Travel Gear Rewind

On this travel gear blog I usually review an item after a few days or a week of use and move on. But sometimes the positive impression is reinforced after I use something on several subsequent trips and give it more of a workout. In the past I've done some capsule mentions of things I use regularly, but here's a rewind look at some other items that have stood up well after the original review.

Targus Convertible Laptop Bag and Backpack
I still prefer a regular backpack style of laptop bag over this style because you can stuff a lot more in it and it's easier to get the laptop in and out at security without unhitching a clasp and moving a flap. When you're going into business meetings though, a backpack doesn't give a great impression. So I'll switch to this convertible Targus bag when I've got to go gladhanding for some reason. I can wear it over my shoulder like a messenger bag or carry it with the handle on top. But then when I'm strolling around the city, I can unzip the back panel, pull out another set of straps, and use it as a backpack. This thing is very well constructed, with some of the strongest-feeling hardware and zippers I've encountered.

Sennheiser Noise Canceling Headphones
I just flew across the Atlantic and back this past week and it was nice to hear Sigur Ros in full symphonic glory on my way to Iceland---without all the airplane engine noise as an intrusive extra instrument. I don't take these if the flight is short or space really tight in the carry-on; I usually take the Comply passive noise cancellation ones then instead. But when I'm in the air for four hours at a time or more, these can put me in my own little world (even in a cramped coach seat.) On my flight home the guy beside me was carrying the big Bose versions. His took up twice as much space and didn't sound any better---we did a swap, tried each others', and called it a wash.

Merrell Hiking Boots
I bought a version similar to these Merrell Outland Mid Waterproof Hiking Boots back before I even started reviewing gear for this blog, which is kind of the point of bringing them up. Years later they still do the job and have not popped a seam anywhere. On a rainy hike I noticed that they've lost some of their original waterproof tendencies, but that's easy enough to remedy with a little Nikwax waterproofing solution. Two other people in my group--both travel writers---were also raving about their Merrill boots, so that's three for three with active travelers who don't just leave them sitting in a closet. I also like these because they are sized wider than many competing models, so there is room for some thick socks. When these hiking boots finally go to their graveyard, I'm getting another pair of Merrells to take their place.

Tati Yes Watch
This quality watch has the ability to set "home" and "away" time zones, which is cool, but the main differentiator (besides the look) is the sun and moon cycles displayed constantly around the rim. If I want to go out and shoot photos in optimal light, this allows me to plan ahead, always knowing when sunset and sunset are. This can also be useful for everything from scheduling golf or tennis game around your work schedule to figuring out how late you can party in the Arctic daylight in August.

Versatile Cold-weather Shells from Marker

I've had this coat in my closet for a while, rarely pulling it out since I live in a southern zone that doesn't get freezing cold all that often. I'm in Iceland right now though, and this shell from Marker is getting a workout.

It was made for this kind of weather: whipping wind, spurts of rain, and fluctuating temperatures. Iceland in late September is like a year of weather in one day. This coat is meeting the challenge head-on though, resisting the rain, blocking the wind, and keeping me snug. The hood tucks away when not needed, but when the nasty weather returns, I can just unroll the hood and form it to my head with cinch straps and Velcro. It all dries quickly when the sun comes back out and the coat is light to carry when it's not needed at all.

There is a detachable vest on the inside that I left at home for this trip because I already had a fleece I was planning to wear underneath. If I were using this to go skiing, which was my original intent when buying it, I would put the vest back in for an extra layer of warmth.

There are other little extras here and there, like an inside zipper pocket, a sleeve pocket for money, and even a front pocket for a MP3 player. Velcro on the sleeves allows you to wrap them tight and cinch straps around the waist allow a custom fit.

The various Marker shells retail for $180 to $240 and if I remember right I got mine for less than a Ben Franklin at Sierra Trading Post. I haven't gotten as much use out of it as I would like, but I would still buy it again. There are more heavily marketed jackets that are very similar in style and structure selling for two or three times this price. Marker seems to be more focused on its bindings and helmets, so you can find closeout deals on last year's models all over the place.

