Top 10 Camping Gadgets

Here are our Top Ten Camping Gadgets that we have seen so far in 2013 !

All new to us !

We spotted most of them at the Scottish Caravan, Motorhome and Holiday Home Show at the SECC in Glasgow. These camping shows are great places to spot new gadgets and buy accessories. If you enjoy camping then they are "must visit" retail therapy destinations !!

Our Top Ten (in no particular order !)

At Number 1

If you dont already have this installed in your caravan or motorhome then this is a great idea ! - a rear view camera so you can find out what is behind you while maneouvring.

These ones are supplied by DRW Electronics (http://www.drwelectronics.com/) :

At Number 2 in our Top 10 !

A Nestaway sailing boat.

It folds up in two sections which are bolted together or can be unbolted and nested together for storage.

These can then be carried flat on the back of your motorhome, or if you are using this as a yacht tender then you can place it on the deck and it doesnt take up too much space. They also do kayak versions too ! (www.nestawayboats.com)

We love the "Swallows and Amazons" style designs - very nice.

Number 3

Collapsible Camping High Chairs.

Ideal if you are camping with toddlers and as they are foldable this makes it easier to find a space for them in those gaps when packing your tent into the car. These are produced by Fem and sold via various distributors.

Actually I must also add here that if you are camping with toddlers then the Potette Portable travel potty which comes with disposable liners is ideal for toddlers when travelling or when camping and they are still at the toilet training stage. It can be purchased from numerous sources.

The next five gadgets were all on display from Borders Leisure (www.bordersleisure.co.uk)

Number 4
Security Door Locks and Door Frame Locks. Ideal to prevent theft etc. One of these door frame locks can be used on a door which doesnt otherwise have locks on it. A section goes on each side of a door and the whole thing is then locked in place. This would not only be useful in camping but could be used on garden sheds etc.

Number 5

A thermal window shield for your motorhome - this will keep you warm in winter and cold in summer ! Ideal if travelling to the South of France etc. where the midday heat can be very strong.

Number 6

OK this one is not very exciting, but could prove to be very useful ! A whole range of tent pages - extra large ones, ones for groundsheets etc. and also tent peg removers ! All of these can be useful if camping on different types of soils such as sandy soils etc and especially if you are close to the sea or in the mountains where you might expect more winds to be hitting your tent.

Number 7
There were all sorts of lovely designs of sets of melamine dishes - non breakable and stackable for easy storage.

Number 8

Gorgeous colourful whistling camping kettles in numerous colours !

At Number 9, PVC decking and fencing ! This is not exactly a gadget and is probably something more suited to caravans that are left permanently on their sites, however you could perhaps also use this to create an enclosure around your motorhome or caravan or have a PVC gate. There were a few manufacturers offering this and I would imagine they will appear at the various camping shows. There was also a version made from recycled materials if you want to be environmentally friendly ! Some suppliers we spotted included http://www.mapleplastics.co.uk/ and http://www.ecodeckingscotland.com .

Number 10

This is a fantastic idea. A simple tracker system from @Sail and Trail called Back2You.

There is an app for your phone so you can find out where the device is. And the tracker that you can place somewhere in your caravan is the size of the palm of your hand. It can be either hard wired in or else can be powered by batteries. It can be set to alert you if it moves out of a certain area or even if it detects that the caravan is being moved at a speed greater than you select.

Again we could think of numerous alternative uses but certainly it is aimed at helping you to keep an eye on your caravan or I guess boat as well since it comes from Sail and Trail ! (http://www.sailandtrail.co.uk/)


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Fabulous Camping Products for Gadgety Camping !

We enjoyed our holidays this year and because we ended up taking our tent to a site with electric hookup, we ended up using the campsite WiFi and watched the finals of The Apprentice in our tent ! OK its not what you would call wild camping but it was good fun and added just a little luxury to the holiday. We were also able to charge our gagdets making any car journeys that bit more enjoyable.

Here are some products from Amazon that people have found to actually be very useful for camping and are actually listed as bestsellers by Amazon in their camping section. This fabulous small LED light from Rolson Tools costs under £3 has great reviews and we find it really adds a lot of light to our tent. So why not get a few at that price ?

Did you get a Kindle ? They are great for taking abroad on holiday as you can load up as many books as you like onto them so it really cuts down on luggage as you wont need to take a pile of books with you ! However if you want to read them in a tent or late night in the caravan without disturbing others then this handy Kindle light would be useful and has great reviews too :

I have also used a head torch to read in a tent - here is a good one :

And if you have booked a plot with electric hookup for your tent then you will need one of these in order to get the electricity into your tent :

Remember French and other Continental campsites may have the two pin plugs and may not have an adapter for you to borrow, so please check in advance with your campsite or why not try something like this adapter :

OK I know you're still thinking about that Kindle I mentioned ! So if you haven't already treated yourself here are two from Amazon. They both use WiFi to download books from the Kindle store but the more expensive one also has 3G so you can download on the move if you are in a 3G reception zone.

  

So why not give Gadgety Camping a shot and let us know how you find the Kindle. I find I can read well with one even though I am a slow reader - what about you - let us know what you think !

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