Hip Pack
| When exploring a park, enjoying an outdoor festival, or roaming city streets, it’s helpful to have a lightweight means of carrying essential items. The Daylite Hip Pack, from Matador, is waterproof and puncture-resistant and weighs just 2.2 ounces. When not in use, it squeezes into an attached storage bag that’s the size of a small lemon.
The pack has a main compartment, a front pocket, an interior zippered pocket, and an internal key tether. Compression straps (adjustable up to 40 inches) allow you to wear the Daylite Hip Pack around your waist or across your body. The suggested price is $34.99. Matador |
Fire Starter
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Even if you’re skilled at building roaring campfires, sometimes you may want to take the easy way out. For those times, there’s Pull Start Fire.
No matches or lighter required. Pull Start Fire is a 1-inch-by-2-inch-by-5-inch package that ignites with the pull of a string. It is designed to maintain its flame against high wind and light rain. According to the product description, the fire burns for 30 minutes. The cost of a three-pack of Pull Start Fire is $14.99. Pull Start Fire |
Portable Charger
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Your gadgets are guaranteed to get a charge out of this. AdventureUltra, from myCharge, is a portable charger with a battery capacity of 13,400 milliamp-hours. Like many chargers, it has USB ports (two USB-A and one USB-C). The big difference: It also features an AC socket, which means it’s sort of like a portable wall outlet.
The AdventureUltra can deliver up to 45 watts of power, which myCharge says is enough to run a 32-inch TV for three hours. It can be used with most laptops, tablets, and smartphones, as well as other devices. (Check your device specs to ensure compatibility.) It measures 1.2 inches by 5.8 inches by 4.1 inches. Inside is a charging adapter for your use. The suggested price is $129.99. myCharge |
License Plate Frame
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Olens Technology takes this approach to license plate frames: Let there be light. The company’s LumiSign frame automatically lights up when vehicle brakes are applied and stays on for three seconds. If placed on a front license plate, LumiSign lights up when the vehicle accelerates. Four AA batteries power the device.
Many interchangeable, premade inserts are available for LumiSign’s weatherproof frame, including college sports teams and holidays. You can also order custom inserts. LumiSign installs like a regular license plate frame, without the need for wires. Antitheft security screws come with it. The cost of LumiSign varies from $39.99 to $59.99. (Check local laws before adding batteries to illuminate the inserts; also make sure registration stickers are visible.) Olens Technology |
Wireless Tow Light
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Custer Products developed the Simple, Magnetic, Alerting, Radio-powered Tow light, better known as the SMART Rider. The tow light sends signals wirelessly via an included four-pin transmitter that fits into the tow vehicle’s trailer-wire harness plug. SMART Rider also is available with a seven-blade transmitter. SMART Rider functions as stop/turn/tail lights, as well as a side-marker lamp.
An internal rechargeable battery powers SMART Rider’s 42 LEDs for 12 hours between charges; a 12-volt charger comes with it. Rubber-coated magnets with 90 pounds of pull keep the tow light in place. SMART Rider is 23.5 inches long, 3 inches high, and 4.5 inches deep. The suggested retail price is $210. Custer Products Ltd. |
Rear-Mount Camera
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ASA Electronics has introduced its latest Voyager Rear Mount Camera, the VCMS17B. The device is dustproof, waterproof, and corrosion-resistant. It has high-performance color optics, 12 LED lights, and a built-in microphone.
The VCMS17B is powered by 12 volts DC and features a 125-degree viewing angle that offers better visibility than the camera it replaces, the VCMS10B. The camera measures 2.76 inches wide, 1.76 inches high, and 2.07 inches deep. The manufacturer’s suggested retail price is $169.99. ASA Electronics |
Cleaning Tool
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The late Erma Bombeck once quipped, “My idea of housework is to sweep the room with a glance.” Okay, but at some point most of us find ourselves dusting, mopping, scrubbing, or wiping glass. The Duop (pronounced doo-wop) was designed to do it all.
The Duop All in One Set comes with large, medium, and small cleaning heads and corresponding microfiber cleaning pads. Each cleaning head has a “quickball” that can be popped into Duop’s aluminum telescoping handle (which extends from 3 to 5 feet to reach high places). Or, you can clean by holding the quickball in your hand. The quickball allows the cleaning heads and pads to rotate 360 degrees; the pads are removable and washable. The price of the All in One Set is $49.99. The Starter Set ($29.99) and Combination Set ($39.99) also are available. Clean Design Co. |
Fiberglass Reconditioner
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Faded jeans are fashionable. Faded fiberglass is not. Fiberglass Reconditioner, from Iosso, is a silicone-free product formulated to restore color and protect surfaces. It is said to remove oxidation, chalking, rust, road tar, and oil, leaving a protective coat that lasts four to six months and does not require wax.
Fiberglass Reconditioner should be applied to a 2- to-3-foot section with a brush or sponge. Then, use your hand or an electric polisher to buff it into the surface (working in an overlapping pattern) until all signs of haze are gone. A 1-pound container of Fiberglass Reconditioner will clean an average-size RV; the price is $23. A 5-pound container costs $85.45. Iosso Products |
Tank Treatment
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Breakdowns usually are bad, but not when you’re talking about breaking down the waste, toilet paper, grease, and soap scum in the gray-water and black-water holding tanks of an RV. That’s the job of Pure Power Blue, a waste digester and odor eliminator from Valterra Products. The natural, biodegradable, bacterial/enzyme treatment uses Valterra’s BioBlastPlus technology to control odors in temperatures up to 130 degrees Fahrenheit.
One Pure Power Blue dosage treats a 40-gallon tank. Pure Power Blue is available in three forms at these suggested prices: Dry (tear-and-pour packets), $15.17 for eight treatments; liquid, $7.40 for eight treatments; and drop-in pouches, $15.43 for 12 treatments. Valterra Products LLC |