Best outdoor accessories for fishing in Alaska are essential for staying prepared and comfortable, whether you’re navigating remote rivers or braving the elements on the open water. Here are some of the products tested by the team at Fish Alaska that we can’t recommend enough.

Best Outdoor Accessories

Best Outdoor Accessories

Best Outdoor AccessoriesHi-Point Firearms JXP10 10mm Semi-Auto Pistol

mkssupply.com

For years, the standard bear protection for anglers was bear spray and/or a big revolver—say, .44 magnum and up. But there is a new option in the firearm arena: 10mm semi-auto pistols. When loaded with the right bullets, 10mm semi-autos are a viable bear-protection option. They hold far more rounds than your typical revolver, which could be helpful in a life-or-death struggle. Our tester commented that the JXP10 weighs the same as his .44 Mag revolver, so it’s a wash on carry weight. But the JXP10 comes with a 10-round magazine. The JXP10 is threaded (.578 x 28), has a thumb safety, locks open after the last round is fired, and the magazines are compatible with Hi-Point’s 10mm carbines. It also has a lower picatinny rail for accessories. A second tester ran several hundred rounds through the gun and found it shot accurately (target was at 30 feet) and never jammed.

Batson Enterprises ALPS Power Wrapping Machine

Best Outdoor Accessoriesbatsonenterprises.com

This wrapper is the industry’s most economical top-of-the-line Power Wrapper/Dryer. It features the ALPS Upgraded Chuck with 3 drying speeds, self-centering jaws that won’t loosen, 3 rod supports with ball-bearing wheels, dial-controlled foot pedal, and a 2-piece 8’ aluminum base. The new chuck allows drying speeds of 10-, 14-, and 18 RPMs, and has the strength and torque to allow you to turn cork or EVA. The chuck design has interchangeable jaws to accommodate any blank. We wrapped about a half dozen rods with the machine, ranging from 5-weight fly rods to 7-foot spiral-wrapped jigging rods to 9’6” composite salmon rods, so we know what this machine can do. It can do everything the typical rod builder needs it to do.

Best Outdoor Accessories

Promar Hook Resist Replacement Nets

promarahi.com

Fish-friendly net bags don’t last forever. Fortunately, Promar sells high-quality replacement net bags for a variety of hoop sizes. If you have a fish-unfriendly net bag or if your fish-friendly net bag is showing wear, you can easily replace or upgrade to a fish-friendly Promar Hook Resist net bag. These net bags have rubber coated, fish-friendly 3/8” mesh. After netting hundreds of salmon over the past several years, Editor George Krumm decided it was time to replace the bags on his two salmon nets.

The process was a little tedious, but not terribly difficult. Promar replacement bags can be used on any brand of hoop. You just need to get the right size for the hoop on which you’ll be installing it. We tested the RN-501 BR for 28-30” hoops, 24” deep; and the RN-500BR for 37-40” hoops, 40” deep. We expect to get several years of use from these before we’ll need to again replace them.

PEET Advantage Plus Heated Shoe and Boot Dryer

Best Outdoor Accessoriespeetdryer.com

This unit provides fan-assisted drying for two pairs of boots (or shoes) at the same time. The dryer can be run with or without heat and features a timer that ranges from 15- to 240 minutes in 15-minute increments. We highly recommend that you dry your boots, shoes, and gloves when they get wet, as that will significantly prolong their lifespan. We’ve also found that drying boots helps control odor that develops in footwear.

Best Outdoor Accessories

Leatherman Signal

leatherman.com

Our tester, HR Director Ana Taylor, shared, “I’ve kept a Leatherman in my bag since 2000 when the movie Cast Away shook me. So, it was a little heartbreaking when my old Blast went to the repair bench. To replace it, I stepped up to the Leatherman Signal. The Signal includes 19 different tools in one compact body, including all the usuals plus a fire starter and a wake-the-dead whistle. My favorite upgrade: The knife blade opens and closes without having to open the main tool body. The Signal comes in several color options, including an aqua that is bright enough to never lose your tool on the ground again.”

Fish Fighter Reel Feel Cold Weather Gloves

Best Outdoor Accessoriesfishfighterproducts.com

We used these latex-free nitrile gloves when salmon fishing in 2023 and liked them. They serve multiple purposes: keep your odor off your bait and lures; keep the bait and scent odors off your hands; and keep your hands warmer, especially when it is cold and wet. We shared with other anglers, who all appreciated wearing them, and now we need to reorder because we ran through our supply!

