Image via Shutterstock
Image via Shutterstock

Memorial Day is this weekend, and that means it’s the start of the season for backyard barbecues, pool parties and outdoor adventuring. Over the next week, GeekWire will be bringing you our top picks for getting your geek on this summer.

Let’s get started by making your backyard party the envy of all your neighbors. Entice them to come over with some bumping tunes from your outdoor speakers, feed them with some delicious grilled food and entertain them with a backyard movie.

Outdoor Speakers

boston aoustics white
Boston Acoustics Soundware speakers

All good parties have music, but setting up speakers outside presents a few unique challenges. You have to make sure things are weatherproof and deal with quickly dissipating sound. The Boston Acoustics Soundware 4.5-inch speakers are a great option at $99 per speaker for the white ones or $75 for the black. Their unique shape and mount allows them to be positioned in almost any location for great sound throughout your backyard.

If you’re more interested in a more portable solution, the UE Megaboom is a great option. We’ve written up its smaller siblings before, but this one gets louder and lasts longer, meaning you’ll be able to keep the party going all night.

Backyard Grilling

What’s a backyard barbecue without a grill? You can get a compact but stellar gas grill for under $400 in the Weber Spirit E210. If you’re more into the charcoal scene, Weber is also the top name, with latest iteration of its standard Kettle Grill coming in at $149.

weber charcoal
The Weber Original Kettle Charcoal Grill

There are thousands of grilling gadgets, from the simple chimney starter to wireless thermometers. A good pair of gloves may be the best buy though. These leather welding gloves allow you to move meat without worrying about heat, so you can ditch those two-foot tongs for something with a little more control. And they’re only $13 to boot.

One of my favorite hacks to the old charcoal grill comes via Alton Brown in the form of the $139 PitmasterIQ IQ110. It attaches to the vent under the grill and regulates the airflow to get the exact right temperature inside your cooker for smoking meats. No need to build a smoking shed or mess with mysterious liquid smoke.

The Future of Beer

Good barbecue calls for good drinks, but getting beer for the whole neighborhood can be an expensive endeavor. While you can’t quite buy it yet, Fizzics is looking to make cheap beer taste better. The Indiegogo project uses a form of ultrasound to create optimal bubbles and produce a head usually reserved for draft beer from behind the bar. Just slide your beer bottle or can into the holder, put in the straw part, and pull a draft with perfect head.

Outdoor Movies

The Gemmy Airblown 39121X is a blow-up 12-foot screen
The Gemmy Airblown 39121X is a blow-up 12-foot screen

Once the sun sets, the neighborhood kids might want to settle down. With this blow-up movie screen and a portable projector, they can do it outside. This $405 Acer projector has great brightness for moonlit nights, while maxing out at 720p so you’re not spending on resolution that will probably be lost in the outdoor environment. Hook it up to your outdoor speakers and it’s like a neighborhood drive-in.

Join us tomorrow for our geeky picks for the beach.

GeekWire Picks is a regular feature linking to our favorite products and deals. GeekWire or its partners may receive a share of the revenue from your purchase through affiliate referral fees.
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