Travel gear: making travel easier

CRKT survival bracelet
A survival bracelet, with its four or five metres of interwoven paracord, is usually an early tell that someone's a hard-core adventurer. Now CRKT is bringing out a small range of accessories for survival bracelets that might suggest you're ever harder-core. The classic version features a compass, LED torch and a magnesium fire rod in a tough, injection moulded casing which locks tight over the strap's weave, like a macho charm. The tool opening is 2.28cm by 1.2cm, to fit many bracelets comfortably. $17, see crkt.com

Monteverde One Touch Tool
This is multi-tool pen – others have been featured here previously – but with a touchscreen stylus which you can use on a tablet or smartphone. It houses nine neatly engineered tools including Phillips and flat head screwdrivers, a spirit level, a ruler and three different scale functions. There's a pen at one end and the soft touchscreen stylus at the other.
$30 from monteverdepens.com

Garmin Tactix GPS watch
Garmin has a selection of GPS-function watches and the Tactix includes many of the features of its Fenix model, with a few tactical additions. (Tactical is a euphemism for military-type uses). As well as full GPS navigation, with 1,000 way point capacity and ABC – altitude, barometer, compass – modes, it delivers the info on a night-vision, friendly negative LED display. That's light out of dark, so you don't give yourself away, like the proverbial cigarette being lit in WW1 trenches. There's also a parachute jump mode and tidal information.
€469.99 from greatoutdoors.ie

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