Lightweight ExOfficio Cruz'r Shirt for Men

For looking good during your travels and having a sink laundry option for packing light, this men's Cruz'r short-sleeve shirt from ExOfficio is a dream.

When I was a hard-core backpacker setting out on year-long travels through the world's cheapest destinations, clothes were a secondary thought. After all, you can revamp your wardrobe in Bangkok or Delhi for next to nothing when you get tired of your faded t-shirts. No way was I going to spend the equivalent of a few nights' lodging for a shirt just because it would make me look nice. The standard scruffy backpacker wardrobe was just fine.

Now I travel more on business or vacation and need to look, well, more presentable. I still want to travel with a carry-on whenever possible though, which means stepping up and packing quality lightweight clothing with extra benefits. This ExOfficio shirt is a real winner in that regard. It weighs just a few ounces, but feels expensive...

...continued on the new Practical Travel Gear blog

Sansa Slot Radio Pre-programmed MP3 Player

The Sansa slotRadio is a strange concept, but it works brilliantly in practice. It’s a pre-loaded MP3 player with 1,000 songs, plus a radio, all in a tiny clip-on package. Put a new chip in the slot, you’ve got 1,000 new songs instantly.

I love my iPod Classic, especially when I’m on a long flight or I need to keep my daughter entertained while traveling. The thing is, as user-friendly as the whole interface is, I’m really lazy about loading it up with new music, despite the fact I’ve got a thousand CDs sitting one room away from the computer…and I have an eMusic subscription…and I review new world music albums every couple months for Perceptive Travel. But unlike a teenager with all the time in the world, I always seem to have something else higher on the to-do list.

So I was intrigued by the idea of this Sansa slotRadio player as a time saver and I’ve enjoyed it far more than I expected. First there’s the level of surprise, which is ever better than it is with the iPod Shuffle because you really don’t know what’s coming next. You didn’t load it up to start with. Plus you can see the artist and song name on the display—my main beef with the Shuffle. It’s almost as small as the 2nd generation Shuffle though, and has a clip on the back, plus it has a radio for listening to NPR or local music in a foreign country. Not a bad value for a hundred bucks including the first 1,000 song sampler.

...continued on the new Practical Travel Gear blog

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REI Adventure Pants Review

Walking through your local REI store can be like a traveler's version of a trip to Tiffany's. When I stopped in two weeks ago to use my annual rebate check and a "20 percent one full-priced item" coupon, I had trouble actually using the latter. After perusing racks of $95 slacks from Columbia, $80 t-shirts from Mountain Hardwear, $200 sunglasses from Smith, and $18 socks from a whole slew of companies, I ended up using the coupon on some heavy-duty DEET bug repellent. I saved $1.60. Woo-hoo.

In all fairness though, REI does run some killer sales now and then, in the stores and their outlet site, plus the prices on their own private label versions of popular clothing items are much easier to swallow. Like the lower-priced snacks and cereals under the Target or Costco brand name, the REI versions of pants, jackets, or wicking shirts won't sting you so badly at the cash register.

So I used my rebate check to go toward these nice REI Adventure Pants, marked down from $44 to $32.83---a deal that is still up on their website too at the moment.

...continued on the new Practical Travel Gear blog

Keen Sayulita Smart Travel Shoes

Shoes are always the big obstacle when you're trying to pack light, especially for men. While we're content to make due with less, there's no equivalent to "little black flats" in the male shoe wardrobe and we can't get away with flimsy little sandals when going out to a nice restaurant. So the challenge is to find a pair of travel shoes that look decent enough for a variety of situations, as in any situation that doesn't require hiking boots or dress shoes.

This pair of Sayulita shoes from Keen I've been trying out do the trick quite well. They're light, they're comfortable for walking around a city, and they look good with jeans or khakis. The top is suede and the bottom is reasonably environmentally friendly: recycled polyurithene and renewable cork.

Yes, cork is going to compress over time, but in this case that's a good thing. The base of the shoe ends up conforming to your foot so you get more support than you would expect in such a lightweight, flexible shoe. (The shipping weight for the two of them together is 10 ounces.) I put about five miles of walking on them over four days and they're conforming to my feet like a glove.

