Transport & outdoors

A quiet-luxury S-Class with Keyless Go and pre-emptive safety, but cheaper-feeling inside and floaty to drive.

A more aerodynamic, lighter and cheaper Mercedes that brought luxury to the middle class, with brilliant button feel.

A microchip-filled, insanely over-engineered S-Class that was silent to drive and more advanced than many modern cars.

The year of driver assists, with a luxurious interior that made the S-Class finally feel like itself.

An efficiency-focused S-Class that introduced CAD design and the airbag, packed with surprisingly advanced features.

A calm, quiet S-Class with all-LED lights, hot stone massage seats and lane-centring steering, though hot with the AC off.

The first S-Class combined speed and safety, with ABS, air suspension and a huge V8, and he could see its appeal.

The first level three autonomous car, which he found surprisingly relaxing and extravagantly luxurious in the rear.

A fun, leak-proof bottle with sip and chug options that survives being shoved into luggage.

The backbone of his budget carry setup: light, well-pocketed and roomy, with very few flaws.

A packing cube holding several days of clothes that lets the backpack double as a suitcase, a game changer for travel.

A clear, maximum-size liquids bag that passes security without unpacking and suits vertical packing.

A recent discovery he loves for carrying a holiday-sized portion of perfume in a quarter of the volume.

A cheap, unremarkable tech bag that avoids wasted space and has just the right number of dividers.

Funding was suspended so he was never charged and received nothing.

Impressed that the stormproof match keeps burning through blowing, spraying and a bucket of water, saying it feels like magic.

Filtered very dirty, muddy and algae-filled water into drinkable water, tasting poor but keeping him safe, and could change many lives.

Matches that stay lit when wet and are great for the price, though they were dropped in favour of the Pyro Putty lighter.

A tiny multi-tool pump that does many things but is not powerful enough to inflate the tent, so he passed on it.

The traditional lighter done right and the most reliable flame, but not nearly as good value as the plasma arc lighter.

Joked about for its huge number of tools but not tested.

Genuinely keep feet dry and protected; pricey but a standout he called a lifesaver.

Compact and clever, but too much of a gamble on sunlight and the food came out chewy, so it didn't make the inventory.

A rechargeable plasma lighter with built-in fire-starting putty that he found the best lighter and kept over the matches.