Outdoor Gear Best Sellers: The Towing Mirrors, Thermettes and Lifejackets Kiwis Are Buying Now

Labour Day weekend is coming up fast, and for a lot of Kiwis that means the first proper road trip, camp or boat day of the season. So we dug back through the last 90 days of real orders in our Outdoor Gears range to see what people have actually been buying to get ready. The answer is a good mix of towing, camp cooking, maintenance and water safety gear. Here are five genuine recent best sellers.

1. Milenco Platinum Grand Aero Towing Mirrors (Pair)

The top seller in Outdoor Gears over the last three months. If you tow a caravan, you need to see past it, and these clip-on mirrors are built for the tapered mirror housings found on many newer vehicles. Flexible, rubber-faced stainless steel gripper plates mould to the shape of your vehicle's mirror, and the larger Platinum clamp accepts mirror bezels up to 25mm thick. A bigger-diameter arm adds stability and gives enough reach for caravans up to 2.55 metres wide. Stainless steel and brass are used in the key areas so they hold up year after year. Caravanners and motorhome owners towing a trailer buy them because they fit and stay put.

Price: $230 a pair - Milenco Platinum Grand Aero Mirrors. More in Milenco Caravan Accessories.

2. Thermette Copper Kettle - NZ Made

A true Kiwi icon, and still one of our best sellers. The Thermette was invented in New Zealand and this one is made here too, from solid copper, with a stainless steel cooking ring and a galvanised fire ring. The cone-shaped design spreads the heat from a small fire at the base across a big surface area of water, so a few twigs and a bit of paper will have you boiling water in under five minutes. It suits camping, fishing and hunting trips, beach picnics, and anyone who reckons tea tastes better in the bush. It's built to last a lifetime.

Price: $199 - Thermette Copper Kettle NZ Made. Browse Camping & Outdoor Equipment.

3. Inox Lanox MX4 Marine Lubricant

The handy can that ends up in every boat box, toolbox and caravan locker. MX4 is a marine lubricant, and spring is when people grab a fresh can while they're giving gear its first going-over of the season - trailer and boat fittings, hinges, reels, tools and anything else that's been sitting idle over winter. At this price it's an easy one to add to the basket.

Price: $23.99 - Inox Lanox MX4 Marine Lubricant. More in Outdoor Essentials.

4. Response P100 Foam Life Jacket with Neck Support

For families heading out on the water, this is the jacket people keep choosing. The Response Level 100 is a foam life jacket certified to AS4758.1 2015, in high-visibility colour with SOLAS reflective tape and a full foam back panel for comfort. It's designed to roll the wearer over. Child sizes have a lifting loop, the extra small and small child sizes add a crotch strap, and adult sizes come with a whistle. It comes in sizes from extra small child (10-15kg) right up to adult 3XL-4XL, so you can kit out the whole crew.

Price: from $84 (depending on size) - Response P100 Foam Life Jacket. See all Life Jackets & Vests.

5. Nuova Rade Flexible Water Tank 100 Litre

Rounding out the list is a clever bit of kit for boaties. This 100 litre rectangular tank is made from non-toxic PVC that's suitable for drinking water, and it folds flat when empty, so it can squeeze into cabin corners, under seats or other awkward spaces where a rigid tank won't go. It comes with a valve, two 48mm cut-through fittings so you can put the outlet where it suits your layout, a 12mm hose tail for the pump outlet and a 40mm hose tail for the filler or for linking tanks together. It measures 74cm x 100cm. Sailors and launch owners heading off on longer trips, including out to the Pacific Islands, buy it to add water capacity without giving up space.

Price: $164.99 - Nuova Rade Flexible Water Tank 100L. More in Flexible Water Tanks.

Also popular

Game fishers have been picking up the Precision Pak Marlin/Tuna fish bag ($359.99), an insulated three-zip bag that lets you leave the head and tail out on a big fish. Divers and cray hunters are grabbing the Sea Harvester Kevlar dive glove ($69.99) and the compact Sea Harvester split ring pliers ($24.99). Have a look through Diving Equipment & Footwear and Storage Bags & Backpacks too.

Browse our full range at actionoutdoors.kiwi.