GO GADGETS: THE SPORK: It's a spoon. It's a fork. How much more do you need to know?
It's a knife (sort of) as well, but "Sporkn" doesn't exactly roll of the tongue. The nifty camping and lunchroom accessory is made from heat-resistant plastic so it won't melt if left in the pot, it's available in a dozen bright colours, and you can get it at camping stores such as Great Outdoors. The serrated edge of the fork will saw through food, but there's no blade, so it's safe enough to be used by little diners, too (€2.95, www.light-my-fire.se).
• Popular with campers because they're virtually indestructable, Sigg aluminium water bottles are becoming familiar school and lunchroom accessories for a simple reason: they're not made of plastic. Water stored in most plastic bottles ends up tasting like the container, but Sigg's enamel inner coating is taste-neutral, so the liquid tastes like it's supposed to. The bottle's lining won't be damaged by the acids in juice and sports drinks, either, says Sigg. Dublin's Baby Travel Shop stocks back-to-school 300ml and 400ml models (€15 and €20, www.babytravelshop.ie).
• From The Netherlands, the Safe2Travel Stamp It after-bite relief (€9.99, www. outdooradventurestore.ie) promises to end itchy insect bites. I've been waiting for a mosquito attack in order to test the Stamp It, but the recent rain seems to have drowned all the local candidates. The device supposedly works by pushing mosquito anticoagulent down into lower skin layers. Press down on the bite with the sharp end of the Stamp It until "you have reached your pain threshold . . . this will put an immediate end to the itching". A great idea or the product of a Dutchman's sadistic sense of humour?