The Keen Sayulita shoes come in two colors (brown or gray) and two styles: lace and slip-on. The slip-on version make breezing through the airport easy too.

You can buy them at most online retailers specializing in shoes or travel gear. But check out the Keen Footwear website for a whole range of shoes that are ideal for travelers: toed sandals suitable for rafting or kayaking, the Market Street and Blvd. lines of casual shoes for strolling around town, and the Trailhead line---which includes the great Shellrock hiking boots I reviewed after trekking through Peru. And yes, there are female versions too, because you can't just travel with flats and thin sandals.

Get yours:

Direct from Keen.

KEEN Sayulita Lace Shoe at Backcountry.com


Keen Sayulita at Amazon

TSA-friendly, No-metal Belt from Beep Free

With as much travel gear as I review on here, you'd think more gear would be the last thing I'd request as a birthday present, but I needed a new TSA-friendly belt. So when I told my mom that, she tracked down this model from a company that specializes in these things and scored me the Beep Free Belt.

See, the only no-metal travel belt I have is the Eagle Creek All Terrain belt with a hidden money pocket. That's all well and good when I'm going on a long vacation or a hiking trip, but it doesn't look so hot if I'm going to meet someone at the other end or I don't want to pack a separate belt for going out to a nice restaurant now and then.

With the Beep Free Croco Finish model pictured above, I can look respectable and be respectable too on a business trip: I don't have to do a strip tease for the airport security agents every time I take a flight. I just pop off my loafers, put all the metal into my checkpoint-friendly laptop bag, and I waltz right through the metal detector.

When you check Magellan's or similar sites, you don't find many choices when it comes to metal-free belts like this. Usually there is just one style in either brown or black. On the Beep Free site, there are a variety of styles and colors and you can even choose the belt buckle finish.

Now I won't tell you that this is some elegant, finely crafted belt you would want to wear with an Armani suit. It is around 25 bucks after all. When you get within a couple feet you can tell the buckle is faux-metal and really plastic, but if it really bothers you they sell a real nickel buckle that you can switch out in your hotel room. That way you can still avoid packing another belt for meetings or presentations.

A True Carry-on Bag: Tom Bihn Aeronaut

If you've ever stood in a line of people in the connector between the airplane and the airport, waiting for your gate-checked bag to arrive from the luggage hold, you know that the phrase "carry-on bag" is not a strict one. The Eagle Creek 22-inch Hovercraft bag I reviewed earlier, for example, is technically a carry-on, but only for the largest jets. And if a gate agent ever made me stick it into one of those frames by the gate, no way it would fit.

This Aeronaut bag from Tom Bihn is a different story, as you can see from the airport gate photo I shot above after it was fully packed. It fits easily and it even "meets Heathrow requirements." I used this bag on a four-day trip to Albuquerque and Santa Fe, which it turns out is not a very warm place to be right now, so I had to pack some warm things.

Amazingly though, it holds 45 liters (2700 cubic inches). I packed all I needed for a four-day trip and still had room to spare. I'm talking a pair of shoes, a fleece jacket, four shirts, three t-shirts, three pairs of pants, a bathing suit, two hats, underwear and hiking socks, an extra belt, a deck of cards, a thin nylon daypack, and chargers for my gadgets. It holds far more than I expected when I first loked at it.

It weighs about two and a half pounds empty, which is less than half what any "lightweight" carry-on with wheels weighs. You can pay an extra $20 for a shoulder strap if you don't have one already, but it has regular handles and zip-away straps that make it work as a backpack.

This is one tough bag I expect to put through its paces for many years to come. The best zippers, the toughest ripstop nylon, and made in the USA on top of it. It also works with the Tom Bihn packing cubes I reviewed a few posts back. One size of those fits exactly in the rectangular side pockets that are on both ends of this bag, so you can stuff a lot into those and then pull them out and be organized at your hotel.

