Outdoor Getaway Essentials We’ve Actually Put to the Test

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The Short Version

Some outdoor and travel products earn their place because they solve one very specific problem well. A raincoat that actually keeps you dry. A portable refrigerator that keeps food and drinks cold without dealing with melting ice. A fan that makes sleeping away from home more comfortable. A can insulator that keeps a drink cold long after the South Florida heat should have won.

This collection is a little bit road trip, a little bit camping, a little bit beach day and a little bit simply being more comfortable when you're away from home. Most of these have traveled with us personally, from Italy and Switzerland to road trips along the Eastern Seaboard, Louisiana, the Bahamas and plenty of days closer to home. The disposable charcoal grill earned its place through a firsthand family test on a pontoon boat, where it proved that real charcoal cooking does not necessarily require hauling a full-size grill along.

They aren't all flashy pieces of outdoor gear. They are simply products that have proven useful when the weather changes, the drinks need to stay cold, dinner needs to be cooked or you would really like to sleep with your own pillow and a fan.

Want to see the full collection together? Shop my Outdoor Getaway Essentials on Amazon here.

Gyozelem Women’s Raincoat Windbreaker

I bought this lightweight raincoat before traveling to Europe in the fall, hoping it would spend most of the trip tucked away in my suitcase. Instead, a severe storm in Lake Como flooded the streets and stranded us for an extra day, giving the jacket a much harder test than I ever planned.

I wore it through that rainy day and stayed dry, and because it packs down without taking up much space, it has remained an easy piece to bring along when the weather might be unpredictable.

Shop the Gyozelem Women’s Raincoat Windbreaker on Amazon.
Read my full Women’s Raincoat Windbreaker review.

EUHOMY 12V Portable Refrigerator

We originally bought the EUHOMY for our five-day move from Maine to Florida because we needed dependable cold storage during the drive. Since then, it has traveled with us to Atlanta and Lafayette and now doubles as a second refrigerator at home.

The biggest difference for me is that this isn't an ice chest you have to keep managing. We can set the temperature, monitor it from the app and keep food and drinks cold without constantly buying ice or wondering how warm everything has gotten.

Shop the EUHOMY Portable Refrigerator on Amazon.
Read my full EUHOMY Portable Refrigerator review.

Gaiatop Portable Pedestal Fan

I sleep with a fan every night, and after years of getting into hotel beds wishing I had brought one, I finally stopped wishing and bought this one. It traveled with me for a month in Lafayette and then onto a cruise to the Bahamas, and it worked equally well fully extended beside a bed or collapsed on a small cabin desk.

It folds down for travel, runs on a rechargeable battery and comes with a remote, but what matters most is that it gives me the airflow and background noise I'm used to at home.

Shop the Gaiatop Portable Pedestal Fan on Amazon.
Read my full Gaiatop Portable Pedestal Fan review.

YETI Rambler 12 oz Colster Can Insulator

I bought two of these before family came to visit, one black and one stainless, and they quickly became regulars for beach days and time outside. A cold ginger ale, seltzer or beer can sit in one for hours in the South Florida heat and still be cold when we're ready for it.

It is one of those products that does not need a long learning curve or a list of features to prove itself. Twist the top off, drop in the can, put the top back on and let the insulation do the work.

Shop the YETI Rambler 12 oz Colster on Amazon.
Read my full YETI Rambler 12 oz Colster review.

EZGRILL Disposable Charcoal Grill

This one came to The Honest Haul through family, who took it out on a pontoon boat with friends. They wanted something better than another round of sandwiches and ended up cooking hamburgers and hot dogs over real charcoal right there on the water.

It gave them the experience of grilling without dragging a full grill along, and cleanup was essentially letting everything cool, folding up the disposable pan and throwing it away. When other boats start coming over because they could smell hamburgers cooking in the middle of the lake, the product made its case pretty well.

Shop the EZGRILL Disposable Charcoal Grill on Amazon.
Read my full Disposable Charcoal Grill review.

Purple Harmony Anywhere Travel Carry Case

We started traveling with our own Purple pillow because hotel and cruise pillows were not giving either of us the support we wanted. Then we had to solve the obvious second problem: how do you bring a pillow without sacrificing half your suitcase?

This case folds the pillow down, secures it and slides over the handle of our rolling luggage. It has become part of our normal travel routine because we get our own pillow without having to carry another bulky item through an airport.

Shop the Purple Harmony Anywhere Travel Carry Case on Amazon.
Read my full Purple Harmony Anywhere Travel Carry Case review.

The Verdict

What ties these products together is not one particular kind of trip. It is that each one removes a little friction from being away from home.

The raincoat handles bad weather. The refrigerator takes the guesswork out of keeping things cold. The fan and pillow case make sleeping somewhere unfamiliar feel a little more like sleeping at home. The YETI keeps a cold drink cold, and the disposable grill gives you another option when sandwiches just aren't going to cut it.

Some of these have crossed states with us. Some have been on planes, cruise ships or beaches. One earned its reputation on the back of a pontoon boat. Different products, different circumstances, but the same standard applies to all of them: they have to prove useful in real life before they earn a place here.

Browse my Outdoor Getaway Essentials on my Amazon storefront.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This means if you click a link and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. All opinions are entirely my own.