Wild Northerner Magazine Summer 2018 | Page 80

Gear grab for summer

BY SCOTT HADDOW

Wild Northerner staff

The summer season brings a reason to go for a gear grab and Ramakko’s Source for Adventure is an ideal place to start. From camping to fishing to drinking and relaxing, this list of summer-related gear is sure to get you to loosen the purse strings and add to your stash of good stuff.

Fish well

The Garmin echoMap 7 is a full feature-packed unit that comes in under $1,200. It boasts side and down imaging, sonar, GPS, preloaded with Canadian maps, covering more than 13,500 lakes and Quickdraw, which allows users to make their own custom charts of any lake, saving in one-foot intervals.

“It has everything an angler needs in a value-added unit. It is stellar for the price,” Ramakko’s manager Walter Boeswald said.

Drink well

Having filtered water is good. Having the ability to also purify it is even better. This isn’t always easily done in the backcountry, but thanks to the SteriPEN Ultra, it is simple. This little unit is portable and fits in any pack. It purifies one-litre of water in 90 seconds. It’s good for 8,000 treatments and can save 16,000 bottles of water. The Ultra goes for $124.

“It is not big or bulky and can go anywhere,” Boeswald said.