This Aeronaut bag is not the cheapest one you'll find, but $180 is still a good value considering the workmanship and quality materials. If you're a road warrior that needs to pack a lot for short trips or you just hate handing money to airlines for rapacious extra baggage fees, this can be your "one bag" you can use for every trip. It comes in three colors and you can buy it in Tom Bihn's Seattle store or direct from the Tom Bihn site. Highly recommended.

[Editor note - changed purchase text per comment below: Seattle-only retail availability. Buy online.]

Packing Cubes From Tom Bihn

Here's another option for packing cubes and I like the looks of these.

The Seattle-based Tom Bihn company is mostly known for its fantastic travel bags. Rugged and Made in the USA, they inspire fanatic devotion. I'm about to become a devotee myself I think. I'll be trying out their Aeronaut carry-on bag for a four-night trip next week and am actually looking forward to packing.

The company also makes loads of neat travel accessories though, including a wide array of packing cubes and gadget bags. I have mixed feelings about the necessity of these organizers, but my post on the Eagle Creek packing cubes before remains one of the most popular posts on this blog, so obviously people like the idea of getting their undies organized.

There's only so much innovation and differentiation you can put into little pouches that zip close and fit into a suitcase, so Tom Bihn's packing cubes mostly stand apart on style and color. They all have a checked pattern and come in either Steel (dark gray and subdued) or Solar (bright yellow). They have good YKK zippers and ripstock nylon fabric. They're mesh on one side so damp clothes don't build up mildew. Here's the real difference though: they're not made in China. If you want to put your own personal stimulus plan in place and buy American, you can do so at Tom Bihn without paying a premium. The cubes are $15 to $18 each and should last a decade or two.

The company also makes a 2-sided clear packing cube that is great when you want to be able to see exactly what's inside or you've got liquids you're afraid could leak onto everything else through mesh. In theory this should work for carrying cosmetics through the security gauntlet at the airport, but it depends on the mood of that day's TSA agent: carry a spare plastic bag in case.

Design Awards for Gear that Works

I almost fell off my chair when I looked at Travel + Leisure's 2009 Design Awards in their March issue. They managed to slide in a few expensive items from potential advertisers as "honorable mentions," but amazingly the most expensive gear item winner was a $225 bag and two items were under a hundred bucks.

The bag was in the "best luggage" category and indeed it does look pretty cool. It's the Hydro Sports Water-resistant T-Tech Backpack from Tumi.

Best Travel Accessory was this pair of Melissa Shoes pictured here. They pack easily, look interesting, and are 100% recyclable. At $79 retail, they seem pretty practical to me.

Amazingly, a $30 coat made the cut, and from Wal-mart no less. It's the Norma Kamali Trench Coat and I have to say it looked better in the magazine than many others costing 10 or 20 times as much.

The last two items I have reviewed and used myself. The Flip Video Camera got the nod, though I reviewed the older version, not the Mino. For $180 retail, it's a dead simple way to shoot video and it stores an hour's worth of footage.

The other item I've raved about for years and I would argue it's probably the greatest invention to come along in a decade for travelers: the Steripen water purifier. It's small, it's effective, and it helps save the planet. Obviously, it's well-designed enough to get the notice of these critics as well.

Good stuff! You can see more in a slideshow here.


Get the SteriPEN Adventurer Ultraviolet Water Purifier

iGo Everywhere Saves Packing Space

If you want an example of an industry that is about as far away as you can get from "green," it's the consumer electronic gadget industry. There are four cell phones in my house and every one of them has a different charger connection for both the wall outlet and the car. (This includes two phones from the same manufacturer). Then you need a different charger for a Blackberry, an Apple device, a handheld game device, every digital camera, and on and on.

So when you travel with your gadgets, you are forced to carry along a whole array of chargers to keep everything juiced up. Unless you have a power adapter from iGo that is.

If you pack an iGo and a few tips to fit your particular gadgets, you can carry one charger that works for everything. Instead of three or four different plugs, you've got one plug and the interchangeable tips---all fitting into a handy little travel case. Despite the small size, it's also dual-voltage, so as long as you're carrying a plug adapter too, you can use this around the world.

