Orange — the color of energy, warmth, creativity, passion, alertness, optimism, and surprise. It demands attention and raises spirits; it conjures images of blazing sunsets and the glow of campfires; and yes, sometimes it alerts of potential dangers.

✴️ My vocabulary has grown to include other colors and other languages. But orange’s pop and fizz and alarming brightness still sparks in me—a reminder of how it feels to begin. It feels like joy, like the kick of a starting gun, like a banner flapping in the breeze.

—Larissa Pham

When used correctly, a pop of orange can make any person or space seem brighter, more inviting, and festive. It can also serve as an everyday reminder to strive for joyfulness and positivity even when all else seems gray.

With all that in mind, here are some of our favorite orange items to add to your life. 🧡

Pixelood — Wooden ‘Pixel’ Wall Art in Magma »

(Prices vary)

Pixelood is an Etsy shop run by Romanian craftsman Dan Serban, who creates pixel-like 3D wall decor made from colorful blocks of wood. He offers wooden mosaics (which double as sound diffusers), floating shelves, framed mirrors, and coat racks in a variety of vibrant colorways, but our favorites have always been from the “Magma” collection.

Caran d’Ache 849 “Popline” Ballpoint Pen in Flourescent Orange »

($22)

This audaciously orange pen is conspicuous in the best way. Its lacquered fluorescent orange color makes it nigh-impossible to misplace or lose in a bag, and like its siblings, it sports the classic slim hexagonal barrel and signature pocket clip that’s always made the 849 such a distinctive writing utensil.

  + Honorable mention goes to the LAMY “Pico” ballpoint in Laser Orange. ($33)

Field Notes “Expedition” Waterproof Memo Books »

($15 per three-pack)

Chances are, you’ve never had a notebook as tough as the Field Notes “Expedition” edition. These things are more than waterproof; they’re practically everything-proof. The hi-vis “Antarctic Survey Orange” front covers seem a perfect complement to such indestructibility.

  + For more orange-y Field Notes goodness, check out the Draplin Stuff Sheath we featured in our “Unabashedly Orange” EDC guide a few years ago.

Baron Fig “Guardian Pro” Notebook & Pen Case in Tangerine »

($39)

With Baron Fig’s Tangerine-colored Guardian Pro case, it doesn’t have to matter what color your notebook and pen are — it can do all the heavy lifting with its brilliant orange exterior.

It’s designed to hold one of their own flagship-size Confidant hardcover notebooks (which we’ve covered many times) and one of their Squire Pens (ditto), plus a smartphone and other small accessories. It’s also made from water-resistant materials.

Le Creuset Stoneware Mugs in Flame »

($76 for set of four)

Boasting the same vibrant glaze coloring — and craftsmanship — as their iconic French oven, Le Creuset’s “Flame” stoneware mugs are similarly easy to clean and resistant to chipping, scratching, and staining. Their sturdy stoneware construction offers excellent heat retention that keeps drinks warm for a good while after serving.

The mugs are safe for use in the freezer, in the oven or under a broiler (up to 500°F / 260°C), and in the microwave, and they can be cleaned in the dishwasher just fine. They also hold up to having metal utensils used in them. Just don’t set one right atop an open… er, flame and you should be fine.

OXWALLEN Stretchy Braided Solo Loop Band for Apple Watch »

($10)

Display your preference for bold orange all day long with this Apple Watch band, which is soft, stretchy, and breathable for maximum comfort. It’s easy to slip on and off, and it feels so light you’ll hardly notice it on your wrist even after hours of wear.

Recycled Firefighter “The Sergeant” Wallet »

($29)

Rather than going to waste after saving countless lives, decommissioned fire hoses get to serve a second tour of duty with every “Sergeant” wallet by Recycled Firefighter. Handmade by former firefighter Jake Starr, each one holds 4–8 cards plus some folded cash on the back, and is designed to be carried comfortably in your front pocket.

