The last few years have been incredibly hard for almost everyone, so now that summer is about here, it’s a good idea to step outside and decompress a bit with whatever activity suits you best — whether it’s a favorite sport, a long hike, overnight camping, bird-watching, bicycling, or just sitting on a beach and watching the waves come in.

As we’ve done for the last couple of years, we asked some of our colleagues from The Verge what they were planning to take with them in their outdoor escapes. Here are some of their recommendations, including outdoor tech, camera gear, rugged footwear, and gadgets that help them take it easy.

Outdoor tech

Months predominantly spent indoors did wonders for my battery anxiety. Not only was I using my phone less thanks to having constant easy access to a tablet and laptop, but even when my phone got close to running out, my trusty charger was never far out of reach. However, I know that’s going to change this summer, and I’ll be confronted by the fact that my iPhone 12 Pro’s battery life really isn’t as great as I’d like it to be.

That means it’s time to bust out my ZMI PowerPack 20000, a hulking brick of a portable charger equipped with a massive 20,000mAh battery. Yes, I could probably get a slimmer model, but to me those feel like a half-measure: if I’m going to bother to carry a standalone portable charger, it might as well be massive. It charges over USB-C, and there are two additional USB-A ports to charge other devices.

It’s basically the last portable charger I see myself needing. Well, until someone makes an identical model with MagSafe, I guess. (Note: while the ZMI PowerPack 20000 is no longer available, there is still a 10K version to be found.) — Jon Porter, reporter