I love it when I get a new piece of outdoor gear and it serves a variety of purposes. Like my favorite pair of leather telemark boots with inside booties that work as cabin slippers. Like my down jacket that becomes a pillow at night. Like breathable, waterproof pants that work as summer rain pants and, by adding a few extra layers, winter ski pants.
Warm coat to comfy pillow in a cinch. Photo: M.Kopp
Outdoor enthusiasts travel throughout the year and around the world. Packing light is not so much a choice as it is a necessity and when your gear can do double-duty, it becomes all that much more valuable.
A multi-tool is a helpful for almost every outdoor activity. Brooks-Range went one step further with their multi-tool and added a ¼” bit driver and a selection of bits perfect for backcountry ski repairs.
Tarps are valuable tools in the backcountry, whether for providing emergency shelter or simply a dry place to cook a meal in inclement weather. Rescue sleds, on the other hand, are hopefully never used but often-carried gear. Combining the practicality of a tarp with a rescue sled makes for another perfect double-duty piece of outdoor gear.
And then there the ingenious design of a tent which, in winter, uses your ski poles and avalanche probe instead of carrying single-duty tent poles.
The Brooks-Range All-In-One™ UTM Reader is yet another example of multi-functionality. It works for backcountry topographic maps in the U.S., Canada, Europe, New Zealand and Japan. With 12 UTM scales, 10 distance scales, 14 slope indexes and a compass rose it’s a master-crafted, plastic multi-tool.
What’s your favorite piece of double or multi-duty outdoor gear?
