You should know by now that staying under the sun for long periods of time, especially when it is at its fiercest, just to get a lovely tan isn’t quite a good idea these days with the ever thinning ozone layer even if you have splashed generous dollops of sunscreen over you. After all, no point having a nice tan all over only to discover that you suffer from skin cancer many years down the road, right? Well, for folks who just love the summer sun and can’t get enough of it after the dreary winter months, here’s something that might help you manage your time under the sun – the UV Monkey from Firebox. What’s the UV Monkey, actually? Well, it isn’t some sort of simian creature that shoots out UV rays at people, but is actually a key-fob sized UV ray detector.

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You know how ranchers brand their own walking pieces of meat so that they can claim ownership over them just in case a cow or two make their way across the fields over to another ranch? Well, the BBQ Branding Iron might work on bovines that are still alive, we don’t doubt that, but why waste the time and effort when you can personally brand that piece of steak you’ve been BBQ-ing for the past 10 minutes so that nobody else can stake a claim on that juicy bit? Yes, each £14.95 purchase will reward you with 52 letters and 8 blank spaces, allowing you to brand customized messages on your food. Arranging the letters are a snap, all you need to do is lock them in place once you’re done and shove the iron in the barbie.

If you have a penchant for the great outdoors and love spending it with a loved one, might we suggest the Moontent? This is one handy piece of camping equipment worth owning, especially when you want to set camp in a no-frills and fast manner

The Moontent is the room with a view that pops up in seconds, no fiddling with tricky spindly things and strange flappy bits that have no apparent purpose. All you do is pop it out of its bag, flip it open, then peg down the corners – it’s a piece of cake (cunningly designed as a tent). It’ll keep you dry and cosy (as long as you’re not caught in a tropical storm), and in the blistering heat that is the English summer it’ll protect you too, as the tent’s material has UPF (Ultraviolet Protection Factor) of 50!

Not only that, the Moontent comes in handy when you’re going to spend some time with your family without leaving the home – after all, give it to a kid and he’ll use his imagination to turn it into some sort of fort or space station. Sounds like £34.99 well spent, especially when it helps pry the kid from his Xbox 360 so that you can have a go at Street Fighter IV on it instead for a change.

Sure we covered the cool robotic mowers from Husqvarna before, whether they be solar-powered or non. Today, we would like to present you with the Automower 260 ACX.

What makes this guy unique? First of all, it will text you if there is problems. You have no idea how relieved I am to hear that. After all, most Roombas or other independently automated vacuum cleaners are indoors, and it is easy to check up on them if there are problems.

But an automated lawn-mower? I don’t know if I can really trust that to operate without my supervision. I may be sipping lemonade in my air-conditioned home while the Automower 260 ACX is supposedly doing the work, but for all I know, it could be running over my neighbor’s cat.

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Outdoor speakers are great if you hold many social functions in your backyard, but it would be better if these speakers were wireless as you will run less risk of anyone tipsy tripping over and breaking a bone (or neck) in the process. The AQ Wireless Outdoor Speakers hope to fulfil this specific need without looking out of place in most gardens.

These speakers truly do deliver with their pounding bass, sweet treble and a design that makes them look like some sort of futuristic office block – they’re shaped this way to keep the speakers water resistant in case the weather decides to spoil your mosh pit in the garden – it doesn’t do the bass any harm either, the shapes perfect for driving those deep sounds into the ground, giving you that warm earthy feeling that can only be experienced while listening to phat bass.

You can connect just about any device with a headphone or jack output to the AQ Wireless Outdoor Speaker’s transmitter, where it has a radius of 100 meters. You can pick up the AQ Wireless Outdoor Speakers for £89.99 a pair.

Spring is finally here and it’s starting to actually feel like summer might be around the corner after all.  Once the weather does keep warm, you might want some music for entertaining outdoors.  You could set up something indoors and just open a window, but then it’s loud inside and doesn’t sound that great outside.  Instead it’s better to pick up a speaker that can withstand the weather, no matter what it may bring.  Well, ok, so it might not do so well in earthquakes, hurricanes and tornadoes, but what would?

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So you love decorating your home’s lawn with garden gnomes and the ilk, but surely you’re not going to let them die of thirst? Hence, the presence of a pond in the middle of your garden to further enhance the overall look of your very own personal space in this big, big world. Why not make it spring to life (literally) with the solar-powered pond fountain?

Cordless solar powered pond fountain harnesses the sun’s natural energy to produce a dramatic fountain in your outdoor pond. Create a focal point in your garden and relax to the sound of cascading water. No hoses or wires required, simply stake separate solar panel in the ground to collect sunlight. No need for costly wiring to any remote locatioin. Environmentally friendly, saves money and reduces energy costs. Choose from two fountain heights.

You will be able to choose from 36″ and 14″ versions which retail for $89.98 and $69.98, respectively.

No idea whether kids these days spend as much time outdoors as they should, but then again you never know when you might want to pack up the entire family on a long weekend to head out for the woods to get away from the hustle and bustle of city life, making the Survival Credit Card Tool a pretty essential item to bring along. Why do we say that?

First of all you can use the high pitched whistle to try and attract the attention of any passers by. It’s loud enough that if there are any hikers nearby they’ll hopefully come and investigate, or run away screaming. All is not lost if no help arrives on the first night, you can always try your hand at hunting or fishing. The knife can be used by hand (obviously) for skinning passing bison. Mock not, many an intrepid cagouled hiker has been caught short by a marauding herd of startled bison down our way. The knife can also be strapped to a stick using a bootlace, or perhaps a strap, and turned into a spear. This may not be much help with the bison, but you could be well on your way to whipping up a salmon mousse. There’s even a set of tweezers to remove the splinters you picked up looking for the right stick. If you do manage to catch something you’ll no doubt need to cook it, which is a great opportunity to use the Magnesium Alloy Firestarter on the side of the card. After your hearty meal of fish, bison or whatever plant you ended up eating when your hunting skills failed you, you’ll be happy to hear that the toothpick will get rid of any leftovers nestling between your molars. For those of us who are afraid of the dark there’s a red LED torch built in. We think it’s red so that you can read a map without spoiling your night vision. Of course if you’ve got a map then technically you shouldn’t be lost, but you tell that to half the people on the M25.

Imagine – half a dozen lifesaving gadgets all crammed into a card that is a wee bit thicker than a couple of credit cards, making it a snap to tote around. £21.99 is certainly a small price to pay if you’re looking for something lightweight and convenient during your next camping trip.