ADAM HARVEYrounds up the latest travel gadgets
** Some people judge hotel rooms by the size of the bathrooms or the thread count of the linen. My wife has a simpler test: if there’s no kettle, it’s a dump. Strangely, it seems the likelihood of finding a kettle is inverse to the price of the room. Thanks to her herbal-tea habit and my aversion to extortionate room-service charges, I’ve wandered many a hotel corridor searching for a staff member to fill up her mug. There’s an easier way: a 500ml Morphy Richards travel kettle (€21, www.pixmania.ie) is compact enough to tuck into an overnight bag.
** With more cycling tools than the Tour de France peloton, it’s hard to think of an on-the-road fixit job that the Topeak Alien III (€47, www.chainreactioncycles.com, free delivery to the Republic) couldn’t handle: a strained hamstring, perhaps? There are 25 steel tools on the Alien III, including tyre levers, spanners, a spoke wrench, allen keys, a chain hook, a compartment for chain pins, a knife and the all-important bottle opener. It all tucks into a neoprene case that can be mounted on the bike frame.
** Cut through the marketing bumf and the Light My Fire Seatpad (£9.95/€11.65, www.amazon. co.uk) is a pretty piece of wetsuit material that will insulate your bum from the cold, damp ground. Great for taking a seat for a midhike meal, or on the sidelines during a soggy Saturday GAA match.