Vogel Sunglasses from Tifosi - Smooooth

One particular week this summer I saw three people with Tifosi Optics shades on: a guy I was playing golf with, a cyclist, and the owner of a bike shop. The last one said Tifosis were his favorite shades. Figuring he ought to know, I took it as a sign to check out a few pairs.

I've got one pair that I'm trying out while biking---more on that later---but this Vogel pair pictured here I can wear anywhere, anytime. You get all their regular lens technology, but put into a casual style.

These are some of the most comfortable sunglasses I've ever worn, probably due in no small part to the adjustable nosepiece being barely attached to the glasses. Then the glasses themselves can dispense with the plural: it's one polycarbonate lens stretched across your entire face. This creates an odd sensation when you're wearing them: no dead spots and complete peripheral vision. It's about as close as you can get to getting the benefits of sunglasses without feeling like anything is blocking your line of sight.

The Vogel model from Tifosi comes in seven different lens and color combinations, with models specifically for golf and ones with Fototec lenses that get darker as you go outside into bright light. Whichever lens model you get, it's promised to be shatterproof. The Vogel retails for around $60 and comes with a protective zippered hard case and a lens cleaning cloth. See all the specs at the Tifosi website.

Tifosi Vogel sunglasses at REI

Nap26 Wants to Help You Power Nap

A lot of the things I review on this travel gear blog I'm very enthusiastic about and I use them in my travels. Sometimes I try out an item that's a total bust and I don't mention it. The Nap26 sleep inducer CD falls somewhere in between.

The idea is that you listen to this audio recording with headphones or earplugs and a little later you wake up refreshed: "Feel like you slept 3 hours after 26 minutes."

If that sounds to you like the kind of outrageous claim you'd hear on an infomercial, I'm with you. But I do highly value a good afternoon nap now and then (especially when I can swing in a hammock in Mexico). The claim that the almost inaudible pulses in this sync up with your brain waves probably has some grounding in good scientific principles. So I gave it a shot on three different lazy afternoons.

The verdict? For me anyway, a 33% success rate. And for that time, I fell asleep halfway through it, which means I only got a 13 minute nap. Good enough for Thomas Edison maybe, but not for me.

The success of the Nap26 probably depends on how well you sleep normally. My significant other has all kinds of sleep problems and wears earplugs and a mask at night. But then put her in front of a TV and pop in a movie---out like a light. She's going to try this out soon and will probably have better success than me. I normally don't need any help dropping off to sleep and the white noise in this distracted me more than it helped me.

The Nap26 website is full of testimonials from happy customers though, from all walks of life, and there's a money back guarantee if you don't see results. So if you could use more plane naps when you travel, for 20 bucks it's worth a shot.

You can download the CD to iTunes or as a MP3, but be advised it's not as simple as that. You have to tweak the settings so it is downloaded in full data-hogging mode, not as a compressed file.

Get it at the PowrNaps store.

Get it at Amazon.

Eagle Creek Hovercraft Lightweight Rolling Suitcase

If your travels will mostly take you through airports and hotel lobbies, the Hovercraft line of lightweight wheeled suitcases from Eagle Creek are a great bet.

As I said in the rolling carry-on bags report, wheels are not your friend when you are traveling light. If you're checking a bag (hopefully with an airline that doesn't sock it to you with extra fees), it doesn't matter so much. I still see 5-foot-tall women struggling with a 50-pound suitcase nearly every time I go to the airport though, and it's not pretty. If you're going to use a bag with wheels, at least get one that doesn't weigh 12 pounds before you even put anything inside it.

The Hovercraft series from Eagle Creek does a superb job of combining light weight and rugged construction. I've used the Hovercraft 22 version on five trips now (4 domestic, one international) and after a wipedown it still looks new. It only weighs 7 pounds, 6 ounces, which is pretty good for anything rugged of this size with wheels. The wheels are big ones though and make it easy to maneuver. The telescoping handle works smoothly and zips away behind a flap.

There are some nice touches to this bag, including a soft handle on both the top and side, a slide-out luggage tag, a reflective strip to be seen at night, compression straps, and a quick clip to attach another bag. It feels easy to manage when carried, but has a capacity of 2925 cubic inches (48 liters). It can go into expansion mode and hold more if you need to do souvenir or duty-free bottle stuffing on the way home. If you want to see the full specs, you can get them at this page on the Eagle Creek site.

