Let me play among the stars

One of the best things about camping is stargazing. And if you had to choose between city lights and the lights of the night sky... well, the stars win every time, right? Here are six gadgets – and a nifty smartphone app – to take your hobby to the next level.

- Cyril Klopper

LEDLENSER HF4R CORE

Polite light for starry, starry nights

You need a headlamp to avoid tripping over tree roots on the way to your telescope – but most are so bright they mess with your night vision by shrinking your pupils. Some headlamps do have a red-light mode, which is gentler on your eyes, but often you have to click through several modes to get there.

Not with the LEDLenser HF4R Core. It can click straight to red light, so you don’t blind yourself (or your fellow stargazers). It’s battery is rechargeable and it weighs a measily 72 g.

Price R865 from Awesome Tools.

CELESTRON STARSENSE EXPLORER DX 130AZ

An observatory in your boot

There are two basic types of optical telescope: refracting telescopes (a tube with lenses at both ends) and reflecting telescopes, which use mirrors. Celestron’s Explorer DX is the latter and it's made for amateur astronomers who take their stargazing seriously, but don’t have millions to spend on their hobby. It includes a smartphone mount and works with Celestron’s StarSense app to help you locate planets and stars. The tripod is sturdy, the build is all-metal, and it comes with two eyepieces (10 mm and 25 mm), which will let you see Jupiter and its four biggest moons.