Posts Tagged cheap and light
eBags Packing Cubes Set
Packing for a long trip can be frustrating for a number of reasons. First, if you are traveling to destinations with different climates, it feels like you are double packing. Second, it is hard to keep things organized in your bag so that you can easily reach the things you need at each destination. It often seems that the thing you need most is always at the bottom of the bag and you end up wrinkling or shifting everything else to get to it.
These packing cubes from eBags are the perfect way to keep your luggage contents organized and your clothing neatly pressed and organized. It is also perfect for separating electronic devices and shoes from delicate clothes or for storing a sweater or charging cable that you might need to access in a jiffy on the plane.
Each durable, nylon pouch has a zippered top with mesh covers to keep the contents visible and well-ventilated. There is also a handle on each pouch making them easy to carry individually. A variety of colors are perfect for families who share a bag and want to color code their packing cubes. They are lightweight and add virtually no additional poundage to your suitcase.
The packing cubes keep clothing from wrinkling and moving around in your bag during transit. They are sold in sets with small, medium, and large cases making them great for both smaller, carryon bags or larger suitcases.
If packing for more than one person in the same bag, these cubes also help to separate things without splitting the bag into two sides. This allows for the most efficient use of space in your suitcase. It also serves a dual purpose because they can be used for laundry to keep your dirty clothes separated from clean clothes.
These make a great gift for busy travelers and are available on the eBags website or on Amazon. They run from $20 to $28 for a set of three, depending on size. They are always in my suitcase now making me feel more organized and keeping my clothes looking spiffy no matter how long my trip.
Posted by Ramsey in Business Gear, General Gear, Kids and Family on January 23rd, 2012
Cheap Survival Insurance: $15 Adventure Medical Kit
With this kit, you can prepare for unexpected problems without carrying a lot of extra weight and bulk.
If you’ve ever been on a guided tour or hiking trip, you’ve probably noticed that whenever something goes wrong or someone gets hurt, the guide has a Hermione-like magic bag filled with all the right bandages and first-aid supplies. You almost never see a professional guide without some kind of daypack because they need to be prepared for whatever nature can throw at them.
How prepared are you when you go hiking, kayaking, biking, or rural road-tripping on your own? Are you prepared for getting stuck somewhere for the night—with no heat?
It’s hard to justify a big and bulky kit that covers every possible bad situation. But I’m digging this little 4-ounce, $15 Survival Medic packet from Adventure Medical Kits. It’s got some first aid supplies in it, like antibiotic cream, an antiseptic towelette, and bandages. The real high-value items though are things you would probably spend much more than $15 on if you were to buy them individually and pack them up yourself. (And they wouldn’t fit so well together.)
This kit has their cool little firestarter that makes sparks, tinder to light up from those sparks, and an emergency blanket to retain your body heat while all that gets going. There’s a compass to keep you from wandering in circles and a signal whistle to alert anyone around that you need help. You also get 26 inches of duct tape and some very useful survival instructions in a small booklet.
All this packs into a waterproof plastic bag that’s about the size of one hand. It takes up about as much room as a solar charger, so it’s not going to be a packing burden or weigh you down.
You wouldn’t know it from watching 24-hour news channels, but I read that more tourists died in U.S. national parks last year than died in all of Mexico. But people don’t usually warn you to be careful when you say you’re going to go hiking in Yellowstone. Pack one of these—it’s cheap insurance. Order it direct or get it from Amazon here. It should also start showing up at stores shortly.
If you go backcountry hiking on a regular basis, check out this heftier kit I reviewed earlier from the same company: Origin SOL Survival Kit.
Posted by Tim L. in Adventure Gear, Travel Light on January 19th, 2012
ShowOffs Reusable Travel Bags
Years ago, when the TSA introduced mandatory guidelines for packing 3-oz-or-less toiletries in clear, quart-sized bags, I — like the rest of the world — reached into my kitchen drawer and pulled out Ziploc-brand baggies for just that use. Since reviewing a few rollerboards that came with plastic zipper bags for just that use, I ditched the kitchen baggies for these slightly classier reusable bags.
For folks who might not be in the mood to purchase a new suitcase for its included zipper bag, consider ShowOffs travel bags for your next trip. Indeed, these bags — with magenta, seafoam green or black “frames” or flower designs — can make you feel a bit more dignified about sharing your mini tubes of toothpaste or Clearasil cream with other travelers in line at the airport X-ray.
Gallon and quart sized ShowOffs bags plus reusable bottles for $14.99.
