Round-up As another British summer disappears down the meteorological toilet amidst howling gales and driving rain Reg Hardware's mind turns to getting away from it all for a few weeks to a place where carrying a solar charger is not an act of near criminal optimism. To help ease the miles we decided to take a look at a dozen gadgets for the tech savvy traveller that might be worth packing, along with the sun block and bug repellent.

Garmin Oregon 300 GPS

The Oregon 300 is a map, a compass, an altimeter and GPS navigation system all rolled up into one chunky unit. The standard device comes loaded with Garmin's GB Discoverer maps. These include Ordnance Survey coverage of all Britain's National Parks at 1:50,000 scale with 1:25,000 maps also available to download on MicroSD card. Garmin knows a thing about toys for boys. Hence, the 300 is encased in some serious shockproof rubber with a hefty mini-USB port cover and fully enclosed on/off button.

The handset actually meets IPX7 waterproofing standards, which means it should be good for up to thirty minutes at depths of up to one metre. Power comes from a couple of AA batteries, a decent set of which should keep you on the straight and narrow for around 16 hours. You even get a carabiner to hook it to your belt. The downsides are it’s a bit on the heavy side, the 3in 240x400 screen and could perform better in direct sunlight. Also, the 1:25,000 British National Park and National Trail maps cost £129.99 a go, which – the quality of the OS's data notwithstanding – is having a laugh when you consider when the paper version of each map will set you back less then a tenner.

Reg Rating 80%
Price £310 Click for the best online price
More Info Garmin

Joby Gorillapod Go-Go! Tripod

The humble and, let’s face it, dull as dishwater camera tripod was an unlikely device to be transformed into a must-have urban chic travel accessory. And yet, that's just the trick that Joby pulled off with its Gorillapod range – a rather funky selection of camera and gadget stands for all seasons and locations.

In its Go-Go iteration Joby supplies the universally articulated 10in high Gorillapod stand with a camera screw mount and with two sticky pad mounts and a suction cup. The latter is holding a not exactly featherweight Cowon A3 PMP at the perfect viewing angle as this is being written. With those attachments to hand, the Gorrilapod will let you mount just anything at just about any angle on just about any surface. When not standing things up you can use it to attach stuff to tree branches, poles and the like. If you travel with a camera, a PMP or a phone, you couldn’t spend £25 more usefully.

Reg Rating 90%
Price £25 Click for the best online price
More Info Joby

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