After I wrestled with the treacherous plaster blister pack the iGo Everywhere came in, the device was intuitively easy to set up and use. The plug itself is one part, the retractable cable is another, and then each tip is separate. So the whole thing takes up about as much space in your bag as a pack of cigarettes would. The $40 "iGo Everywhere" version also comes with a car charger. It worked flawlessly charging up my iPod and phones as fast as the proprietary charger does.

The tips are labeled with cryptic markers that don't mean much (A133 for an iPod for instance) and the main downside of this product is that you have to buy each tip separately, at a list price of $13 a pop. So if you have four devices with different connectors now, you're up to $92, or more than $100 if you buy the splitter to enable you to charge two devices at once.

In comparison, the Chargepod Callpod I reviewed before has a much bulkier profile (mainly because of the clunky plug), but it will charge six devices at once and you can buy an $80 bundle pack that has the six most common plugs supplied---including USB and mini-USB.

Overall, this is a sleek and cool device that solves a major annoyance for frequent travelers. If packing small and light is more important than the simultaneous charging offered by the Callpod, the iGo charger could be a worthwhile investment. Just understand that you will have to pony up $13 every time you get a new gadget---unless the electronics companies join the 21st century and start cutting down on wasteful proprietary connectors.

Get the iGo products at your local electronics store, Amazon, or igo.com.

Rolling Carry-on Roundup

The current issue of Wired magazine puts four rather pricey rolling carry-on bags to the test and the reviewer is not exactly blown away. The best one in the bunch gets a 7 out of 10, two rate a 6, and one ranks a 4---despite a list price of close to $500.

What's the deal?

First, as I've said before, wheels take up a lot of space and add a lot of weight, so think about whether you are really so frail (or your bag is so heavy) that you need them. Lots of time going between airport terminals? Then maybe. Flying straight to your destination then taking a taxi to a hotel? Then probably not.

Second, with those wheels it is not so easy to fit inside the true limitations of a carry-on bag. True, you can get away with more that the 45 linear inches total supposedly allowed on most airlines, but I dare you to try to fit anything larger onto one of those 3-seat-across planes you get crammed into so frequently now. Technically something that is 22 inches long is okay, but in reality that is often too large and the weight will be too high for European budget airlines.

The top-ranked one in their tests was the Eagle Creek Tarmac 22 pictured here. But here's the rub: "At 8 pounds it's tied with the Tumi for lightest of the 22-inchers. That weight is mostly from the wheels. My leather duffel carry-on holding the same amount is 2 pounds.

The Tumi T-Tech Polycarbonate one looks slick and the reviewers thought it was as strong as a bank vault, possibly impervious to the apocalypse. The design will turn heads and it was easy to pack, but "a real shin-buster" and a list price of $395.

A Victorinox Werks Traveler 3.0 WT-22 could have won the "longest product name" category, but it scored only a 6 due to being large and bulky and having "a wobbly grip that makes it tough to negotiate tight corners." It's half a grand too, which is way too much for a suitcase unless it's going to make breakfast for you too.

The Samsonite model they reviewed was almost as expensive, at $465. For a Samsonite! They liked the quiet wheels, 3-level handle, and TSA-approved locks. But "for this price, imitation carbon fiber shouldn't wrinkle at the edges or pick up smudges."


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Carry-on Bliss with the Flybag

I noticed that it has been quite a while since I reviewed something fitting into the "cheap and light" category, so I present to you the Flybag.

The company sent me one of these to try out for my last trip and as soon as I got back I ordered one for my Mom. How's that for an endorsement?

Plenty of companies now make some kind of carry-on cosmetic kit that helps you cope with the shakedown at airport security. I've reviewed a few here on this travel gear blog. This version adds a bit of fun and novelty to the mix though, which made me smile.

Sure, there is the clear case that will keep most TSA agents from messing with your 3-ounce or less containers and three refillable bottles for special goop you need to take with you. But in an attempt to make your flight more comfortable after you have cleared security, there is a cool eye mask to enable you to catch some sleep and some earplugs for plane noise or crying babies.

The mask and earplugs can also come in handy if the hotel that looked so lovely on Orbitz turns out to have badly-fitted windows and is right on the busiest street in the city.

