That's changed over the years, as product makers have found ways to introduce new creature comforts to camping enthusiasts without too much extra cost or backpack bulk. BioLite, in particular, excels at this. The company's products have made it easier to cook, heat water, burn fuel and charge gadgets in the great outdoors. Now, with the NanoGrid, BioLite is producing a miniature version of a self-contained power grid.

The NanoGrid debuted at CES this year, and it's a three-piece system that aims to make light and power more easily accessed. "It's incredibly frustrating when you have energy trapped in your iPad but your head lamp is dead, where it can do useful work for you," says BioLite cofounder Jonathan Cedar. The hub of the NanoGrid (which costs $99) is the PowerLight, an energy bank that can power up at any of BioLite's other products, and then redistribute that power as needed to gadgets and lights. This way, NanoGrid lets users fine tune their light sources.