More importantly, they’re made to last. Fire hose material — even the retired stuff — is incredibly durable and resistant to far higher levels of heat and abrasion than it’s likely to experience in your pocket. For added durability, the wallets are sewn with T70 nylon thread (11-pound tensile strength) and edged with 1″ Mil-Spec nylon binding. Even the elastic money clip band on the back is Mil-Spec.

Basically, you’re not likely to wear one of these wallets out for at least a decade.

(Note: As of publication (August 7th, 2024) the orange-and-black colorway pictured above is unavailable on Amazon, so until it’s back in stock, you may need to shop the official site to nab one.)

Eagle Creek Pack-It Gear Cube in Sahara Yellow »

($45)

Despite the “yellow” in the colorway’s name, this gear cube from Eagle Creek is proudly as orange as they come. In any case, it’s a durable, water-resistant cube designed for holding gadgets and electronics, outdoor tools, and anything else you want moisture to stay away from — either standalone or packed within a larger bag.

SOL “Fire Lite” Fuel-Free Electric Lighter »

($28)

Plasma lighters are the way of the future when it comes to quickly lighting fires, whether it’s a campfire, a backyard fire pit, a charcoal chimney, or even a candle (although they make more specialized ones for that last purpose). They require no fuel — only the occasional USB recharge — and they work practically anywhere and in any weather conditions.

The Fire Lite by S.O.L. (short for “Survive Outdoors Longer”) can be used up to 45 times on a charge, which takes only a couple hours to refill. When needed, some of that battery life can be used to power the built-in 100-lumen LED light, which offers high, low, and strobe settings.

One nice touch is that the included 3-foot lanyard cord (also orange) can be used for emergency tinder in the event of a survival scenario.

Arborwear “Double-Thick” Pullover Hoodie in Burnt Orange »

($120)

When winter rolls around and you need the warmest, highest-quality possible sweatshirt of your life, look no further than the Arborwear Double-Thick.

This thing was designed for people who have to work outside all day in the extreme cold, right down to the oversized hood that fits over a hard hat or work helmet. Its super heavy (that “double thick” in the name isn’t just marketing), super warm, and it’ll still be going strong years or even decades from now.

All the comfort and warmth of a thick blanket, with the freedom of movement of a light jacket. This is one investment you’ll never regret.

Pelican “1150 Protector” Camera Case »

($55)

The last thing any photographer wants is for their gear to get ruined in transit or because of inclement weather. Pelican’s rugged, high-performance 1150 camera case is intentionally over-engineered to handle the harshest, most extreme conditions you’re likely to ever shoot in. It’s practically indestructible and sports an automatic pressure-equalization valve on the front that balances interior pressure and keeps water out.

This is one of the company’s smaller camera cases, designed to hold a compact shooter like the Leica Q, the Sony Alpha a6400, or your GoPro, plus some accessories.

As with other cases in their “Protector” lineup, the 1150 case comes standard with “Pick N Pluck” soft ester foam, which is pre-scored into small cubes so you can customize exactly what you want the interior to hold.

While Eagle Creek’s “Pack-It” lineup of packing cubes is primarily known for helping organize your travel luggage, they also offer Gear Cubes that are designed for holding gadgets and electronics, outdoor tools, and anything else you want moisture to stay away from.

Available in a few sizes and colors, each Gear Cube is made from 100% recycled 900D polyester twill fabric that resists punctures and scuffs, and they coat that material with 200D TPU laminate to provide a moisture-repellent barrier to keep the contents safe and dry.

Notice the internal zipper mesh pocket for holding smaller items.

Aside from those points, you can use these like any other packing cube — keep a few of them in a larger bag to separate and organize different types of items, or carry one as a standalone bag using its grab handle, or use the corner snaps to attach it to the inside of your day bag. Whatever you go with, your stuff will stay protected and organized inside.

