperature and when paired with its App give SunriseSunset timings sound Strom alarms and give tidal informationThe training monitor measures the GPSbased speed pace and distance covered When paired with its own heart rate monitor band the Ambit2 lets you set heart rate limits make graphs in real time and measure peak training effects and recovery timeLifeStraw Rs 750LifeStraw neither has a battery nor is it rechargeable Yet it can be the one thing that can save your life when you run out of water in your bottle It is a Water Filter designed to be used by one personYou cam simply put this in your empty water bottle and put water into the bottle from any source that might be available like a stream or a river or simply drink directly from these sources using the LifeStrawIt can purify up to 1000 litres of water filtering down to 02 microns and removes almost all bacteria and parasites LifeStraw has a shelf life of up to five years so it can be stored at room temperature and be reused for your next tripDivoom Bluetune Bean Rs 1999Nothing enhances the pleasure of walking in a jungle more than listening to your choice of music Bean from Divoom is a Bluetooth speaker that can connect to any of your Bluetoothenabled device to stream music on the goA carabiner is included in the pack which can be attached to its metallic loop and in turn hung on the loop of your backpack or your belt loop The rubberised shell makes it a sturdy outdoor companion Its rechargeable lithium ndash ion battery can deliver up to six hours of music playbackThe Speakerphone capability also makes it a great handsfree for your phone The bean charges via a USB port so you can simply connect it to your battery pack for two hours for a full rechargeInstax Mini 90 Fujifilm US 150 Rs 12500Instant gratification in retro style is what this camera is all about Instax Mini 90 from Fujifilm is a Polaroid camera that looks like something out of the bygone era with its metal and leather bodyLoading the film in this set of 10 instant film cards is as simple as opening the back door of the camera and dropping the pack inside The camera has two shutter buttons for easy use one for taking vertical shots and one for landscapesThere are five buttons below the LCD for Macro adjusting brightness three levels setting timer so that you can take your own pictures flash onoff and a Mode button that lets you toggle between five advanced shooting modesThe advanced modes include Party for using flash and slow shutter to get better exposure in dark backgrounds Kids for taking snapshots of fast moving objects like animals or people on the move Landscape lets you focus on distances from 10 feet to infinity great for pictures of the distant scenery Double Exposure takes two shots one after the other and then superimposes both into a single exposure for an artistic picture Bulb for taking night time shots and light streaks by opening the shutter for a longer timeTYLT Energi Backpack Rs 12000This is a dream backpack that not only stores your stuff but also charges your gadgets The Energi Backpack has a discrete 10400mAh rechargeable Lithium Ion battery which simply fits in an elastic pouch in one of the bagrsquos pockets and charging cables can be routed to any of the bagrsquos six compartments to charge the gadgets on the moveOn one end the battery has a micro USB port for charging the battery itself and three fullsized USB ports for charging devices with the battery Two of the ports are of 1 Amp for charging any smart phone and the third port is of 21 Amp for charging your tabletThe bag itself is wellpadded to protect all your gear against any bumps or falls and the thick nylon shell is water resistant The shoulder straps are wellpadded to cushion your shoulders against the weight of the fullyloaded bagThe sleeve for holding the water bottle is hidden inside one of the pockets and can be pulled out whenever you want The bag even has a hard pocket with soft interiors to keep your sunglasses safe and a small headphone compartment on the strap to give you easy access to them