3 Life-Saving Gadgets to Take with You Hiking

Hiking in the Great Sand Dunes. Photo: Zach Dischner

The weather will go from “frightful” to “delightful”, with ice and snow giving way to fresh green grass and flowers everywhere – the perfect weather to go on a hike. The mountains are wonderful in spring, you can see them come alive with all the creatures emerging after a long winter sleep and resuming their endless cycle of life.

Safety gear for hiking in Colorado

Hiking in the Great Sand Dunes.

And with all these obvious (the melting snow part) and subtle changes, the mountains become one of the most inviting destinations for hikers who can hardly wait to dive deep into the entrails of forest tracks. If you are one, and you’re at the beginning of your road (figuratively, of course), make sure to put these life-saving gadgets on your packing list. Because, you know, it’s better to be safe than sorry.

A feature phone

Smartphones are the perfect companion in an urban environment where you always have a power outlet at hand, and they can also make use of the 4G connection that offers them lightning-fast internet. They are perfect for killing time on the bus, reading in the park and playing games, pretty much wherever you are. But they are not that useful in the mountains where the closest power outlet can be miles away (and so is the closest 4G tower).

A feature phone, in turn, will take care of most of your communication needs while on a hike – it tends to work on 2G networks, and likely last for days or more with one full charge, and it is much more resistant to falls, hits, scratches, maybe even water than a smartphone. Feature phones cost much less than smartphones – you can buy a rugged variant for as little as $100 – and they are good to have at hand when needed.

LifeStraw personal water filter

The water of a spring or a creek might seem perfectly clean but it hides parasites and bacteria that can cause serious harm – so don’t drink it as is. If you can, you should boil it. If not, there’s LifeStraw to save the day.

LifeStraw allows you to drink from pretty much any water source, no matter if it’s a creek or a puddle, without putting your health at risk. It is a great tool to have, especially if you plan to spend more than a day hiking.

A flashlight with an alternative power source

You know what’s unreachable whenever you go deep into the forest? If your guess was “convenience stores”, you’re right. So, you have to carry everything you’ll need while hiking – including batteries for your flashlight. Unless, of course, you have one with alternative energy sources.

There are many flashlight and torch variants out there with a variety of charging methods – solar cells, dynamos, and such. Some of them, like the ThorFire LED Solar Wind-Up Flashlight, has more than one way of charging, so you will always have it show you where to step, day and night.