And I like their sense of humor. The Flybag carry-on kits come in "blue bomb," "pink scissors," and "grey dagger" colors.

You can order direct from the Flybags.com site or get it for under 20 bucks from Amazon.

Hydration Tablets from U for You

If you're hot, sweaty, and on the move a lot, here's something new for you: tasty hydration tabs.

Sometimes I get some oddball samples of things to try out for this travel gear blog, but if they're fun, inexpensive, and have at least some application to moving around your state or the wide world, I'll test them out. Or I'll get some help from others to try them out, which is the case with these U hydration tablets from a company called nuun.

Think of these as a portable form of energy drink, and one that doesn't require throwing away cans or bottles. Each little tube has 16 tablets, each one good for a liter or so of water depending on how strong you want the taste. And in this case, you actually will want to taste them: the surprisingly yummy flavors are tangerine ginger, Goji berry green tea, and lemon chai. You pop in the tablet, it fizzes for a bit, then your bottle of water is transformed.

They contain lots of electrolytes and vitamins to replenish what you've lost on that long hike or bike ride. You'll get your zinc, your magnesium, your vitamin A, and a whole lot more. These would probably be good for jet lag too, with all the B vitamins. Almost no calories though, which puts them ahead of most commercial energy drinks that are full of sugar or corn syrup.

My wife is a personal trainer, so I had some people at her gym try these out, people who run marathons and triathalons while I watch football and drink beer. They universally gave the flavors a big thumbs up, though some wanted to dilute them more. Some of the testers got a boost from them, others preferred the heavier-duty stuff they normally use, but liked the convenience of this.

Get all the details at the U Hydration site, where you can buy a 3-pack of these (enough for 48 liters) for $24.

The tube is easy to pack and is made of recyclable plastic. And hey, the artwork is nice too.

Lowepro Camera Bags for all Sizes

I can't remember ever using a regular camera bag since the digital age started. It seems like every digital camera is a different size and shape. The ones I've been using always seem to be a big fatter than the norm. So I end up making something else fit, like an Eagle Creek pouch meant for something else or a small purse-type thing purchased from a Maya woman in a mercado.

When a Canadian chipmunk-looking squirrel started licking my old camera bag during a hike in Alberta's Banff National Park, I decided that maybe it was time to look harder for a real camera bag that wasn't crusted with 10 years of dust and grime. So when the Lowepro people offered to let me try out one of their many camera cases, I was able to find the one that fits my Kodak model.

The Kodak superzoom models (like the Z1012) are more compact than some of the others, like the Panasonic Lumix or the 20X Casio model I'll be reviewing in a few days. So this Apex 60 model is just right. Snug, but with room to spare for memory cards and batteries. There's only one zipper on this model: a flap inside separates the camera itself from the accessories. The accessories section is further separated with a Velcro-closed pocket and a mesh pocket. The Apex 60 comes with a basic carrying strap and a Velcro loop on the back for attaching it to a belt or daypack.

The cushioning all around protects the camera, which would have come in handy when I dropped mine a while back and the video option stopped functioning. It's water resistant on its own, but also comes with a cool waterproof cover that tucks underneath when not in use, as with a hiking daypack. So you can feel safer in a sudden downpour or touring Victoria Falls. Despite all this, it only weighs four ounces.

The Apex 60 lists for $24, but you may save a few bucks buying it online.

Lowepro sells a wide variety of camera bags, from ones fitting the smallest compact cameras to sophisticated bags for pro photographers with bags of lenses and tripods. There is a compatibility chart that allows you to match your camera to the right bag and there's even one for "stealth photographers" who need to stay incognito. They back even the cheapest pouches up with a lifetime warranty. To see the whole line of bags, go to the Lowepro site.

If you're a flashpacker with an SLR, a few lenses, and a laptop, check out the Lowepro CompuDaypack review from a while back.



Search Lowepro camera bags at Amazon.

Lightweight Waterproof M's Revel Jacket from Outdoor Research

I was worried a lot about being able to pick the right jacket for my current two-week trip in Peru. It had to work well for a six-day Saltankay trek in the beginning of rainy season, be light enough to pack in a carry on bag, and be warm enough for cool evenings in Cusco.

