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This year’s lineup of electronic gadgets made the outdoors more accessible, comfortable and fun for testers who took them into the backcountry from the Pacific Northwest to the New England coast. We’ve wade through dozens of gimmicky products that break, get lost, or bulk up in our backpacks, leaving us with only the gizmos we want to keep in our packs forever.
At a glance
All gear in this guide has been tested by multiple reviewers. When you buy through our links, we may earn an affiliate commission. This supports our mission to get more people active outdoors. We do not accept money for reviewing editing equipment. learn more.
Editor’s Choice
heat it up
$40 at REI $40 at Amazon
weight: 4g
Advantages and disadvantages
⊕ virtually weightless
⊕ Almost instantaneous itch relief
⊕ Easy to use app
⊕ low energy consumption
⊗ Requires smartphone
For American trekkers, there is usually little else available to combat the itching of insect bites other than snake oil. Imported from Germany, Heat It is the first anti-itch product we’ve tried that actually works. Although this type of device is popular throughout Europe, the Heat It is the first to advance in the United States, especially in such a compact design.
This thumb drive-sized device plugs into the power port of your iPhone or Android phone and is controlled by an extremely easy-to-use app that neutralizes the bite by sending pulses of concentrated heat between 117 and 126 degrees directly into the bite. . reaction. The phone app allows users to fine-tune settings for child or adult applications, heat intensity, skin sensitivity, and more.
“We must have treated half a dozen hikers,” said one field tester after sharing the device with trekkers suffering from mosquito bites on a hike to Lonesome Lake in New Hampshire’s Franconia State Park. “The area around the lake was pretty buggy, and in every case [the hikers’] “The itching went away in just a few minutes,” he said. Category Manager Brian McElwee had similar results on his month-long hike in the Northeast. “I’ve used it repeatedly on myself, and I’ve also used it on others. It’s amazingly effective.”
Importantly, none of our testers observed any noticeable decrease in their phone’s battery charge, even after multiple uses. For a device that uses very little juice, weighs 4 grams, and can get lost in your hipbelt pocket, the Heat It is fine for solving that inevitable summer itch.
Thermacell MR450
$35 at REI $35 at Amazon
weight: 6.3 oz
Advantages and disadvantages
⊕ lightweight
⊕ Multiple carry options
⊕ Effective against blackflies and blackflies
⊗ You can’t fly without fuel
In recent years, Thermacell, a leading name in insect repellent technology, has been rapidly converting from butane-powered devices to battery-powered devices. There’s a lot to like about these mosquito-fighting powerhouses. It’s compact, rechargeable, and of course requires no fuel. (In 2022 he gave the EX90 an Editor’s Choice award.) The main drawback? They are only effective against mosquitoes.
For backpacking in places where creatures worse than mosquitoes hunt, the MR450 is the answer. The new rugged butane-powered device provides a 15-foot protection zone, and multiple units can be combined to keep larger areas bug-free. This fuel-powered outlier in Thermacell’s lineup is lighter, longer-lasting, more portable, and packs a stronger punch than its rechargeable counterpart.
The brand’s new insect repellent is a synthetic substance found in chrysanthemum flowers, which is effective against mosquitoes as well as gnats and gnats (no-see-ums), and is (almost) odorless. The MR450 provides 12 hours of protection before the fuel cell needs to be replaced. That’s 3 hours longer than the EX90. Enough for a 2-3 day backpacking trip (additional fuel cells weigh less than 1 ounce).
Testers in New Hampshire’s White Mountains, notorious for black fly infestations, gave it high marks. I was able to get over it and relax. ” Lakes and trails aren’t the only places where this invisible force field shines. After a day hike through the Moat Mountains in Conway, New Hampshire, our lead tester headed to Tuckerman Brewery for an outdoor concert and some grab-and-go snacks. He said: “With dusk came the mosquitoes. We could have charged an entrance fee to the no eavesdropping zone.”
The MR450 also outperforms similar battery-powered units in terms of accessibility and functionality. A clip on the back makes it easy to attach to your pack or belt. It’s also relatively lightweight at just 6.25 ounces, making it nearly invisible when clipped to your pack strap. One drawback? The fuel cells in this machine cannot be taken on board an aircraft.
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natural atlas app
$40/year for iPhone $40/year for Android
Advantages and disadvantages
⊕ Robust features
⊕ intuitive
⊗ Relatively small trail database
⊗ expensive
If you’re like many hikers, it’s a good idea to make a list of questions you can ask Google at the end of your trip, such as “What type of flower is this?” “What animal makes that sound?” Natural Atlas is your gateway to instant gratification. It’s like having a naturalist in your pocket to answer your questions about flora, fauna, geology, and tidal changes.
One tester said, “Perfect for parents and those introducing nature to children.” “My daughter had fun exploring Sea Sea Beach in Olympic National Park, using the tides, lighting and sunset information for photo opportunities, and even enjoyed stargazing. ” After downloading offline data for a region, hikers can dig deeper into their local ecosystem, pulling information from a variety of sources from Wikipedia to the EPA. Alternatively, you can search for a specific species, such as lobster mushroom, and get a distribution map. In addition to the native information provided in the app, users can post field notes and photos that can help others find areas of interest or avoid possible dangers. Field notes are also included in the app’s aggregated data to keep it as up-to-date as possible.
However, all this information is not stored in silos. Easy-to-use navigation with tools for trip planning and mapping (users loved the ability to snap to trails for route planning) and connected by layers. Displays weather, temperature, smoke, etc. There is also a social media component that allows users to post and follow other users. Many users add helpful notes about the trail and its surroundings.
This app is for backpackers and hikers who are interested in more than just getting from “Point A” to “Point B.” Perfect for those who want to delve into the nature around them, explore and educate themselves, perhaps share it with others, and ultimately travel safely to their destination.
Test method
- Number of testers:8
- Test status: Washington, Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, North Carolina
- backpacking trip: 28
- Miles hiked: over 300
- Preventing insect bites: Countless
- Treatment of insect bites: dozens
To test backpacking gadgets, we took this year’s devices and apps to where they’re needed most. When it came to mosquito repellents and itch-soothing widgets, we headed to lakes and swamps in the spring, peak insect season for mosquitoes, black flies, and midges. For navigation-related devices, we looked for remote parts of the country where cell phone service is lacking and the terrain is difficult to traverse.
Devices that consume more battery power than they’re worth carrying, whose core functionality is useless, or are simply broken have been eliminated. Of the remaining products, only the apps and electronics that we would be happy to pack and install on our phones were selected.
Introducing our lead tester
Backpacking Gadgets Category Manager Brian McElwee Continued abuse of electronic devices in the backcountry Backpacker and outside Published in magazines since 2020. He and his wife (and tester) live in the White Mountains of New Hampshire Quinn McElwee Spend as much time as possible on trails, hiking, horseback riding, shoeing, and skiing.