As you can tell from the second picture, the manufacturer would love it if you used this suitcase in conjunction with their packing cubes. If you're the packing cube type, you'll find the pockets and dimensions match up well.

While I prefer to carry on a bag with no wheels in most circumstances, when I'm just going to one hotel for a conference or vacation and it's a direct flight, this is my go-to bag.


Get the Hovercraft 22 at Amazon

Backgammon in a Bag for Travel

One of the joys of travel is that you finally get some real down time, time to kick back, read a book, or spend a lazy afternoon with a few beers and backgammon.

It's hard to lug a whole backgammon board with you though and while I've carried a small magnetic travel one with me on several occasions, the experience is just not the same. I've been trying out a great new solution called Bag Gammon. It's a bag with a cinch cord that inside has regular-sized pieces, two sets of dice, a doubling cube, and a fold-out full-sized board. It's not super-light because of the heft of the regular pieces, but you can cram it into a corner of your pack or suitcase no problem. (See the video on the website to see how it all works.)

You can use this on any flat surface, so it'll work at a beach bar or on a hotel bed. You get the same click-clack of stacking your checkers on the side as you bring them all home as you would with a regulation board and you don't have to pass the dice back and forth.

For now you need to buy your travel backgammon set from the baggames.com site, where you can also get checkers and chess. The backgammon one is $14.95 plus shipping---not bad. I'll definitely be taking this along on all my future vacations.

Toughest Rolling Carry-ons

If you're flying in the U.S. and want to check a bag, let's hope you're on Southwest Airlines. Otherwise, open your wallet or pack well and carry on your bag.

The latest issue of Consumer Reports magazine has a "Toughest Travelers" rundown on which carry-on bags with wheels are likely to hold up well over time.

I'm personally not a big fan of rolling carry-ons since unless you're loaded up with electronics in the same bag as your clothes, it shouldn't be so heavy you need wheels. And the word "heavy" goes with the wheels since they add anywhere from 3 to 6 extra pounds. They also subtract from the available packing space since your bag is technically supposed to fit in those little frames they have near the ticket counter. Unless you're going to spend most of your time traversing airports, you're better off with something you just carry, either as a duffel bag or a backpack.

But anyway, on to the results. In some cases, you do get what you pay for. The bag that performed noticably better than the others was the Tumi Alpha 22-inch. (I think anything over 20 inches long is taking a risk when it comes to qualifying as a carry-on, but that's how it's listed.) This isn't much to look at and it lists for a hefty $595, but it has a fold-out garment bag and was the only bag to get a high score in three criteria: durability, capacity, and convenience.

A couple years back Budget Travel magazine did a run of tests with larger rolling suitcases and the Tumi one fared there as well, coming in second.

Next up in the Consumer Reports list were versions from Victoronix, Hartman, Briggs & Riley, and TravelPro. But the testers really liked the Delsey Helium Fusion (pictured to the right) because it was only $77 compared to hundreds of dollars for the others.

Missing from the tests was anything from Eagle Creek. I've been using their 22-inch Hovercraft rolling bag when I fly Southwest in the U.S. and like it a lot. I'll run a full review of it next week.

Vite Plus Steel BPA-free Steel Water Bottle from Bilt

Ever since word got out that the ingredient BPA in plastic water bottles could possibly be harmful, there's been a spike in demand for alternatives. I reviewed the cool Sigg aluminum metal water bottle a while back and now there's a sleek new line of steel alternatives from Bilt.

The FDA says there's no real risk, but many consumers have obviously gone with the "better safe than sorry" approach. Now even if you think the BPA fears are a bunch of hooey and you come from the "that which does not kill you makes you stronger" camp, these Bilt bottles are attractive and functional enough that you would use them anyway. I've been trying out the Vite Plus one this week and really like it. It feels good in the hand (with finger indentations on the side), it's got good water flow because of a small valve on the top, and no additional tastes come through from the container. I haven't taken it mountain biking, but this model would be good for that since it has a pop-off covering for the spout that goes into your mouth.