This M's Revel jacket from Outdoor Research passed with an A+. I have to say that this is hands-down the best lightweight jacket I've ever worn. Its waterproof functionality came through fine during one and a half rainy days of trekking. It has a reflective interior that makes it surprisingly warm when the weather gets cold and the wind picks up. With a couple layers underneath, this jacket would probably work down to 40 degrees F or so.

It weighs under a pound and packs up a small as a T-shirt. There's a zip-away rain hood with cinch straps, two zippered outside pockets under flaps, one interior pocket with an earphone slit, and cinch straps on the bottom to pull it tight. There are also zippers on each side that go all the way up to the armpits, presumably to help you get to pockets in your snow bibs or to let the heat out when you get too toasty. And hey, you can pop it into the washing machine when it gets dirty.

It's made in China of 100 percent nylon (well, Shield DS Pertex fabric if you want to get technical), but still all this smart design doesn't come cheap. The M's Revel jacket lists for $150. There's an "infinite guarantee" though and based on my tests over the past few years with other Outdoor Research products, you won't need it.

I don't usually get too enthusiastic about a piece of outerwear, but I love this jacket. Something's getting tossed out of my coat closet so this can go into a prime position.


Get the Revel Jacket at Backcountry.com

Travel Thongs (or Emergency Thongs) from Flingz

Would it be handy to have little packets of clean underwear on you at all times? To be able to toss them into your purse or weekend bag and forget about them until needed?

I don't have the right equipment to be in the target market for these Flingz travel thongs, but they sent me one for my significant other to try out. She's already a thong wearer, so no convincing was necessary on the benefits of no panty lines. She popped the packet into her gym bag, changed into them after a workout, and pronounced them up to the job. The thongs are 95% cotton, she washed them in the machine like she does with all the others and the Flingz came out fine.

The big appeal of these, however, is that they're inexpensive and they fit into a little palm-sized packet that's easy to shove into your purse or a corner of your travel bag. So you can have one with you at all times or pack three to carry you through a weekend trip.

My volunteer model wasn't up for any photos, so you'll have to rely on these from the website, but I promise the Flingz fit nicely. You'll have to make due with this shot from the Flingz website to get an idea of that. There aren't many retailers carrying these yet, so your best bet so for is to order from them direct at $7.50 for one or $18 for a three-pack (plus shipping).


Related post: Quick-dry Travel Underwear

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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

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.

Koss Isolation Earbuds Upgrade Your Sound

Let's face it, no matter how expensive your iPod or MP3 player is, the earbuds that come with it are going to be pretty crappy. You can dramatically upgrade your sound by adding to your investment with a better set of headphones or earbuds, like these $30 (or less) Koss KEB24 Isolation Earbuds.

Most people put up with their free earbuds because they are, well, free. But when I ran a test between these Koss earphones and regular iPod earbuds, it was like the difference between a symphony hall concert and listening to the symphony play over a bad p.a. system in a concrete hockey arena. Then I ran the test with a non-Apple MP3 player and the even lower-grade buds that came with it. It was night and day.

With the Koss ones I was hearing guitar parts I didn't even know existed, bass lines that were buried before, and a richness of sound that just plain didn't exist with the standard white earbuds you see everywhere. (Those make you a clear theft target too, don't forget, as theives think there may be an iPhone or Touch at the other end of the cord.) Even the distortion I was used to on rap songs ripped to iTunes from a CD was significantly lower.

Despite the reasonable price tage, these Koss Isolation Earbuds come with small, medium and large silicone ear cushions for a customized fit. This won't give you the kind of noise cancellation you get from a $300 pair of Bose headphones, but it does strongly reduce the noise level on an airplane and keeps your music in your ears instead of your and your neighbor's ears.

I tried these out in the midst of checking out a whole series of headphones and buds and while they don't reach the transcendental sound of something costing 10 times as much, it's close enough for a gym workout, a flight, or a long bus ride. Be advised they have one of those cords where the part going to one ear is shorter than the one going to the other. This doesn't matter to me, but some people prefer the traditional style. They come in black, silver, green, or pink.

