I'm always honored when a company decides to let me test out their product, especially when it is a new product or idea that makes my life easier when I'm out on an adventure. Enter the Kangeaux Outdoors Walkabout. I connected with inventor, designer, and owner, Zach, of Kangeaux Outdoors (https://www.kangeaux.com/) via an online outdoor gear platform, and after some emails and discussions we agreed that me and my family would be great testers of his product. A week later we had Walkabouts in two colors to test. It has been nearly two months since they arrived, and I feel that I've been able to give them an honest workout. In fact, I just packed mine for an upcoming deer and elk hunt to Idaho.
So, what is the Walkabout? The Walkabout is a multi-use, all purpose carrier designed to meet most your needs when it comes to holding gear, organizing equipment, or as my son found out, carrying a favorite stuffed animal, can of chips, or a soda! The Walkabout has an adjustable paracord neck lanyard with a plastic clip at the end, which can be attached to a multitude of items. The Walkabout itself touts a study carabiner, which is connected to a looped tab, which connects to the neoprene and velcro material (see photo below). The neoprene material holds your item in place, while the velcro and cordura exterior secure it. During our tests we didn't have anything fall out, we didn't lose anything, and we had nearly a dozen or so people ask us what we were using.
So, what is the Walkabout? The Walkabout is a multi-use, all purpose carrier designed to meet most your needs when it comes to holding gear, organizing equipment, or as my son found out, carrying a favorite stuffed animal, can of chips, or a soda! The Walkabout has an adjustable paracord neck lanyard with a plastic clip at the end, which can be attached to a multitude of items. The Walkabout itself touts a study carabiner, which is connected to a looped tab, which connects to the neoprene and velcro material (see photo below). The neoprene material holds your item in place, while the velcro and cordura exterior secure it. During our tests we didn't have anything fall out, we didn't lose anything, and we had nearly a dozen or so people ask us what we were using.
I used my Walkabout on various rope access jobs during my test period. As a rope access technician I have a lot of gear hanging off my harness, and occasionally tools or radios become hard to find in the mix. I used the Walkabout on my harness to hold my radio, foregoing the standard radio pouch my teammates use. I loved the Walkabout because I was able to operate the radio while it was being held, when normally I had to remove the radio for use. The carabiner allowed me to tie a small tagline to it, which ensured the radio wouldn't fall a couple hundred feet. My teammates were impressed with the Walkabout and we experimented with it holding various small tools such as levels and wrenches. It acts as a great piece of added protection when raising and lowering tools to teammates working below.
Perhaps my favorite use for the Walkabout is holding tools while I fish. Living in the desert, I do a lot of wet wading when I fish throughout the West, and having tools on my belt leads to them getting wet. The lanyard allowed me to hang my tools around my neck while they were held in the Walkabout, which meant super easy access while keeping my tools dry. I've used this method for both bait, spinning, and fly fishing. I've used it on a kayak, on land, and while I wade. In some instances I attached a small Pelican case to the lanyard as well, which held my cell phone, wallet, and truck key. Having everything in one place really made life easier.
I run with a small sports water bottle, and often when I have to drive to the trailhead I'm left with keys to carry on my run. Now I can hook my keys on the biner and run with a free hand. Makes for a much nicer workout, and I'm not worried about hiding my keys or tying them to a shoe.
My wife is a nursing student and often has her hands full as she runs out the door to class or clinicals. She started using her Walkabout on her backpack to hold her stethoscope or water bottles. She also walks our kids to school almost daily. We opted for a fancy Bob Stroller, but the $400 we spent didn't get us a tray for the baby or any cup holders for my wife. She started using the Kangeaux to hold her Hydroflask. DISCLAIMER: The Walkabout isn't long enough to wrap around a 40 ounce Hydroflask, but if you have the top with the gear loop you can use your Walkabout to secure it that way, which is what my wife has done. Now she is able to carry water on the handlebar! For those with small kids the Walkabout is amazing when kids are in the stroller. We've put sippy cups, small food cups, stuffed animals, and blankets on the Walkabout. This means that the baby can chuck her toys, etc without them hitting the ground or getting lots. We love to tie the lanyard to the stroller and then put the Walkabout on the sippy cup. The baby can't lose it, and the cup stays secure. Another win, especially when you're in places like Disneyland and a lost stuffed animal leads to a serious meltdown.
