Heatstick, Ray-Ban Folding Aviators and Mophie Juice Pack Pro
Heatstick
Any longer than five or six hours and most vacuum flasks’ contents are a write-off, except if you’re a fan of tepiduccino. Or unless you’re toting a Heatstick. It heats up liquids right in the water bottle, with no flame, no smell, no tricky stove lighting.
It’s been developed in Denmark for outdoors professionals who want to travel light and quick, with the minimum of fuss. Decoded: for the military. The fact selling points also include that it doesn’t give out a heat signal and can’t be seen by night goggles only reinforces this. And makes it even more desirable for a certain class of male, of course. Yeah, it’s for special forces, undercover work . . .
Fact is, it’s smart and efficient. Each heat-up involves clipping a small proprietary Fuelstick canister on top of the Heatstick. Light it and screw it into the bottle and a few minutes later you’ve piping hot whatever you fancy.
Heatstick: €320 from heatgear.dk
Ray-Ban Folding Aviators
There was a time when The Cruiser’s Top Gun look would have been the clinching cultural reference for Ray-Ban’s Aviator Sunglasses. But perhaps the combination of his Oprah sofa-jumping and Tarantino’s famous homo-erotic take on the movie has shifted the needle on its cool quotient. Still, Aviators or RB3025 – as shades geeks will know them – were first designed for US fighter pilots just before the second World War and, suffice to say, they’ve been icons of style since.
With the classic teardrop-shaped, polarised, gradient lenses, these are also hinged at the bridge to fold over and slip into their own pocket-sized case. But who'll see them there? Ray-Ban Folding Aviators: $194 from ray-ban.comgadgets
Mophie Juice Pack Pro
Continuing a militarised theme that I’ve only just noticed (suggesting something of a worryingly kidult mindset), the Mophie Juice Pack Pro also boasts it “exceeds military specifications”. It’s actually a very tough battery extender for an iPhone.
It has a rugged rubberised outer shell that’ll seal sand and dust out, and an integrated clear screen that keeps it splashproof too. But not waterproof – you need something from SealLine for that. An LED display shows how much charge is left – with a guaranteed minimum of double the iPhone’s own. The optional rotating belt clip might be a soldierly detail too far for some. For others, a badge of honour.
Mophie Juice Pack Pro: $130 from mophie.com