These earphones come with a more generous promise than ones costing far more: a "no-questions-asked lifetime warranty. And hey, if you are traveling around on a company expense account and want to upgrade your sound, you can pick these up at the W Hotels store.

Buy Well to Pack Lighter

For a few years I've been running travel gear reviews on this Practical Travel Gear blog. I was stressing the need to pack light long before USAir started the trend of charging money to lose your bags and American showed even more contempt for its customers by charging for anything you check. Now the game has gotten serious and you really have to consider the cost of gear verses the cost of carrying it. Will that purchase help you save money---or will it cost you more money?

When you backpack around the world, you are thinking about this all the time of course, since you have to carry the load on your back. It doesn't take long to start cursing those blue jeans and the pair of shoes you really could have done without. Even a hardback book starts seeming like an extravagance.

On vacation though, it is easier to overpack. You have a wheelie suitcase maybe, lots of helping hands, luggage carts, and taxis. And before, you could just check your bag if it got too heavy or too big.

As I splurged far more than I ever normally do on a Air Strip Lite shirt from Ex-Officio for my current trip to Canada, I realized that I'm starting to look like those Korean travelers I used to make fun of: the ones who couldn't go on a hike or go skiing without buying all the latest and greatest custom-purposed outfits first. I've got the quick-dry underwear, the quick-dry wicking shirts, the zip-off convertible pants, the lightweight multi-purpose shoes. Throw in double-duty gadgets like the Chargepod and the Eagle Creek Money Belt and I start looking like a Magellan's catalog.

But you know what? I can pack for a two-week trip in a carry-on if I need to, which is the name of the game these days. It now pays to pay more for the right travel clothing. It weighs less, it washes easily, it dries fast, and it will usually last longer.

Plus the double-duty gear does more than one thing while taking up less space. The miniature gear does more in a smaller package.

Plan ahead, buy the right stuff, and you'll move through airports for less hassle--and fewer extra fees. I'm on the road trying out lots of new stuff right now actually, but with my family, so these posts will be a bit less frequent for the next two weeks.

See all quick-dry, lightweight clothing from ExOfficio.

Comply Noise Reducing Earplugs

I understand the appeal of active noise reduction headphones, especially when I've got a crying baby beside me and whiny toddler behind me on a flight. But devoting that much space in my bag to a bulky single-use item doesn't fit into my packing light plans. While those headphones are certainly nice, I feel like I've jumped back into the 1970s when I wear them, like I should be listening to the new Foghat album.

I've been trying out some earbuds that come close to duplicating that noise reduction headphone experience though---but at a tenth of the size. The Comply NR-10 Noise Reducing Earphones look much like normal earbuds, but have the kind of foam used in expanding earplugs that light sleepers and people who work around a lot of noise (like machinists and rock bands) often use. You just pop them in your ears like you would normal earbuds, but they block out 48 decibels of outside noise, so you hear very little besides your music.

According to the company who puts these out, Hearing Components, these Comply earphones use the same patented technology adopted by U.S. army helicopter crews and special forces. The earphones produce a frequency range of 20Hz to 20,000Hz, so you're going to hear much more of the music at the high and low end than with plain vanilla earbuds.

In my tests on two recent long flights the Comply NR-10 Earphones performed very well. As soon as they went in my ear the airplane engine noise was cut down dramatically and the whoosh of the airplane cabin ventilation system was almost imperceptible. I forgot about the crying baby two rows away and just soaked in the tunes.

They retail for $80 at the Comply Foam site or at Magellan's (link below), which includes one additional pair of smaller foam tips and a nice handy travel pouch that's smaller than the Altoids box you've been using to carry your earbuds around. There's a volume control on the cord itself too, which is a nice touch, but no batteries required.

Comply Earphones at Magellan's

(P.S. - I've been a traveling parent with both a crying baby and a whiny toddler, so no flaming comments about how I'm insensitive and just don't understand how hard it is to travel with a child, okay? I'd just rather not listen if I can help it.)