Gifts Under $100 for the Outdoors Technofreak

Do you want a gift for the outdoors technofreak? This person can be found either tromping around in the outdoors or playing with the latest techno gadget. But wouldn't it be great to find a gift for the outdoors technofreak that combined a love for the outdoors with a love for technology? Here are three ideas for gifts under $100 for that outdoors technofreak that are sure to please him or her. One of them I already own and other two have me drooling.

A GIFT FOR THE OUTDOORS TECHNOFREAK: THE SPORT BRAIN ISTEP X PEDOMETER

Don't you just love the name of this thing already? It doesn't get much better than a name like The Sport Brain iStep X Pedometer when it comes to naming outdoor technology. Doesn't it make you want to rush right out and buy one for your outdoor technofreak? But what is it?

The Sport Brain is a pedometer for the computer age. It tracks steps and uploads them and then produces nifty graphs and charts. It also can interface with a PC. So your outdoor technofreak can tromp around and at the same time have a very accurate record of that tromping. Of course, an indoor technofreak could also use this gadget.

The Sport Brain iStep X Pedometer is two and one half inches wide and two inches tall, which makes it a little bigger than the olden days pedometer, but hey, what's a little size when is comes to those charts and graphs?

The Sports Brain can be found in stores selling outdoors persons gear and also in stores featuring work out equipment. It sells for around $30.

A GIFT FOR THE OUTDOORS TECHNOFREAK: THE SILVA RANGER CL COMPASS

I have one of these myself. When it comes to compasses, Silva is simply the best and the Ranger CL the best of the best. It won the "Backpacker's Magazine" 2003 Editor's Choice Gold Award. With this compass and a quadrant map the outdoors person can hike off trail without fear of getting lost. You can go from one forest service marker and be dead on to another marker a mile away.
The compass has a sighting mirror to get very fast and accurate readings. It has a liquid filled capsule with anti static liquid that stops needle swing in less than four seconds. An adjustable declination accounts for the difference between true and magnetic north and a key locks this in place.

This compass is a gift that any outdoors technofreak would enjoy. It can be found at REI for around $55.

A GIFT FOR THE OUTDOORS TECHNOFREAK: THE E-TREX GARMIN GPS RECEIVER

The outdoors technofreak in me just about faints when thinking about this gift. It is a handheld GPS, or global positioning system, that uses the same satellite positioning technology that guidance systems in cars use. It can read your exact position no matter where you are unless you are deep in a canyon where a satellite might not be reachable. In addition to hiking and backpacking, the e-Trex Garmin can be used to navigate on boats.

The e-Trex weighs only six ounces and is four inches high so it fits very nicely in the hand. It downloads the information from the satellites very quickly. It has five operator buttons on either side and these can be operated with one hand. It is bright yellow so it's easy to find. The e-Trex runs for a big 22 hours on two AA batteries. It has a Trac Back feature that reverses your log so you will be able to use it to get back to where you started from without getting lost.

The e-Trex has 500 icons and graphics such as map pages and mark way points. I don't think there is an outdoors technofreak who wouldn't love to have one of these as a gift You can find the e-Trex at Amazon for 79.88.

You outdoors technofreak might like to take up a new activity using the e-Trex. This is the sport of geocaching. The Silva compass can also be used for geocaching. Very simply, someone puts a trinket in a spot and then puts its coordinates on the Internet. Using the e-Trex or the Silva Ranger, your outdoors person finds the trinket, takes it and replaces it with one of his or hers own.

Now you have it: three gifts under $100 for the outdoors technofreak on your shopping list.