Anything you want for Camino but it doesn't seem to have been invented?

[David]

Hi all ... slow Sunday .. rambling idle thoughts .. Camino - is there anything you would want, or wanted, that doesn't seem to have been invented yet? Or you couldn't find one?

I can think of ...

A 100% waterproof hat like a sailors' yellow south-wester with a good peak but extended with a cowl all the way round so that it drapes like a short cape - to stop that water running down the neck! (which seems to happen whatever you do).

An app on my phone maps that can smell real coffee up to 1km away ...

Non-rustling black bags

Ear plugs with noise-cancelling ability tuned to snoring

Just wondering

 

[CamisMors]

I would love if someone created a backpack with zippers made from completely silent materials. Nothing wakes me up faster than people packing up at 5am.

 

[Tincatinker]

Ear plugs with noise-cancelling ability tuned to snoring

The Beloved has just suggested Tinker plugs that will cancel the snoring.....

Must have been a rough night

 

[el-pe]

Devices that are totally humane that can be used to stop snoring.

 

[K_Lynn]

Helium backpacks - Never have sore shoulders again! Please tie your pack to something when you remove it.

Wonder Socks! - These socks will instantly make your feet cool and comfortable. Removes fatigue. Guaranteed to prevent blisters.

And because there have been a few conversations about food lately Gourmet on the Go - send your location to us with our app and within 10 minutes a full meal will be delivered by drone to you! Nutritionally complete! Delicious! Restricted diet friendly! Simply input your preferences, dietary requirements and restrictions and we will look after the rest! Craving Sweet Potato Curry? No problem! Need Creme Brulee now? It's on its way! Extensive wine list available.

 

[PiesIrlandeses]

Hydrofoil-equipped hiking boots, for gliding through the Primitivo mud.

 

[Dave2525]

A universal translator. (not google translate or anything requiring manual intervention)

On the same theme. A portable replicator.

 

[Getwood]

Devices that are totally humane that can be used to stop snoring.

They already have those! They're called "private rooms." ;-)

 

[ShoshTrvls]

Weightless, portable jacuzzi hot tub. Arrive at your albergue, set it up, and in minutes you are soaking and being massaged by the jets.

 

[Getwood]

Slightly more seriously, the Ultimate Blister/Hot Spot Prevention gizmo. 2nd prize would go to a lotion that can be applied once a day and does the same thing without fail.

 

[J Willhaus]

Phone charger alert minder: if you are leaving the albergue, this device will alert you that you've left your charging cable or an upgraded version also alerts you if you've left your plug adapter. Order now and also get the all around sock, towel, hat, toiletries, and credential/passport minder absolutely free which alerts you when you've left anything out of your pack before you've walked out the door.

 

[t2andreo]

Phone charger alert minder: if you are leaving the albergue, this device will alert you that you've left your charging cable or an upgraded version also alerts you if you've left your plug adapter. Order now and also get the all around sock, towel, hat, toiletries, and credential/passport minder absolutely free which alerts you when you've left anything out of your pack before you've walked out the door.

You could attach an Air Tag, or a similar device, to your charger (by default plugged into your cable). It can be programmed to alert you if you get out of range. That should be only 30 - 40 feet away.

 

[David]

Phone charger alert minder: if you are leaving the albergue, this device will alert you that you've left your charging cable or an upgraded version also alerts you if you've left your plug adapter. Order now and also get the all around sock, towel, hat, toiletries, and credential/passport minder absolutely free which alerts you when you've left anything out of your pack before you've walked out the door.

Grams accurate portable scale? weigh pack going in and leaving next day?

 

[David]

On the same theme. A portable replicator.

I had a mobile replicator once, well, more of a 3D printer really. Was some decades ago so manual, sort of an early plug and play. But I gave up on it - it printed babies but took nine months to do it and then I had to wait about a year before I could get it warmed up again to print another .... was very expensive to run too.

This is a joke. My wife produced two beautiful children, beautiful, though she was slow, each one did take 9 months.

 

[dbier]

Odor cancellers in the doorways of albergues that automatically spray on anyone crossing the threshold who needs it...whether or not they *think* they do.

On the subject of replicators....Occasionally at work, a senior openly wonders if we can get a product faster if we give the developer more money and people.