Best Outdoor Accessories

Gerber Magniplier 7.5 Salt

gerbergear.com

The Gerber Magniplier is made of hot-forged aluminum for strength, then anodized for corrosion resistance. SALT Rx is used for added corrosion resistance. This is a nice plier with replaceable jaws and cutters. It comes with a nylon sheath which has a D-loop and belt loop, and a coiled lanyard. Our tester’s pair rode around in the gunnel tray of his boat for 3 months, in all kinds of weather, on saltwater and freshwater trips. The pliers are still corrosion free and work as well as they did on day one. If you’re looking for a decent pair of pliers but don’t have a titanium budget, consider the Magniplier 7.5 Salt.

Best Outdoor Accessories

Cascade Mountain Tech IPX8 Waterproof LED Flashlight

cascademountaintech.com

This waterproof (IPX8) LED flashlight has a stainless-steel core, but a poly-nylon shell to provide impact resistance, and to prevent contact frostbite. The light is adjustable from 200- to 650 lumens, with settings for flood, spot, or strobe. It weighs 4.8 ounces, is roughly 1.65” in diameter, and 5.25” long. Our tester loves the fact that this light has the polymer shell so you can use it in very cold temps without the chance of it freezing to your skin. He added that the light is somewhat bulky considering its length, due in part to the strong LED and the 4 AAA batteries it takes. Runtime is 2 hours. Using lithium AAAs improves cold-weather performance. The housing has an attachment point for a lanyard or wrist strap. This is a capable flashlight.

Cascade Mountain Tech Monahan Rechargeable Lantern

Best Outdoor Accessoriescascademountaintech.com

This rechargeable lantern has a 2,000 mAh lithium-ion battery and is advertised to run on high (450 lumens) for 1.3 hours, or on low for 60 hours. We tested this on high (70º temperature) and it ran for 1.5 hours. This lantern is charged via USB or USB-C, and you can use the lantern to charge other devices, like your cell phone. The light output is controlled by a rotating dimmer switch. It has a carry handle that allows the light to be hung, and it has a flat-bottomed wire cage that allows you to set it on surfaces like a picnic table or tailgate. The water-resistance rating is IPX3, so it’s water resistant but certainly not waterproof. The light weighs a little over 10 ounces and is a nice lighting solution for camping, or in-home emergency use.

Best Outdoor Accessories

Leatherman Wave +

leatherman.com

Leatherman’s best-selling multi-tool has been upgraded with replaceable wire cutters. It has a total of 18 tools: needle-nose pliers, regular pliers, wire cutters, hard-wire cutters, electrical crimper, wire stripper, plain-edge knife, serrated knife, saw, spring-action scissors, ruler, can opener, bottle opener, wood/metal file, diamond-coated file, large and small bit drivers, and medium screwdriver. A pocket clip is optional. It is made primarily of stainless steel. The handle edges are rounded and comfortable to use. Overall, this is a well-designed multi-tool.

Mr. Shur-Cure Quick-n-Easy Liquid Bait Cure & Preserver

Best Outdoor Accessoriesmrshurcure.com

Liquid egg cures simplify the process of getting the cure and color deep inside every bait. Mr. Shur-Cure Liquid is simple to use, and one 22-ounce bottle cures 12- to 15 pounds of eggs. Just add the correct amount of water to the cure, mix, and add your eggs. The directions are right on the bottle, and eggs cured this way keep for 3 months in the fridge, up to 2 years frozen, and fish great. This cure has no sulfites in it, and comes in 6 great colors: Rocket Red, Flame, Hot Pink, Steelhead Orange, Natural Wild Berry, and Alaskan Fire Weed. We like this cure when we need to cure large batches of eggs. It’s faster and less messy than traditional powdered cures when you have a lot of eggs to cure. In addition to the 22-ounce bottle, it’s also available in a 40-ounce bottle

Best Outdoor Accessories

Arctic Ice Tundra Series XXL Pack

arctic-ice.com

For many years, we have used the Large Chillin’ Brew ice packs from Arctic Ice when we want to keep things cold. They continue to work well. This year we experimented with the Tundra Series XX-Large size. Using a Silver Horde KatchKooler Deluxe fish bag and the ice pack, fish stayed cold all day long even when it was hot outside. We used the ice pack on one trip to keep food frozen for several days in a Yeti cooler. Arctic Ice ice packs have allowed us to stop buying ice for keeping freshly caught fish cold, and they make regular appearances in coolers on many resource-gathering excursions and family vacations.

Best Outdoor Accessories

PEET XL Tall Electric Shoe and Boot Dryer

peetdryer.com

All you do is plug in this dryer and it silently dries your footwear. The dryer is tall enough to fit any size boot up to hip boots. If you are drying normal-sized footwear, you can remove the middle section. The unit uses convection to push slightly warmed air into your shoes.