Take cottage time to the next level with these outdoor toys

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If your summertime cottage toys are looking a little tired, perhaps it’s time for a refresh.

Here are some top-of-the-line watercraft, outdoor appliances, recreational equipment and inflatables to give your summer a new shine.

Kalamazoo K1000 Hybrid Fire Grill

No matter how you prefer to grill your cottage feasts, the K1000 has you covered. Featuring “Fire-Grilling Drawers” that position wood or charcoal above four cast-bronze burners, Kalamazoo’s Hybrid Fire Grills are said to be the only barbecues on the market that cook with any combination of wood, charcoal or gas. The 179,800-BTU K1000 is made of marine-grade stainless steel and includes a meaty array of bells and whistles: a motor-mounted infrared rotisserie system, electronic control bezels with flame-sensing LED indicators, a flip-up warming rack, laser-cut grilling surfaces specifically designed for cooking meat, fish and vegetables, and on it goes. No wonder Michelin-starred celebrity chef Rick Bayless has one in his backyard.

GlammFire Vaudeville fire pit

Moving to dessert, add a serious shot of style to any s’mores session with this cleverly functional fire pit from Portugal-based Glammfire. Available in rusted, varnished or lacquered steel, the Vaudeville can be fired up using firewood, gas or bioethanol, and cleverly stores the former in the edges of its curvaceous two-metre-wide form.

Preszler Woodshop custom canoe

Painstakingly molded from hundreds of wood strips, trimmed with cast bronze and outfitted with hand-stitched leather seats, the by-commission-only canoes produced by Preszler Woodshop take about a year to build and cost upward of $100,000 each. Set on the North Fork of Long Island, the barn-based woodshop is owned and operated by Trent Preszler, a horticulture PhD and winery boss who started building canoes as a way to deal with the death of his father and chronicled the experience in a widely acclaimed book.

Supermarine MM01 personal watercraft

If motorized watercraft are more your speed, it doesn’t get much speedier than Bouvet Marine’s two-rider Supermarine MM01, which comes in an all-white “Nacre” edition and Night Rider-esque black. The MM01’s 300-horsepower electric motor can rocket riders across the waves at 120 kilometres per hour, with a 50-minute charge good for two hours of eye-watering fun. Other luxe made-in-France features include leather upholstery, a touchscreen-equipped ergonomic cockpit, a titanium throttle and brake paddles, and a Kevlar carbon monocoque frame.

Boesch 710 Ascona de Luxe

The largest single-engine runabout from Switzerland’s iconic Boesch motorboat company combines classic lines and ultra-high-end materials with a gasoline- or battery-powered V8 engine. As many as seven passengers can cruise, waterski or wakeboard at up to 70 km/h in the 7.1-metre-long Ascona de Luxe, with Boesch’s patented “Horizon Gliding” hull delivering a smooth and stable ride at surprisingly low speeds. Should boaters need a break from the summer sun, an integrated retractable shade can be deployed tout de suite, while four hi-fi speakers can kick the party up a notch when the sun dips down.

Wibit KidsCircuit

While you could travel to dozens of locations across Canada to experience a Wibit inflatable waterpark, they can be installed along any lengthy cottage shoreline where the conditions are right. Specially developed for swimmers as young as 4 years of age, the 15- by 11-metre KidsCircuit can accommodate up to 30 splashers in water at least 1.35 metres deep and uses a modular connection system to combine dozens of inflatable Wibit obstacles ranging from balance beams and slides to a six-metre-wide water trampoline that is sure to put the neighbour’s to shame.

Aquatica Vibe Infinity Spa

If a nice hot soak sounds like just the thing after a full day of water-trampolining, consider the potential of what Latvia-based Aquatica describes as “a free-floating hydromassage with both active and passive therapy.” Said to be unique among hot tubs, this relaxing effect is achieved via two dozen air jets that lift bathers and massage their backs and arms with help from 40 whirlpool jets. There’s plenty of eye, ear and olfactory candy on offer, too, with LEDs lining the Vibe Infinity’s continuously overflowing infinity edge, and aromatherapy and Bluetooth stereo add-ons available.

Hot Tub Boat

Can’t decide between a soak and a sunset cruise? Have it all with a low-riding electric boat that has a hot tub built into its deck. Engineered and built in Seattle by a carpenter who specializes in custom houseboats, the 16-foot craft is powered by a 24-volt electric motor that propels it across calm water at up to 8 km/h. The diesel-heated hot tub, meanwhile, can reach 40 degrees Celsius and accommodates up to six bathers, who in turn can be refreshed via four ice chests built into the teak deck and entertained via a waterproof stereo system and two flush-mounted 50-watt speakers.

Murphy Rebel

You can’t enjoy any of the aforementioned toys if you’re stuck on the highway en route to the cottage. That’s where the Rebel comes in (along with a pilot’s license, of course). Outfitted with floats and sold in kit form by British Columbia’s Murphy Aircraft — that’s right, do-it-yourselfers, you can build this three-seat monoplane yourself! — the Rebel can whisk you up to cottage country at a cruising speed of 190 km/h, provided the distance to the lake doesn’t exceed its 1,180-km range.

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• Beware the too-comfortable life – it might be killing us

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