Having had 2 sons myself, I'm one of the few that can get away with saying, "Sir, even if we get 9 women pregnant at once, we're not going to get a baby in one month. No. "

I can be evil like that, sometimes....

 

[trecile]

I want to be able to tap on the name of a town on Gronze or one of the Camino apps and hear the correct pronunciation. I do know how to sound out and pronounce Spanish words, but they usually sound different to me when a local says them, which is much faster than when I speak Spanish.

 

[Lydia Gillen]

Slightly more seriously, the Ultimate Blister/Hot Spot Prevention gizmo. 2nd prize would go to a lotion that can be applied once a day and does the same thing without fail.

I puzzled for years as to why I got blisters in spain but not in Ireland.. I realised that it was because my feet perspired in Spain and the skin got soft.
Now I rub antiperspirant all over my feet and between toes before putting my socks on. Result no blisters

 

[K_Lynn]

I want to be able to tap on the name of a town on Gronze or one of the Camino apps and hear the correct pronunciation. I do know how to sound out and pronounce Spanish words, but they usually sound different to me when a local says them, which is much faster than when I speak Spanish.

LOL Sahagun! I cry at my original pronunciation. And I will always smile at the thought of the woman at the train station in A Coruna saying FerRRRRRRRol! So many trilled Rs!

 

[Ninap64]

I would love if someone created a backpack with zippers made from completely silent materials. Nothing wakes me up faster than people packing up at 5am.

This was exactly my thought too!

 

[JustOneGuy]

Helium backpacks - Never have sore shoulders again! Please tie your pack to something when you remove it.

Cheap and easy:

 

[Kiwi-family]

If you had all those things, would it be the camino any more?

 

[K_Lynn]

@JustOneGuy Ha! I repeat: tie your pack to something when you remove it.

 

[Richard Smith]

I am waiting for "luggage" - that magical wooden trunk with lots of legs that follows Rincewind around in the Discworld books.

 

[backpack45]

Hi all ... slow Sunday .. rambling idle thoughts .. Camino - is there anything you would want, or wanted, that doesn't seem to have been invented yet? Or you couldn't find one?

I can think of ...

A 100% waterproof hat like a sailors' yellow south-wester with a good peak but extended with a cowl all the way round so that it drapes like a short cape - to stop that water running down the neck! (which seems to happen whatever you do).

An app on my phone maps that can smell real coffee up to 1km away ...

Non-rustling black bags

Ear plugs with noise-cancelling ability tuned to snoring

Just wondering

The hood on my rain jacket prevents water running down my neck and if I want a brim to keep water off my face, I can also put on my Sunday Afternoons hat that has a wide brim. Likewise, my umbrella keeps a lot of water off me everywhere. I definitely would vote for the ear plugs, however.

 

[HappyValerie]

I would like a light way to carry water. Dehydrated water????

 

[kaputtesKnie]

Anti Gravity shoes

 

[JustJack]

Yep - an app that shows a google map with a colored dot for every pilgrim. I could see at a glance where the crowded bubbles of pilgrims are.

 

[trecile]

Yep - an app that shows a google map with a colored dot for every pilgrim. I could see at a glance where the crowded bubbles of pilgrims are.

Waze for pilgrims!

 

[chinacat]

I would like a light way to carry water. Dehydrated water????

My beloved recommended this to our daughter

 

[BarbaraW]

A device please to indicate whether a pilgrim wished to be left alone or would welcome company. I still cringe at the memory of plucking up courage to ask if I might join someone at dinner ( which received a positive response) then having him pointedly put in earphones and turn his back on me.
Oh, and a "languages spoken" sign too.

 

[Pilgrim9]

... the Ultimate Blister/Hot Spot Prevention gizmo.

I used duct tape successfully on all of my foot pilgrimages. It worked perfectly for me. Economical and easy to find, too. Polyester box-sealing tape also worked but was more awkward to apply.

 

[JustOneGuy]

maybe, more camping areas?

 

[Margaret Butterworth]

If you had all those things, would it be the camino any more?

In another thread, somebody said the Camino is (or was) supposed to be a penance.

 

[TravellingMan22]

In another thread, somebody said the Camino is (or was) supposed to be a penance.

What does that mean?

 

[CTLawGal]

Trail runners that would last more than 200-300 miles, so I only need one pair when walking more than 3-4 weeks!

