Gadgets

SylvanSport GO

SylvanSport GO

SylvanSport call their GO the Swiss Army knife of trailers and you can see why. The GO is designed to handle up to a dozen bikes, or in combination with canoes or kayaks. The top holds the integrated Kelty tent, with its self-inflating mattress.

The trailer itself is very flexible in the way it can stash and haul gear. It's compatible with roof-rack systems for leading brands such as Thule, so you can free up space on top, and it's lightweight at about 360kgs. Storage boxes are waterproof and UV resistant and it has waterproof electrics, so you can use it with a small boat. SylvanSport GO, $7,500 €5,940) , from sylvansport.com

Chartis Graphein maps

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These are typographical maps where the landmasses are assembled out of place names, creating a dense word-world to explore. Laid out by Nancy McCabe, a Chicago designer, the maps are geotextual works of graphic art. McCabe can hand-tint her monochromatic black and white originals to create a soft, almost vintage quality version. A great gift for the keen traveller or graphic design aficionado. Chartis Graphein Typographic World Maps, €150 from etsy.com

Twine

This isn't stringy twine of course, it's a new Wifi sensor that allows us to talk to the equipment in our home or office while we're away. So you can set it to let you know the laundry's done, or that the temperature in your fridge has risen in a holiday home.This sort of connectivity is available as part of hi-tech, hi-expense smart home management systems, but the great thing about Twine is that it's controllable by you, without specialised knowledge. Twine itself is a multi-purpose sensor and an associated web app, Spool, that you tell in simple, everyday language what you want it to do, such as: if this door opens, send me this text. If there is moisture here, send an email with this message. Twine, $100 (€80) and up from kickstarter.com