Get the Eagle Creek Gear Cube in these sizes:

• X-Small ($27)
• Small ($37)
• Medium ($47)
• Medium X3 ($57)

Buy Now

As I’ve mentioned previously, arc plasma lighters are the way of the future when it comes to quickly lighting fires, whether it’s a campfire, a backyard fire pit, a charcoal chimney, or even a candle (although they make more specialized ones for that last purpose). They require no fuel — only the occasional USB recharge — and they work practically anywhere and in any weather conditions.

The Fire Lite by S.O.L. (short for “Survive Outdoors Longer”) is another fine choice for all your outdoor fire-starting needs. It can be used up to 45 times on a charge, which takes only a couple hours to refill. When needed, some of that battery life can be used to power the built-in 100-lumen LED light, which offers high, low, and strobe settings.

One nice touch is that the included 3-foot lanyard cord can be used for emergency tinder in the event of a survival scenario.

Get the SOL Fire Lite for $29 on Amazon.

Buy Now

Bright orange has long been a favorite color of mine. There’s just something about it that feels electric to me, and I know I’m not alone because people often associate it with feelings of warmth, energy, and positivity.

It’s also known for its ability to stand out in a crowd, drawing the eye to it like a magnet. In fact, it’s a color choice you kind of have to be careful not to go overboard with, even if you’re hoping to be noticed. Instead, it’s best to use orange accessories to accent other things you wear/carry.

To that end, this edition of the Caran d’Ache 849 ballpoint pen is an attractively bold option that’s conspicuous in the best way. That lacquered ‘fluorescent orange’ color makes it nigh-impossible to misplace or lose in a bag, and like its siblings, it sports the classic slim hexagonal barrel and signature pocket clip that’s always made the 849 such a distinctive writing utensil.

You can get this audaciously orange pen for $22 on Amazon. It comes loaded with one of Caran d’Ache’s own Goliath M Blue ink cartridges.

Buy Now

LAMY’s “Pico” pen is one of the more interesting ballpoints I’ve seen, thanks to the clever push mechanism designed by Franco Clivio. Clicking the button not only pops out the writing tip, but also telescopes the back of the pen body, turning it from a nondescript little cylinder (3.5″) to a full-length writing utensil (4.75″).

Pictured here is the Chrome edition.

The Laser Orange shown at the top of this post is my favorite color because it’s so bright and eyecatching, but there are others to choose from as well, like the more subdued Imperial Blue.

Whatever color you go with, this is a pen that would do James Bond proud. It fits nicely in your pocket when you’re not using it, and then like a quick-change artist, shows its full potential when expanded. Very cool.

Get the Laser Orange Pico pen for $40 on Amazon. All versions of the Pico accept M22 Black M (medium) ballpoint refills.

Buy Now

In case you missed the news a couple days ago, the guys at Studio Neat are offering a very limited-time orange edition of their sweet “Mark One” pen.

When I say limited time, I mean it — as I write this on March 3rd, 2022, there are only eight hours left to buy this thing, after which it will never be produced again. So if you’re gonna get one, skip over there and put your order in right now.

Want the details first? Alrighty then. This edition of the Mark One sports the same aluminum body as the original model but with a bright orange Cerakote coating, with the knock left in its polished stainless steel state. This color combination looks sleek as heck, and you’d have to be nuts not to get one.

Like I said, hurry up and order one before it’s too late. Once they’re gone, they’re gone.

Buy Now

Whether you’re doing a weekend project in the garage or doing a total overhaul to show off at that big car show, the last thing you want to be dealing with is a lost tool or part. Instead, keep a few Grypmats around to keep that stuff organized and always on hand.

These bright-colored, heavy-duty storage trays are made from an industrial-grade silicone polymer that’s been uniquely concocted with grippiness in mind. The idea is, you place them on (or drape them over) almost any surface and they stay there, without the need for magnets and without leaving a mark.

This formulation also makes the mats resistant to chemicals of all sorts — like brake cleaner, gasoline, WD-40, oil, and more — as well as able to withstand temperatures up to 500°F. And because the things are so bright, you’ll never misplace one.

Basically, you’ll love these things so much you’ll want to buy several sets so you have them whenever and wherever you need dependable storage and organization for you work tools.

