Few things are more exciting than buying new gear in preparation for your next camping, hiking or road tripping adventure. And fortunately, the days of being stuck buying from just a few big businesses are gone. Now, thanks to crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter and Indiegogo, anyone with a good idea and a drive to succeed can introduce a new product to the market.
Here are a few of the best new products either currently available for support, available for shipping, or launching soon.
VSSL Camp Supplies
If you hate hauling camping tools with you on the road, you’ll dig the incredibly compact multi-tool from VSSL Camp supplies, now available for funding on Indiegogo. The tube-shaped too includes (no joke) 70 different pieces of gear you might need in at a campsite, including a flashlight, matches, a first-aid kit, and water purification tablets. It’s a handy tool for overnight backpackers but is also just a convenient tool to have in your road-trip pack. It’s reasonably affordable at $80 for the mini version, which can clip to your bag. The full-size version with all 70 tools will set you back $109.
NZO Active Outdoor Pant
Everyone knows how hard it can be to find comfortable pants you can move in on the trails and rock faces, but it’s especially hard for women since tight (and often impractical) clothing seems to be the default from nearly every brand. But New Zealand-based NZO Active is hoping to change that with their multi-purpose Duster Pant. It has what you expect in an activewear pant, like a gusseted crotch, but it also has hidden pockets and leg vents, like your favorite ski pants. The fabric is water-resistant and anti-odor, both of which are key for multiple days of wear in a row. Pairs for both genders come in a loose fit and have large front pockets, which can be especially hard to find in women’s pants. The Duster Pants are a very affordable $59 each, or you can get a pack of his-and-hers pants for $110. They’re expected to ship in August 2009.
Bike Bags from Po Campo
If you like to explore new towns during your road trips on a bike but are sick of having a backpack flapping against you, check out the Mardy Cargo Pannier, a large bike bag loaded with features. It’s sustainable (made with Repreve recycled plastic bottles) and better still, the company donates a bike to rural African communities every time they sell 50 bags. The Cargo Pannier comes with a rain cover and has a padded laptop pocket, plus two magnets capable of holding up to 80 lbs to safely secure it to your bike. There’s even a stiff shoe compartment in case the shoes you’re biking in aren’t the ones you want to wear at your destination. The price is a little steep at $128, but if you do a lot of all-day cycling adventures, you’ll probably find it worth the price. Bags are expected to ship in July.
Pull-on Camp Sneakers
My love affair with pull-on sneakers began about a year ago and has no signs of slowing down. And new eco-friendly brand Norm, based in Portugal, is making sure their comfortable sneakers are sustainable by creating them with more than 90% recycled materials. The shoes are totally vegan and they even plant two trees for every pair purchased to offset their carbon footprint. I find that pull-on sneakers are especially useful during road trips when I need something with more protection than a flip flop (in case we find a cool spot to explore on the side of the road) but want to be able to easily pop them off when I’m back in the car. Plus, these specific kicks are 3D printed: high tech! They’ll set you back €110, but they do ship worldwide.
A travel baby bag
Traveling with a baby on board (or planning to soon?) Then check out the travel baby bag from Hie, which comes with a built-in changing pad you can roll out whenever you get an unpleasant whiff. Plus, the changing pad is its own separate unit with a dedicated space in the mailbag, so you can pull it out and wash it as needed. Oh, and it has a diaper dispenser, too. Other features on the bag include a magnetic, one-handed latch to open and close, a built-in USB charging port, detachable stroller straps, and more. You’ll need to pledge at least $160 to score the bag and the changing station, but you can add on other accessories as well, if you’d like, such as a reusable diaper or a matching wet bag.
A travel yoga mat
Yogis, this one is for you. Nothing is better than waking up in the woods and stepping outside for a little morning yoga session, but carrying around a rolled-up yoga mat can be a bit of a pain and takes a decent amount of space. That’s why the Alma Travel Yoga Mat is pretty revolutionary – it folds, rather than rolling, making it about half the size of a laptop when not in use. And it comes with its own bag for secure storage, so even if you’re cruising in a van already full of bikes and other big gear, you’ll have plenty of room to sneak this mat in. It also dries quickly, so if you accidentally leave it out during the rain, you won’t be stuck throwing a soggy, smelly mat back into your RV. It’s thinner than a standard yoga mat, but that seems like a fair trade-off to make for the convenience of being able to take it anywhere. Pledges start at , and mats are expected to ship in August. And bonus: they come in beautiful color combinations.
Refreshing sock-shoe things
I’m not sure entirely what to call this one, as it looks like a piece of footwear with the comfort of a sock but the sole of a shoe, meaning it’s sort of like a heavy-duty sock you can wear outside. But most importantly, it seems like the perfect item to pull on your feet after a long day of hiking. Yes, it’s cozy and comfortable to pull on a pair of soft socks after a day on the trails, but they don’t do much to help your feet feel better. That’s why San Francisco-based brand Fly Kytin created the Parasole Sock. It’s supposed to help your feet recover faster, thanks to the arch support and compression technology to improve circulation. The first version of their sock had more than 2,000 backers and has rave reviews, so the bar is set high for the launch of version 2.0, which happens on Kickstarter on April 30.
A back pain pedal
If you spend your days hiking, mountain biking, snowboarding or running, you may have issues with back pain, especially if you’re active for days in a row. You might want to check out the Back Pedal, a device designed by a doctor and designed to help you reduce back pain. It’s relatively easy to use – you just push and pull against the thigh pads – and, in theory, should help realign your muscles (there’s a video on the funding page that explains the technicalities.) If you have back pain after days out in nature, or from just sitting in your car or van while road tripping, it may be worth a shot, especially as it’s only $42. It’s supposed to ship in May 2019, so you’ll have it in time for summer adventures.
