Your Camping Gear Could Be Smarter

Not everyone was born to camp. I participate due to peer pressure from friends and a dog, who are all enthusiasts of the great outdoors. Whether you relish the great outdoors or just tolerate it, there’s so much smart gear to improve the experience. While bringing smart tech on a camping trip might feel counter intuitive, the right tech can make nature more accessible, safer and even more comfortable. 

A smart tent

Even those who brave the Pacific Coast Trail bring tech along with them (according to the hikers I follow on TikTok, which is as close as I’m getting it). That tech needs power, and your tent is a passive way to collect it. While there have been a lot of concept products, very few seem to have made it to market for consumers. A Green Origin has two for sale (below) that have a flexible solar panel that’s made to attach to the tent itself. The Dragon V1 Solar Tent has been successfully funded on Kickstarter and should ship soon. It, too, has a solar panel, but it’s integrated into the tent itself.  In the future, even these flexible panels will likely be obsolete; fabric with energy-harvesting technology woven into the fabric itself will be used for tents as well as clothing.

• 2-3 People Rechargeable Solar Power Tent ($380.00)

• 5~6 people High Quality Solar Power Tent ($1,499.00)

Smart coolers

Coolers used to be a race against time managing refrigerated and frozen food with ice cubes. Now, many coolers carry on-board power, meaning they can keep the cooler at a temp that ensures safe food handling, and no more ice management. In some cases, these coolers can also act as chargers or speakers, or allow you to manage the cooler via an app. Being able to designate each section as a fridge or freezer means you can use the power you need, and keep food at the right temperature. 

• Anker EverFrost 50 Powered Cooler ($949.00)

• Bodega cooler 48quart(45l) Car Fridge App Control ($299.99)

• Iceco Jp30 Portable Refrigerator Fridge Freezer, 30 Liters ($399)

Smarter lights

When you gather with friends at night to cook, eat, or just relax, you'll probably want a little light—and you've got a couple of options. There are lots of solar lanterns on the market, which just need to sit out during the day to recharge. But for a little more ambiance, bring a power bank with you and string up some LED lights, as they require less energy to run than other lights.

• Solar Camping String Lights 16.4Ft with Music Sync ($17.49)

• 22Ft Stowable String Light with APP Control ($15.99)

• Lantern Solar String Lights with Smart App Control ($26.99)

Wifi for the road

Generally, we think of having wifi anywhere we go now and when it’s not available, we fall back to our cellular signal. When you don’t want to blow through your wireless plan, you can rely on a backup device that provides a signal through the 4G network and you pay as you go. 

• GlocalMe Wireless Portable Wifi for Travel ($89.99)

• Journey1 LTE Wifi Hotspot ($159)

• RoamWiFi 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot Router ($143.99)

Power for everything

Going “off grid” has really changed now that there are so many portable power stations that give you a way to charge up while you’re away through a solar panel. 1,000-watt units are enough to power most of the devices you’ll use while away, while still being light enough to move around. 

• Jackery Solar Generator 1000 with 2 100W Solar Panels ($1,649.00)

• Anker SOLIX C1000 Portable Power Station with 400W Solar Panel ($1,498.00)

• Goal Zero Yeti 1000X Portable Power Station with Nomad 100 Solar Panel ($1,159.91)