Get the “Pro” trio — which includes a small, a medium, and a large tray — for $120 on Amazon.

Buy Now

Pixelood is an Etsy shop run by Romanian craftsman Dan Serban, who creates pixel-like 3D wall decor made from colorful blocks of wood.

He offers wooden mosaics:

…floating shelves:

…an awesome framed mirror:

…and even coat racks:

…but my favorite of all has got to be his signature “Magma” wall art seen at the top of this post. Oh, I should also mention that those wooden mosaics also act as sound diffusers, so extra points there.

These are all handcrafted items and you should expect to pay a premium for them — the coat racks are the “cheapest” items at $120–$150 — but c’mon, how cool is your space going to look with one of these vibrant pieces on the wall?!

Go shop the Etsy page and get ready to throw your wallet at the screen.

Buy Now

If you’ve never heard of it before, a contour gauge is a rather ingenious, low-tech tool that could be remarkably useful on your next home restoration or general woodworking project.

The gauge’s frame contains a bunch of plastic sliding teeth that you press onto the profile of any object — whether it’s curved, pointy, oddly shaped, or otherwise — which you then lock into place, creating a very close copy of that shape for easy tracing and cutting elsewhere. Perfect for laying down flooring in weird spots, tile work, constructing things around pipes, duplicating complex cuts across work pieces, etc.

It’s kinda like one of those pin art toys but, y’know, actually useful.

The one I’m linking today is from RAK, the same company who makes this handy magnetic wristband, and I trust the quality of their products. The gauge is 10 inches long and measures contours up to 3 inches deep, which should be fine for most people. However, Amazon is full of these things so you might find something more suited to your particular needs.

This guy’s video review of the RAK contour gauge is worth a watch:

Get the gauge for $35 on Amazon.

Buy Now

The last thing any photographer wants is for their gear to get ruined in transit or because of inclement weather. Pelican’s rugged, high-performance 1150 camera case is intentionally over-engineered to handle the harshest, most extreme conditions you’re likely to ever shoot in. It’s practically indestructible and sports an automatic pressure-equalization valve on the front that balances interior pressure and keeps water out.

This is one of the company’s smaller camera cases, designed to hold a compact shooter like the Leica Q or the Sony Alpha a6400 or your GoPro, plus some accessories. In fact, our own editor-in-chief Shawn Blanc outfitted his case for the Leica Q alongside a strap, charger, spare battery, and SD cards:

Photos: Shawn Blanc

As with other cases in their “Protector” lineup, the 1150 case comes standard with “Pick N Pluck” soft ester foam, which is pre-scored into small cubes so you can customize exactly what you want the interior to hold.

The Pelican 1150 case goes for $40 on Amazon and comes in your choice of…

• Orange
• Blue
• Silver
• Yellow

Buy Now

When it comes to Apple Watch bands, it doesn’t get more rugged than the Active Strap by UAG (Urban Armor Gear), released just in time for summer. Built from a high-strength nylon weave with custom stainless steel hardware and a maximum-hold velcro fastener, this strap provides the ultimate outdoor protection, no matter how rigorous the activity.

Take it on a hike, do some HIIT training, lift weights, go for some long-distance runs, have a good surf…whatever you throw at this strap, it can take it. And not only is it sturdy enough to handle all that activity, it’s comfy to wear and pretty good-looking to boot.

As of June 3rd, 2019, the 44/42mm comes in orange and midnight camo, while the 40/38mm one comes only in black. If you’re looking for a different size/color combo, you can always buy from UAG directly, we just won’t get any credit for sending you there.

Buy Now

Orange is one of those colors that’s easy to overdo if you’re not careful. But we say, why not overdo it a little with your EDC now and then? Let’s bring a little incandescence to the table.

 

1. The DDC Stuff Sheath. ($40)

   This simple leather sheath protects your Field Notes notebook and other bits of paper bouncing around in your pocket. The words emblazoned on the front put it perfectly: “Way Durable • Very Orange”. We wrote a whole review for this thing back in 2014.

