Best Tech and Gadgets

Binoculars

If you are visiting Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Glacier, Rocky Mountain, or the Grand Canyon (watch the condors!), a good pair of binoculars can be a real game-changer. The Vortex Diamondback are wonderful. Although higher quality models are available for purchase, these are the best value for your dollar. We also like the Carson RD Series 10x42mm

Charger

INIU Portable Cell Phone Charger. A portable cell phone charger can really save the day, especially if you are camping and don’t get much opportunity to charge your phone besides driving around in your car. We always end up battling over who gets to charge their phone. This charger is thin enough to fit in your pocket, can charge most phones batteries 3/4th full in less than an hour, and can charge about 4 phones.

Scope

You’ll need a scope if you want the most zoom power possible. In this video, I showed a Leupold scope, which is a high-quality item. These scopes can vary from $300-2000 dollars. The particular model in my video isn’t made anymore, but I think Leupold is an excellent brand. I admit I’m not an expert on scopes, so I only have my experience and research. Here are the two I would suggest:

• Leupold SX-1 Ventana has a more powerful zoom than most, AND it comes with the case and the tripod for an affordable price.
• Vortex Viper HD 20-60×85. I recommend this because it ranks high on reviews as a good value. And it’s the same brand as the binoculars I used (above), so I trust they would make an amazing scope.

Camera

Believe it or not, we shoot all our YouTube videos with our iPhones.

If you have a newer phone, it will generally take some good pictures and videos. But if you’re hoping to capture wildlife, forget it. You’re rarely close enough (except maybe bison).

Matt once traveled to 20 national park sites in one year, seeing some of the most amazing scenery America offers…and only had his iPhone 4 to take photos with. We are currently in the market for a new camera, so we have no recommendations.

If you want to take closer pictures of wildlife with your phone, we recommend a scope lens you can attach to your phone. The Gosky is an excellent option to try.

Tripod

We have shot over 400 YouTube videos, and… we use a really inexpensive tripod. This is the tripod we use.

But, if you zoom way in and track wildlife as it moves (meaning, moving the camcorder from side to side or panning), you’ll want to attach a head to it that glides more smoothly.

You’d be surprised how much you can spend on fluid heads for tripods. I scoured Amazon to find the best deals, and based on reading a ton of reviews, I think the Neewer fluid head is the best value. At least, that’s what I would buy. But if it’s really important to you to have a silky smooth shot, the GEEKOTO got slightly better reviews but it was about double the price.

Whatever you decide to shoot with, make sure to share your videos or photos with us after your trip!!

Air Pods

These are wonderfully comfortable, have great sound and decent battery life, and are great for road trips as well as day-to-day life. I’ve tried cheaper brands but none of them work as well as these. I love that I can run miles with these in and they never fall out. New generations of AirPods always come out, but I’m currently using the 3rd generation.