Best Safety Gear for Outdoor Activities

If you run, walk or bike at night, you want to make sure you’re fully visible to others on the road or sharing a path with you. A reflective running vest illuminated by multiple lights is sure to make you stand out. This LED reflective running vest is a favorite of CNET’s senior writer, Bree Fowler, who is a runner. She says the rechargeable vest makes it easy for cars to spot you, and has a flashing chest lamp that gives you a clear look of everything around you.

If you’re a cyclist or runner sharing the road with drivers, it’s advised to avoid wearing noise-canceling headphones or earbuds. Keep your hearing senses alert by using a pair of earbuds that let you enjoy your favorite tunes, but also keep you aware of your surroundings. The Shokz OpenRun Pro is one of CNET’s favorite running headphones and was designed with bone-conduction wireless headphones that wrap around your cheekbones instead of your ears. This keeps your ears free to hear your surroundings but you can also enjoy your music and even answer phone calls on the busiest roads.

You can’t ever be too careful when you’re out and about so a personal safety alarm like the Birdie is helpful to have on hand. The Birdie is popular among runners, people who live on their own and commuters who take public transit or work late nights. The Birdie is a self-defense tool that can fit on a keychain and functions like an alarm with a flashing strobe light to deter attackers and alert bystanders that you’re in danger. It’s a great present for a friend or family member who is looking to carry a safety device around with them that is also travel-friendly. 

If you like going camping or hiking, you know it’s important to have a decent flashlight handy. One of CNET’s top flashlight picks for camping overnight is the LE rechargeable camping lantern. This lantern provides a wide enough beam that it can illuminate the trail ahead if you’re trying to venture off from the campsite at night. It also has a mode that beams a softer light that can be used inside a tent and has a power bank to charge your smartphone. It’s always helpful to have a two-in-one device, especially when you’re out camping for days at a time.

Whether you’re going for a walk, run, bike ride or swim, it’s important to make sure your skin is protected. In scenarios where you know you may break a sweat, having a sunscreen that is water-resistant is your best bet to avoid sunburn. One of our favorite water-resistant sunscreens is the Badger Active Mineral Sunscreen. CNET wellness editor, Caroline Igo says this is a thick cream that’s hypoallergenic, unscented and offers a matte finish that lasts 40 minutes. It also had ingredients like vitamin E, organic sunflower seed oil and beeswax to keep your skin moisturized.

Unfortunately, accidents can happen if you’re out on a bike ride on a trail so it’s helpful to have a first aid kit handy. Although most first aid kits are designed to be kept in your medicine cabinet, there are smaller ones like the Hero Kit Crash Pack First Aid Kit that are portable enough to carry during a ride. The pack consists of gauze, ibuprofen, antibiotic ointment, WoundStop dressing, butterfly closures and more. So you’ll be ready for any scrape that may occur on the open road. 

If you find yourself camping, hiking, cycling or backpacking in an unfamiliar area and want to make sure the water you’re drinking is safe and sanitary, it’s helpful to have a filtered water bottle. A filtered water bottle removes bacteria and sediment, which is ideal if you like to take your adventures to different states or countries and are unsure how clean the water is. CNET’s favorite filtered water bottle, the Grayl Geopress Water Purifier has an excellent filtration system that can filter out chemicals, pesticides, particles, heavy metals, bacteria and viruses.

The Apple Watch Ultra 2 is the second iteration of the Apple Watch Ultra with some minor updates. This watch has a longer battery life and can detect falls and car crashes, it has an accurate heart rate monitor, a temperature sensor, dual-frequency GPS and more. One of the most appealing aspects of this watch for those who enjoy outdoor adventures is the flashlight on the watch that is bright enough to light up a cave–seriously, just ask CNET’s principal video producer, Lexy Saviddes who used it while spelunking. Additionally, if you reach a dead spot where you have no signal, the watch can locate the last place you had a signal so you can backtrack to make a call and check messages or make an emergency call on any network.