A round-up of this week's gadgets
Therm-a-Rest
UltraLite Campbed
An “ultra” prefix doesn’t always live up to its billing. However, the UltraLite Cot (campbed) is remarkably compact and light – only 0.9kg – and it packs away into a pouch not much bigger than a pair of runners. Its patented bow frame system makes for a more comfortable sleep, with no sticking-in cross bars. Assembly is easy. The fully-made bed can take a 136kg weight.
Therm-a-Rest UltraLite Campbed, €190, from outdoors retailers
Lexdray London Garment
With a name that seems poised for another noun – such as bag or case, the London Garment is the perfect, if a little pricey, luggage for the anally-retentive traveller. There’s a place for everything, with lots of pockets and compartments, and when you arrive, the whole bag can zip open and hang like a set of shelves. There’s a separate fleece-lined pouch for valuables to go in the safe.
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Livescribe Sky wifi Smartpen
Livescribe has been pushing smartpen technology for a few years now. The Sky Smartpen has made the leap from analogue inputs to real-time digital note-taking. The Sky records what you write as you write, and what you’re hearing, and dumps the whole lot in a linked, manageable form up to the cloud. It syncs with Evernote, an app which makes handling web clippings and digital notes a cinch. It works thanks to a tiny camera in its tip and needs special paper to write on (which you can print out yourself). Comes in 2GB, 4GB and 8GB versions. And, of course, needs wifi for the uploading magic.