   Every sheath comes with a bonus single Field Notes memo book straight from the DDC workshop. You never know what you’re going to get, but you can expect it will be cool.

2. Lanxivi Jinhao 159 fountain pen. ($10)

   Nothing fancy here — just a very affordable orange fountain pen that feels nice in the hand and writes well enough when it counts. Use it with Diamine’s “Inferno Orange” ink for best effect.

3. Spigen “Ultra Hybrid” case (in coral) for iPhone XR. ($14)

   Designed to match the coral iPhone XR, this protective case sports a combination of a rigid, durable, and see-through polycarbonate (PC) back and a flexible TPU bumper around the edge. All editions we’ve seen of this case over the years have consistenly ranked among the most popular and highly rated on the market.

4. Seiko Prospex “Samurai” SRPB97 automatic stainless steel dive watch ($432)

   Wear your love of orange on your slee- er, wrist with this attention-grabbing timepiece. On top of its distinctive looks, this pro-spec stainless steel diver gives you the option of both automatic and hand-winding capabilities, water resistance to 200 meters, LumiBrite glow-in-the-dark hands and markers, a date calendar, a one-way rotating elapsed-timing bezel (with a gorgeous orange accent), and an additional silicone strap.

   This guy’s video review of the near-identical SRPC07 model — basically, the one that ships without the silicone strap — gives some nice closeup views of the watch’s features. There are also lots of awesome photos in Worn & Wound’s review.

For more everyday carry inspiration, check out the rest of our EDC guides here.

If you need an all-weather safety whistle for your emergency kit, the Storm Whistle ain’t the prettiest thing you’ll find but it sure gets the job done. It bills itself as the loudest whistle in the world at ~120db, and while I don’t have a decibel meter to test that for myself, it is pretty darn loud — enough to be heard over crowds, machinery, and explosions, through glass, and most famously, underwater up to 50 feet.

Whenever and wherever you need to signal for help in an emergency situation, this is the whistle you want to have. Get it for just $6 on Amazon. For a smaller version that’s easier for kids to hold, check out their only-slightly-less-powerful Windstorm whistle.

Buy Now

Ever feel like you’ve got too many travel accessories to keep track of, much less organized? I know how that goes, believe me.

This double-layer organizer by BUBM is the perfect carry case for all that stuff. It’s got 19 elastic loops, 6 mesh pockets, 2 net compartments, and a sleeve pouch large enough to fit a full-size iPad (9.7″). No more hunting down cables, external drives, stylii, earbuds, camera batteries, or any of the rest of your peripherals. It’s all held firmly in place, exactly the way you left it. The case is made from a durable and waterproof nylon material and sports high-quality zippers (though not YKK ones).

The large-size case is $17 on Amazon and comes in three colorways:

1. Grey + orange
2. Blue + green
3. Rose red + light green

Buy Now

Photo: Mike Yarbrough, Wolf & Iron

The “Sergeant” by Recycled Firefighter is a slim, minimalist money clip wallet made from decommissioned fire hose. Handmade by former firefighter Jake Starr, each one holds 4–8 cards plus some folded cash on the back, and is designed to be carried comfortably in your front pocket (which is my preference anyway).

More importantly, they’re made to last. Fire hose material (even the retired stuff) is incredibly durable and resistant to far higher levels of heat and abrasion than it’s likely to experience in your pocket. For added durability, the wallets are sewn with T90 nylon thread — which sports 15-pound tensile strength, akin to a decent fishing line — and edged with 1″ Mil-Spec nylon binding. The 1.5″ elastic money clip band on the back is also Mil-Spec. Basically, you’re not likely to wear one of these wallets out for at least a decade.

What’s cool to me is that the material of each wallet has its own story to tell before ending up in your hands. Rather than going to waste after saving so many lives, this stuff gets to serve a second tour of duty.

There are a number of “Sergeant” colorways to choose from, the most popular being the “Orange Typhon” model. The majority of them are $29 on Amazon.

Buy Now