My other kids (11 and 8) totally love these things. My son uses his almost daily, and has taken to wearing it to school with a water bottle. They've used it to haul jackets when backpacks are full, headgear to wrestling practice, shinguards and socks to soccer, and dozens of other uses. Waterbottles and snacks are carried in them, and my son loves to put a thing of chips in his so that he can eat while he fishes. He's attached a little multi-tool to the carabiner on his so that he can meet any situation head on. He realized his clear Plano tacklebox would fit in his Walkabout, so he started taking his tacklebox in his carrier. It really helped me because it meant he had fewer things to drop on the way to the water, and he his lures were with him making switching them out mych easier. The best part about these is that kids can use them without any help from adults. Making them a great tool to make life easier for parents.
So, if you're still reading, I'd encourage you to head over to https://www.kangeaux.com/collections/all and pick one up for yourself. We haven't even scratched the surface of uses for these things, but we're going to certainly try! They've been durable and useful, are cost effective, and made right here in the USA! You can't beat the value they'll add to your daily life, and your outdoor adventures. I whole heartedly recommend picking up a Kangeaux Outdoors Walkabout for your gear collection!
Perhaps my favorite use for the Walkabout is holding tools while I fish. Living in the desert, I do a lot of wet wading when I fish throughout the West, and having tools on my belt leads to them getting wet. The lanyard allowed me to hang my tools around my neck while they were held in the Walkabout, which meant super easy access while keeping my tools dry. I've used this method for both bait, spinning, and fly fishing. I've used it on a kayak, on land, and while I wade. In some instances I attached a small Pelican case to the lanyard as well, which held my cell phone, wallet, and truck key. Having everything in one place really made life easier.
I run with a small sports water bottle, and often when I have to drive to the trailhead I'm left with keys to carry on my run. Now I can hook my keys on the biner and run with a free hand. Makes for a much nicer workout, and I'm not worried about hiding my keys or tying them to a shoe.
My wife is a nursing student and often has her hands full as she runs out the door to class or clinicals. She started using her Walkabout on her backpack to hold her stethoscope or water bottles. She also walks our kids to school almost daily. We opted for a fancy Bob Stroller, but the $400 we spent didn't get us a tray for the baby or any cup holders for my wife. She started using the Kangeaux to hold her Hydroflask. DISCLAIMER: The Walkabout isn't long enough to wrap around a 40 ounce Hydroflask, but if you have the top with the gear loop you can use your Walkabout to secure it that way, which is what my wife has done. Now she is able to carry water on the handlebar! For those with small kids the Walkabout is amazing when kids are in the stroller. We've put sippy cups, small food cups, stuffed animals, and blankets on the Walkabout. This means that the baby can chuck her toys, etc without them hitting the ground or getting lots. We love to tie the lanyard to the stroller and then put the Walkabout on the sippy cup. The baby can't lose it, and the cup stays secure. Another win, especially when you're in places like Disneyland and a lost stuffed animal leads to a serious meltdown.
My other kids (11 and 8) totally love these things. My son uses his almost daily, and has taken to wearing it to school with a water bottle. They've used it to haul jackets when backpacks are full, headgear to wrestling practice, shinguards and socks to soccer, and dozens of other uses. Waterbottles and snacks are carried in them, and my son loves to put a thing of chips in his so that he can eat while he fishes. He's attached a little multi-tool to the carabiner on his so that he can meet any situation head on. He realized his clear Plano tacklebox would fit in his Walkabout, so he started taking his tacklebox in his carrier. It really helped me because it meant he had fewer things to drop on the way to the water, and he his lures were with him making switching them out mych easier. The best part about these is that kids can use them without any help from adults. Making them a great tool to make life easier for parents.
So, if you're still reading, I'd encourage you to head over to https://www.kangeaux.com/collections/all and pick one up for yourself. We haven't even scratched the surface of uses for these things, but we're going to certainly try! They've been durable and useful, are cost effective, and made right here in the USA! You can't beat the value they'll add to your daily life, and your outdoor adventures. I whole heartedly recommend picking up a Kangeaux Outdoors Walkabout for your gear collection!