9 bundles
Three things that make the daily commute or a light overnight painless: a bag that carries a laptop and a change of clothes without wrecking your back, water that stays cold to your desk, and a classic day-pack for the weekend version of the same trip.
Turn Friday into pizza night without a brick oven. A proper 500C oven gets you leopard-spotted crusts in ninety seconds, the peel lets you launch and turn without drama, and the cast-iron and kettle earn their keep the other six days of the week.
For photographers who want serious image quality without lugging a DSLR. Three pocketable classics — a 40MP fixed-lens Fuji, Ricoh's cult street compact and Sony's zoom-in-a-matchbox — plus two books to sharpen the eye behind them.
Four modern classics about walking, wilderness and why we go. Two long-distance walks that put a life back together, Macfarlane on the old paths under our feet, and Krakauer's haunting account of going too far. Perfect for the night before a big trip.
A do-it-all kit for launching a channel: soft key lighting, a broadcast-quality USB mic, one-touch scene control, and a pocket camera that shoots stabilised 4K anywhere. Add the little interface when you want to plug in an XLR mic later.
Sound quality is what makes people stay, so spend here first. A pair of forgiving broadcast mics, a two-channel interface to run them properly, or a single USB condenser if you want to skip the interface entirely. Record two people in a room and sound like a real show.
The short-list I hand anyone starting to walk the hills: a pack that carries well, water you will actually drink, light for when the day runs late, and a fleece that earns its place in every season. Nothing precious, everything hard-wearing.
Five books that will teach you to cook rather than just follow recipes. Start with the principles, get a mental map of flavour pairings, then let Slater, Lopez-Alt and Pollan show you the craft, the science and the why behind what ends up on the plate.
Everything a first-time producer needs to record vocals and program beats at home. A class-compliant interface, a studio condenser and a live-workhorse dynamic cover every mic'ing situation, while the mini-keys controller and analogue drum machine get ideas down fast.