Eco-Accessories for Weekend Getaways

Nothing heralds the start of summer like the long Memorial Day weekend. If you’re headed for the mountains or desert, to camp or hike or otherwise soak up late spring’s backcountry beauty, take a look at a few eco-minded travel gadgets to make your nature escape simpler and less impactful on whatever corner of the planet you’re off to. For that matter, some of these will serve you equally well in urban environments, too.

Portable solar-powered charger
Much as I relish being able to get away from technology when I need a nature retreat, a camera is usually essential; sometimes it’s nice to have some tunes along; and a cell phone or GPS may be necessary. But keeping them juiced up when you’re on the move can be a challenge – unless you have a nifty solar-powered charger. The Solio Hybrid 1000 has a solar panel and storage battery, is super slim, and clips on carabiner-style for convenience. You just plug in your electronic device for one hour to fully charge your cell phone or play 40 minutes of music on your iPod. And you don’t emit a single carbon atom while doing it.

Solar-powered flashlight
You can also enlist the sun to provide light at night, with a BoGo flashlight. The original BoGo has a solar panel that last up to 20 years, charges in 8 hours, and provides 4 to 5 hours of illumination. The LED bulbs are plenty bright enough to read by at night. The Super BoGo, with a three-way light setting switch and hanging hook, will light up a whole room, or tent. And, for every BoGo flashlight you buy, the company will donate one to someone in need – lately, they’ve been shipping them to Myanmar and China for victims of the recent cyclone and earthquake.

SteriPEN Adventurer Water Purifier
Forget about bulky filtration systems or bad-tasting iodine tablets: the SteriPEN is tiny and effective and all you need for pure, potable drinking water on the trail or in cities in the developing world. You simply press a button and swish, to activate the ultraviolet (UV-C) light rays that cleanse your water of viruses, bacteria and protozoa including Giardia and Cryptosporidium. The device will purify a 1-liter bottle of water, hot or cold, in a minute and half.

No-BPA Nalgene water bottle
And what’s easier than purifying your water in a classic, reusable wide-mouth Nalgene bottle, the industry standard-setter for such a long time. Finally, Nalgene is joining the ranks of plastic bottle manufacturers who are offering clear polycarbonate products without Bisphenol-A (BPA), a common plastic additive that is a hormone disruptor which has been linked to prostate and breast cancer, and infertility. You can find the new no-BPA Nalgene bottles, plus options from Camelbak and others, at outdoor retailers nationwide.