 

[CWBuff]

oh jees.... 1/2 of the posts are serious and 1/2 are somewhat on a joking side.
Hmmm.... which way should I go

A (Tele-)transporter (as in"Mr. Scott, beam us up".) Could prove useful during bad weather area or incredibly painful blisters times

 

[ROjeda]

Self-cleaning, always-smell-good clothes. Skip the washing ritual after arrival, and go explore the town or city as soon as the backpack stores/hangs/drops next to my bed.

 

[CWBuff]

Self-cleaning, always-smell-good clothes. Skip the washing ritual after arrival, and go explore the town or city as soon as the backpack stores/hangs/drops next to my bed.

along with menu-del-dia? gives you more time to explore the town without searching for food

 

[CTLawGal]

Self-cleaning, always-smell-good clothes. Skip the washing ritual after arrival, and go explore the town or city as soon as the backpack stores/hangs/drops next to my bed.

Add "dry" to the equation and you've got my vote! Always so grateful to find a machine and a dryer that dried, all the way! Bonus points if they can get your socks white again, ha!

 

[dougfitz]

Camino - is there anything you would want, or wanted, that doesn't seem to have been invented yet? Or you couldn't find one?

@David, you are indeed a treasure. It lightened up my day when I saw this, and it did so again when I came back to see the many wonderful quirky responses.

I would dearly love a self propelled baggage trolley capable of negotiating even the roughest parts of any of the Camino paths in Spain, Portugal and France. Since my pilgrimage to Trondheim this year along the Gudbrandsdalsleden, I have been pondering about how I would manage the walks I plan to do in Spain next year. I still want to walk each day, and I don't want to limit myself with the constraints that using pack transport services would create. I realise that there are many towed trailer designs, including your own, that might well be contenders, but I yearn after that next step. A modern version of the Luggage that Terry Pratchett wrote of, but perhaps without being quite so malicious to my enemies.

 

[David]

Doug - your problem is solved ... from a bit of Google searching I found this! .

What's not to like!! (though I too would like the Rincewind luggage and agree, less malicious!).

 

[Ross1066]

How about perfect recollection of a favourite walk ... so you can go into a darkened room and replay - the sights, smells, sounds, feeling ... yes, I know a camera exists, but somehow current tech falls short ... so just insert your memory card into your ear for a quiet few hours .... and relax ... and smile.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

A device please to indicate whether a pilgrim wished to be left alone or would welcome company.

This device is mostly complete. Some Harvard students have created a system where glasses send a picture of a person off to a program that finds visual matches and from those collects data on the person and transmits that information to a smartphone. Names, addresses, age, relatives, occupations, etc.

It is called i-xray. See it demonstrated here:

YouTube video id: gHrSXe1cElI

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Bonus points if they can get your socks white again, ha!

This one is an easy fix...never being anything white on the Camino.

 

[CTLawGal]

This one is an easy fix...never being anything white on the Camino.

I learned the hard way! WHAT was I thinking?!

 

[dougfitz]

This device is mostly complete. Some Harvard students have created a system where glasses send a picture of a person off to a program that finds visual matches and from those collects data on the person and transmits that information to a smartphone. Names, addresses, age, relatives, occupations, etc.

It is called i-xray. See it demonstrated here:

YouTube video id: gHrSXe1cElI

Given the widespread use of face-matching technologies by governments and industry, I suppose it wasn't going to be long before ways were found for individuals to use it too!

 

[Tincatinker]

I feel so sorry for any poor sod whose face matches mine…

 

[alexwalker]

I would like a light way to carry water. Dehydrated water????

Instant water powder exists, I believe, at farmacias. Just add water.

 

[Ross1066]

How about perfect recollection of a favourite walk ... so you can go into a darkened room and replay - the sights, smells, sounds, feeling ... yes, I know a camera exists, but somehow current tech falls short ... so just insert your memory card into your ear for a quiet few hours .... and relax ... and smile.

 

[Stephan the Painter]

2nd prize would go to a lotion that can be applied once a day and does the same thing without fail.

The Hike-goo cream worked very well for me. Formulated for just that.
I put it on every morning before a hike, and in three Camino's I only got one blister.

There are several of these products and I've seen an anti-blister cream in Decathlon.

HikeGoo 5.5 oz - Foot Kinetics

5.5 oz Blister Prevention Cream

footkinetics.com