If you do worry about the trace elements in a plastic bottle, the Bilt metal ones will ease your mind. Here's the official set of specs: "All Bilt Stainless Steel water bottles are made with a premium food-grade type 304 stainless steel containing 18% chromium and 8% nickel. This material is chosen for its consistent quality and performance characteristics of not leaching chemicals, staining, corroding or rusting. The inside of Bilt bottles are finished using an electrolyte charge and dolomitic sand blasting; unlike aluminum bottles that need an inner coating lacquer containing BPA."

These bottles don't come with the whimsical artistic variety Sigg offers and you can't just toss the whole thing in the recycling bin later like you can with those (part of this bottle is #5 plastic), but at $11 to $17, these less expensive Bilt water bottles are nice worry-free items that will last for years of heavy use and adventures. And they're easier to drink out of when you're in motion. Plus these have a wide mouth, so if you use this in your travels with a water purifier from Steripen, you won't have to fill up landfills with plastic disposable bottles.

Check the Bilt store locater

Find BPA-Free Bilt Water Bottles at REI

Soak Hand Wash for Delicate Clothing

One of the keys to packing light is to remember that clothing can be washed on the road. You don't need to pack two week's worth of outfits for a two-week trip. If you can pack well for a week you can be set for months.

Sending your traveling clothes to the hotel service can get expensive fast, however, with the price rising according to the rate of a room. In many countries you can get laundry done very reasonably nearby somewhere, but sooner or later you have to do some sink washing along the way. I've been trying out some samples for this purpose from Soak Wash that promise to make this effort a bit easier.

Through some magic combination of chemicals billed as "modern care for fine fibers," this detergent is gentle enough for delicate fabrics like knits, lingerie, and silk. Here's the novel part though: you don't have to rinse it out. "When you soak your items, the dirt and detergent comes out in the water and what is left in the item evaporates. When you squeeze out the water, you are left with a hint of fragrance that dissipates over time."

I wonder if this residue will build up over time, but it did leave the clothes smelling nice in my road trip test. You can pick from three fragrances: flora, aquae, or citrus.

The largest size is meant for the home and and the middle one is only okay if you're checking a bag. Thankfully there are small 6 ML packages that are lightweight and are easy to toss into a cosmetic case.

For info on where to buy it, see the Soak Wash website.

Vibrating Alarm Watches from Vibe

If you don't want to carry an alarm clock in your travels a watch with a built-in alarm can be useful. For some heavy sleepers though, that wimpy little beep isn't going to help them catch the 6 a.m. train to Budapest. This VibraLite 8 watch I've been trying out has the wimpy beep, but it gives you the option of something more novel: a vibrating watch that buzzes your arm.

While our brains may be conditioned to ignoring minor noises when we're in a deep sleep (especially if our arm is buried under the pillow), it's hard to sleep through the feeling of someone putting electrodes next to your skin and shocking you. No, that's not what this does---it is really like a small vibrating cell phone stuck onto your arm---but it's a strange sensation. Either you'll wake up and start getting ready or you'll keep dozing and have dreams about being prodded and tested in an asylum. There's a built-in light too, so you can check the time in the dark while you're groggy.

As always seems to be the case with these watches that come with pages of tiny type instructions for functions you will never use, it takes some time and effort to get everything set up. On my third try I finally got the alarm to work. Apparently setting it isn't enough: you then have to go to a separate function mode and switch the sound from off to on. Or go to an entirely different one to turn on the buzzer. If you are the type that salivates over being able to run your whole life with a wristwatch though, you can use this to remind yourself of appointments, time a race, set multiple alarms, keep track of two time zones, and count down to a specific event.

The main reason I'm not too bummed about sending this review copy back, however, is that for something I learned about from a site called SeekingDesigners, most of the watches in the Vibe line are far from stylish. It's hard to make a digital display watch look great, but it can be done, just ask Swatch or Tati. The one I tested (pictured at the top) is a little heavier than a cheapo digital watch from a kiosk at the mall, but does the vibrator make this mostly plastic watch worth $70? If you like the concept but are looking for something more attractive, check their whole line at the company website.

Get it at Amazon