TRX Pro Portable Training Kit:Of course, we do realise one of the lovely bonuses of finding yourself not able to work out when you're away from home is just that. Oh dear, no gym in the hotel, I'd better lie down here at the pool.
However, if you’re totally hard core and you want to give those guns a polish on your travels, then the TRX Pro Kit is just the bag of pain for you. Developed by a US Navy Seal — bet you like it already — this is effectively a full body gym in a washbag-sized pouch. Apparently it is used by military types and serious athletes as a way to keep in peak condition anywhere they might be.
It's basically a pair of resistant stretchy straps with handles that you can brace to just about anything from a tree to door. It needs to be secure though, as you're going to work against this anchor point and you don't want a Road Runner-Wile E Coyote-style slap to the chops. Comes with a dvd and a booklet of instructions and workouts. TRX Pro Kit, $200 from trxtraining.com
LL Bean 100th anniversary snowshoes
And today’s technology antidote: to celebrate 100 years since it was set up by Leon Leonwood Bean (now, that’s a name), LL Bean has released a pair of showshoes just as they would have sold back then. Made from steam-bent white ash for robustness, hand-laced rawhide, and varnished for weather-proofing, these are things of beauty which would have been state-of-the-art in the early 1900s.
LL Bean 100th Anniversary Snowshoes $329 from llbean.com, but only available in US and Canada
MOTOACTV
There are probably lots of different toys that a crazed gadget guru might get if they crossed a GPS device with a music player and a fitness tool. This is what Motorola came up with: MOTOACTV. (They do like the all UPPERCASE, making it seem very shouty.) About the size of the Apple Nano, it has similar optional accessories such as arm and watch straps, but it's altogether a smarter slice of tech. For a start it has a built-in accelerometer and GPS. This tracks your movement and location, so it can measure distance and calories burned even if you're running on a treadmill rather than out on the roads. It plays music too, needless to say, but it'll learn from your performance what tracks work best to get you going, and suggests a personal playlist. It's rain repellant, sweat proof and tough, too, with scratch-resistant glass. 8GB and 16GB versions available. MOTOACTV, £250, motorolastore.eu
Slat grill
If your travel regime is more likely to feature a slap-up than a tone-up, the Slat Grill is just as packable as the gym kit mentioned earlier. It fits into its own carrying case, and sets up in a couple of minutes. It can be used to barbecue, boil a kettle or get a fry going. You can cook with any sort of heat source from wood or charcoal to using it with a little gas burner. The sides are made from hard-anodised aluminium with stainless steel slats on top, and it assembles quickly to a 45cm x 30cm (18inx12in) cooking area.Slat Grill is an easy fix for camp fire chefs or festival foodies. Slat Grill, $110, from slatgrills.com