WHERE TO USE IT: Lake Winnipesaukee, near New Hampshire’s White Mountains, is 72 square miles of tree-lined coves and some 300 sprawling islandsnot to mentionwaterfront cabins with long wooden docks. Rent one on the quieter northor east side of the lake (from $1,000 per week; preferredrentals.com), then take the kids to a sailing class (from $125; lwsa.org), explore the coves by canoe (rentals from $25 at faysboatyard.com), or get your multisport fixclimb, bike, paddle, hikein the nearby Presidential Range with White Mountain Exploration (guides from $65; whitemountainexploration.com).
1. Take the party to the pier. Bose‘s wireless SoundLink streams tunes from your laptop. $550; bose.com
2. The carbon-fiber blade on Bell Canoe Works‘s Voodoo Straight Paddle reduces swing weightmeaning easier paddling for you and the kids. $273; bellcanoe.com
3. An inflatable stand-up paddleboard? Yep. When C4 Waterman‘s 9’3″ ISUP Sub Vector is fully pumped up, it’s as rigid as fiberglass. Deflated, it packs down to the size of a watermelon. $1,100; store.c4waterman.com
4. Elevate your outdoor cooking game. The portable, battery-operated Auspit Kit makes rotisserie cooking over an open flameon the beach or the patioa cinch. $199; auspitbbq.com
5. Primus‘s Solar Camping Lantern burns for five hours after an eight-hour sunbathand also takes three D batteries, just in case. $40; primuscamping.com
6. Jump right in: Sanyo‘s hi-def VPC-WH1 camera is submersible up to ten feet. $400; us.sanyo.com