I’ve been a fan of Nite Ize accesssories for years. Which is why, when they reached out to me asking for a review of some of their items, I knew I was a good fit. I want to share the tricks and uses behind the items that have been part of my gear set for years (purchased and obtained by me) as well as some of the new items they sent me to try out. Among the new gear, the most fun for me was the dog stuff – I love it when Thor gets to test out gear with me!

Human Gear

Throughout my house you can find Nite Ize Gear Ties of various sizes. While I have found uses for them all over the place (they are a lifesaver for organizing cables), they are most useful as part of my backpacking kit. I always keep a couple of small ones looped around the interior of my tent. I use them to attach headlamps, my Luci Light, or other things I may need to hang up like wet clothes. They are small and light enough that I keep them attached to my tent interior loops when I pack it away so I never run the risk of forgetting them.

I also use them to attach my Goal Zero Charger to the outside of my pack when I’m hiking. I love how the flexible ties can stretch and bend around whatever strap works. I’ve never had a problem attaching the panel to any pack thanks to the flexibility of these ties.

Lastly, the ties have come in very useful for my summit pack. On my longer backpacks I usually carry a secondary lighter day pack for our summit bids. The weight is usually kept low on them by the small volume, and removing things like extra pockets and straps, so using the gear ties to lash things like trekking poles and a jacket to the outside is extremely helpful and extends the versatility of these packs significantly.

Another Nite Ize item I really love is the gear line organization system. I don’t bring it on trips, but I do use it in my gear closet! The daisy chain comes with a bunch of strong S-biner clips, so I have used it to optimize my gear closet storage by clipping in my dog gear, trekking poles, and ice axes in a formerly unusable corner of my storage space.

Something new that Nite Ize sent me was the Inova STS headlamp. This is the first ‘swipe’ headlamp I’ve used – instead of a physical switch you can swipe in different directions to set the various modes. I’ll admit it was a little confusing at first, but no different than getting used to the settings on any other new headlamp. I really like that there is a lock mode to prevent it from turning on in a pack – I’ve killed far too many batteries that way.

Dog Gear

Lets talk about what everyone is really interested in – dog gear and cute pictures of Thor. The package that Nite Ize sent me included some of their more recent dog lighting items and I’ve been able to give them a whirl with our recent camping trips. Early dark means both the pup and I need extra lighting!
First, they sent the little tiny S-biner tag lock. It’s so small, but it’s a super secure way to keep tags on your dog’s collar. I love it! The little keyring that was on there before was definitely not secure and even though he is chipped I always worried about Thor losing his name tag or registration tag. This is definitely no longer a concern with the tag lock!
Several years ago I grabbed one of the little S-biner SpotLit LED lights and never really used it until getting a dog. Once it starts getting dark in camp, I clip the light to Thor’s collar and he always has a light shining!

 
But what makes Thor really visible is the Nite Dawg LED collar. I can snap this around his neck and turn it on and he can’t hide! If I REALLY need to see him there is even a flashing mode. I like to use the lights when he’s off leash around camp, but even if I need to keep him close I can attach the matching Nite Dawg LED leash.

Thor is an English lab and has a lot of extra skin and fur around his neck, but the light still shines through.

Wrap-Up

I am pretty sure that almost every one of has a Nite Ize accessory lurking somewhere in our gear collection, performing some useful function that no one else had thought of. What kind of creative ways have you been using their gear ties or S-Biners? I’d love to learn some new tricks!