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I went camping in a heat dome, and these five gadgets saved my vacation

Jennifer Pattison Tuohy

created: Aug. 9, 2025, 1 p.m. | updated: Aug. 10, 2025, 2:35 p.m.

I recently returned from a family camping trip to Cades Cove in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. We were camping in our Rockwood Mini Lite RV, which meant we had a fridge, access to power outlets, and water. Camping can get messy when things go wrong, and it’s a good thing that I review gadgets for a living, as I brought along five that saved our vacation. My son got this Koonie Camping Fan, with a beefy 16,000mAh battery, bright orange color, and built-in power bank for charging other devices. We also couldn’t charge the EcoFlow power station while the extra battery was connected, as that also overloaded the Honda.

1 week, 1 day ago: The Verge