Rough & Tough Guide to Using your iPhone in the Great Outdoors

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If there’s nothing you like more than heading out into the great outdoors, then it’s likely your gadgets are important to you too. In a lot of cases though, you really need to be packing light, so why not dispense with some of the usual gadgetry and just load up your iPhone with the best apps and neat accessories instead!

This iPhone guide to the great outdoors brings together hiking, nature, camping, sailing and other watersports, skiing, hunting and fishing. We haven’t forgotten the most indispensable app type you’ll need on such adventures though, which is why GPS and navigation gets its own section too. We don’t just take a look at useful apps either, we’ve also thrown in some tough accessories to keep your iPhone protected no matter what you get up to.

Carry on Camping

One outdoor pursuit that is actually gaining in popularity, is camping. Not only do you get a chance to get close to nature, it’s also a really economical vacation. In this section we take a look at some of the best camping apps to load up before you pack up that tent, as well as those wonderful stargazing apps – perfect when you’re sleeping under the stars. When camping it’s more important than on any other break or vacation that you pack light so I’ve included a couple of great round-ups on suitable accessories to keep packing to a minimum, and still keep your iPhone happy and running.

Keep Those Feet Moving

Hiking, running, or just gently walking through nature is an invigorating experience. You can take the stress out of not knowing where you are headed by using some top choice iPhone maps – leaving you to just march on and enjoy the view. Speaking of views, please try out some of the apps in our last two articles in this section to make sure you can identify local landmarks like mountains, and get the most out of being outdoors with some nature apps. Again, a useful round-up of accessories (this time armbands), will make sure you can stride out without worrying about your iPhone falling out of your pocket or bag.

Take to the Water

There’s nothing like the spray of water to feel refreshed when sailing on the lake, or catching a wave in the sea. We’ve brought together watersports here and peer into the world of sailing and surfing with top apps, and those all important iPhone waterproof cases.

Back to Nature - Hunting & Fishing

What could be more reflective of heading back to nature than catching your dinner for the evening. Hunting and fishing are the subjects in this section, including the roughest, toughest cases for your iPhone that are worth your cash, and useful apps for texting hands-free when you need your hands for landing that catch.

Let’s Ski!

Although our primary subject here is skiing, most of these articles would be really useful to you in the winter no matter what your outdoor pursuit may be. Getting to grips with your iPhone in cold weather is no fun so we pull on some touch screen friendly gloves to see what are the best ones, as well as checking what the weather will be doing. Of course top choice skiing apps are our first stop.

Finding Your Way

Naturally, none of these outdoor activities would be possible if you couldn’t find your way in the first place. Make use of the GPS facility on your iPhone and use these navigation and map apps – really useful route recorders can help you find your way back to base camp too. We haven’t forgotten that getting a signal in the middle of nowhere may be tricky either which is why we end our guide with top maps that don’t need the Internet to run.

Have I left any of your favorite apps or accessories out of the list that you consider vital for the great outdoors? Drop me a line and let me know.