SPECIAL NEWS ALERT! WINTER IS COMING! Avoid those hip-cracking amateur sidewalk double-axels with TREX™ slip-ons, extra-aggressive traction spikes. It regularly ices up here at the home office, and we stay on our feet with these. The chains and spikes are stainless steel, with both sole and heel coverage, and the stretchable rubber tops are high-visibility orange for added safety. You pick small (men’s 5-7, women’s 6-1/2 to 8-1/2 ); Medium (men’s 7-9,women’s 8-1/2 to 10-1/2 ); or large (men’s 9 to 11,women’s 10-1/2 to 12-1/2 ). The rubber uppers are uber-flexible, so they’re likely to fit larger sizes than suggested. (Pat stretched the small over his size 11 boots!)

We feel your pain. Nothing says first-world tragedy like camping with no way to make kale/bacon/acai berry smoothies. You’ll need this rechargeable travel blender. Holds 16 oz and has a 4-blade rotor on an eye popping, 15K rpm, ice-crushing motor. Recharging is easy via an included USB/Micro USB cord. Measures 2-3/4" dia x 9-1/4" tall, and includes a safety cap for the blades, and top and bottom caps for the bottle. BPA-free and dishwasher safe, and runs for (3) hours on a charge. Non-smoothie drinkers can use it for making brandy alexanders.

Newly manufactured P-38 Can Opener from the same folks who supply them to Uncle. It folds! into 1-1/2" x 5/8" flat piece which is easily carried and lost. Reportedly works much better than the Asian knockoffs for those who really want to gain entry to the Spam!

Yes, of course from i-Zoom. One of our best sellers, this all-purpose everyday workhorse has a super-bright white LED that focuses from ultra-wide to a tight spotlight, with settings at high (1600 lumens), medium (435 Lumens) and low (118 lumens), plus strobe and an emergency mode that flashes SOS in Morse code (…_ _ _ …). Strobe and SOS are both at 1600 lumens and have a max throw of approx 1500 feet. In black anodized aluminum with knurled handle, a personal security tactical head and weatherproof O-rings; the whole shebang and measures 10-1/4” long x 1” dia at the handle. Includes (9) “AAA” alkaline batteries with a 10-hour lifespan. We suggest keeping one in the car, on the boat, with your camping/hiking gear and elsewhere.

Daytime, too, or whenever you need to start a fire, especially outdoors. These pressed resinous-pine tinder sticks measure 4" long x 1/2" square, and our each is a box of a dozen. Marked as being from the “Survivor Series,” they’re water-resistant and slow burning, lasting approx five minutes each. 

It’s always hot somewhere. Stay cool with a hyper-evaporative towel. In a sports-jersey-ish fabric, you wet it and wear it--around your neck or head--and the evaporative quality keeps you cool. Measures 40” x 12” in a flattering blue, and comes in a plastic bottle with a carabiner-like clip on top so you can wet it and hang it on your belt until you heat up.

Walking sticks have moved into the space age! This walker's/hiker's friend has futuristic features and the look of an inter-galactic weapon. The high-quality collapsible aluminum stick extends from a packable 27" to a full 43", and has a carbide tip with a rubber cover, a removable 2" dia disk to keep the stick from sinking into soft ground, and an internal shock absorber that can be turned on or off. At the top, a 5-LED flashlight with a 90° pivot is embedded in a molded-plastic cane-style handle to light your way. For mountain trekking, lengthen the stick, slip the adjustable canvas wrist strap over your hand, and clutch the stick by the padded foam section below the cane handle. Directions, diagrams, and 1100mm to 1350mm gradations are marked clearly on the 3-draw pole. We'll pick a black or anodized red, blue, or silver version for you.

They have the look of something designed for the space program. They're mylar, a paper-thin shiny metallic sheet, that comes in handy when your car breaks down in winter, or when you're separated from your climbing group on the slopes of Mt. McKinley. Barring that, they're also a perfect material for a do-it-yourself cold-climate Halloween costume-near impossible to rip by hand, but cut easily with scissors. There's no padding, so they wouldn't be too comfy on your bed, but they sure are warm. They both come folded about the size of a wallet. The Blanket is 52" x 82", the Sleeping Bag is 34" x 84".

Put your silverware on your belt. This 4-1/4" camping implement separates into a fold-out fork and spoon, and the spoon has a fold-out knife at the other end so you can use it with the fork to cut your pork chops. Also includes a corkscrew (we recommend a nice Grenache or Tempranillo with pork chops), a can/bottle opener and the ubiquitous awl. In brushed steel with a black canvas belt pouch that you should put the thing into fork-down or the tines might catch on the fabric and make you crazy.

If you fly to where you hike, you absolutely need this three-piece bianbai wood walking stick. Like in portable pool cues, the pieces are threaded together via steel inserts. Measures 55” long assembled, with a metal tip covered by a removable rubber foot, wrist strap and water-resistant nylon carrying pouch. Pieces are approx 21” long.