Take a walk on the wild side with gadgets for the great outdoors

For a start, it's well worth considering taking a portable battery, so you don't run out of power just when you need it. Try the Powermonkey Discovery (HK$590, powertraveller.com a solid, well-built portable battery that supplies an iPhone 5S with a full charge.

If you are off-grid for weeks at a time, look for the Goal Zero Yeti 1250 solar generator kit (HK$14,000, goalzero.com a heavyweight option for base camp or the boot of a car.

A great option for either an iPhone 5/5S, iPad Mini or an iPad Air is the Lifeproof nüüd (HK$748, HK$928 and HK$1,098, store.apple.com and while the Sony Xperia Z1 and Z2 are waterproof, and the new Samsung Galaxy S5 is water resistant, for the outdoors it's worth adding something like the Otterbox Defender (HK$460, otterbox.com.hk to either the 5S or latest iPhones, which will protect a handset dropped onto rocks. It happens.

If properly protected, touchscreen gadgets are well worth taking on hiking trips, if only for the ViewRanger app viewranger.com After downloading the requisite maps for a few dollars, ViewRanger uses your phone's built-in GPS sensor to pin-point your every move - with no data charges. Free stargazing apps, such as Star Walk, SkySafari and The Night Sky, can be invaluable if you're camping beneath the starry sky. Similar technology powers the Garmin Fenix outdoor GPS watch (HK$3,129, expansys.com.hk which has a built-in altimeter, barometer and compass to stop you getting lost on hikes.