Compiled by
TOM KELLY
El Grande 5
With a name that’s more like a dodgy Western B movie than anything else, the El Grande 5 is a camp chair with a difference: it’s five camp chairs in fact, all in one foldable, portable kit.
Three may be a crowd, but five’s obviously just more fun altogether. Not quite an outdoors couch as it’s been described some places, it invites an unexpected formality. No more lounging around the campfire, sit up in a row. Set up your own dug-out to watch the kids’ match on Saturday morning.
You can even get your name or a company logo printed on the back, so there’s the possibility of underwriting the whole adventure with a sponsorship deal. It folds up into a compact shoulder bag that weighs about 10kg (23lbs).
$116.99 (€87), from camping-gear-outlet.com
Nineteen13 Carbonated Drink Bottle
Made from eCycled plastic, this is a drinks bottle with a difference. Not only can it take regular drinks, it will keep your pop fizzy or protect your beer from falling flat. Now that’s an innovation that might brighten the odd hike where it’s not really the done thing to crack open a few tinnies on the summit.
Carbonated beverages apart, the Nineteen13 is a good-looking, well-designed bottle, which despite not being a Thermos, has clever insulated wrap to keep your drinks chilled or hot for a couple of hours.
$20 (€15), from amazon.com
Origami Self-folding Stroller
It’s what we’d probably call a pushchair and anyone who’s ever tried to fold up one in a hurry – escaping the in-laws, getting onto a moving bus etc – would know that you’d often need a black belt in origami to figure it out.
The Origami Stroller is something of a miracle device then for the harried travelling parent: it folds up and down by itself at the press of a button. Seriously, smoothly, self-folding.
Now that’s the show-stealing trick, but there are plenty more toys to be flung out of this particular pram. It has little dynamos that recharge the batteries as you stroll. Built-in LEDs light your footpath. You can charge your phone from its USB port (if your very advanced offspring isn’t using it for their laptop, of course). All at a price though.
Check out the hypnotic fold-up and down action on the site below.
$850 (€630) to pre-order, from 4mumsonline.com