Quart-sized ShowOffs come with three little bottles approved by the TSA that you can refill with contact lens solution, hair spray, shampoo or the like. The colorful designs one one side of the bag still allow TSA agents to see inside. Gallon-sized bags, meant for use in your checked baggage, have more of a solid design with just a small clear space on each so you can peek in to see what’s enclosed. Bags have a Ziploc-like resealable closure and the plastic feels thicker and sturdier than a regular kitchen baggie.
Use ShowOffs bags not only for toiletries, but also snacks, small electronics or any other small items that you want to keep organized in a larger bag. I always put regularly sized toothpaste, sunscreen and kids’ liquid Advil in gallon-sized bags when I check my luggage, so I’m pleased I’ll have these stylish bags for my next long-haul trip.
Purchase on the ShowOffs website (free shipping) or other online retailers like Brookstone or eBags (where they are currently 20 percent off).
Posted by Kara in General Gear, Travel Light on December 27th, 2011
Vapur Collapsible Water Bottle
We’re regularly preaching on here about the evils of single-use plastic water bottles, so we like to keep an eye on water bottle designs that make it easier to avoid this marketing-driven environmental disaster.
This reusable, collapsible bottle from Vapur got on my radar recently when I was at an adventure travel trade show and several companies (including Eddie Bauer) were handing them out as promos. I’ve used one a few times now and while it’s kind of an unusual thing to get used to, it has some big advantages.
The main one is that you can pack this thing without taking up any space. Since you can’t go through security with a filled water bottle anyway, you can stow this in your carry-on and then use it at a water fountain on the other side of the TSA security theater. It’s also freezable, so you can have very cold water later on a car trip or even use it as an ice pack in transit. The plastic is BPA-free of course and the top pops off for easy washing. You can buy replacement tops too and keep using the same bottle.
Now you might think this wouldn’t stand upright, but the way it’s designed it will stand up until it gets pretty empty: there’s an extra section on the bottom that expands when the bottle is filled. It also comes with its own carabiner threaded through a whole, so you can hang it on your pack filled or not.
These run about half the price of a stainless steel quality plastic bottle, but there are some disadvantages. Like the Sigg kind of metal ones, this has a narrow opening at the top. That makes it harder to wash if you’re putting something besides water in it.
The other problem is you can’t use this with a SteriPen water purifier. You’d have to purify the water in something else and transfer it to here. Or use a pump filter. This only matters in countries where you can’t trust the water though. Just go from the tap if you’re in the first world.
You can buy direct from Vapur (and order ones with your logo on it if you’re a trade show exhibitor) or check out the selection from Amazon, some of them with cool artist drawings like the one at the right. Or check prices online for other retail outlets.
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Posted by Tim L. in General Gear, Kids and Family, Travel Light on December 22nd, 2011
The Screwpop Tool – Now Black and Customizable
Close to two years ago I reviewed a cool little $5 item that I’ve used plenty of times since: the Screwpop. It’s a handy tool that opens beer bottles (that always gets my attention), has a Phillips screwdriver, and a regular flat-head screwdriver. With those out, it’s also a hex nut wrench (should your nut be the right size). See the details here.
These days, unless you encounter an especially dickish TSA agent, you should be able to carry this with you on a flight. But if they do confiscate it, you’re not out a fortune at least.
The original version, still available, is chrome, which is hard to print on. So now there’s a black version. This looks cool on its own, but the one key advantage is that you can customize it for your company, your band, your store, your website, whatever. So instead of giving people some useless schwag they’ll toss in the garbage or a ballpoint pen that will die in a few months, you can hand out something they could still be using a decade from now.
To show me how this works, the Screwpop people did a sample run of their tool with the Practical Travel Gear logo and website address—see the photo at the top. Pretty darn cool.
Want one? (Contest now closed)
I’m handing out some of them at the Outdoor Retailer Winter Market in January, but I’m going to send three of them to our readers. First you have to do one of these three things:
1) OR
Then send an e-mail with which one(s) you did to tim [ at] practicaltravelgear.com. Include your name and physical shipping address. That’s it!
I’ll pick three winners at random from the submissions, which must arrive by midnight, December 23, 2011. The Screwpops will ship out the first week of January. (No sorry, while these make great stocking stuffers, you’ll have to buy one if you want it in time for Christmas.)
If you don’t win, you can get the newer black Screwpop for $6 at ScrewpopTool.com.
* UPDATE – WE HAVE WINNERS! Congratulations to readers Janice Z, Sam G, and Brian C. Sorry, you’ll have to lay out six bucks for one of your own if that’s not you.
Posted by Tim L. in Adventure Gear, General Gear, Travel Light on December 14th, 2011
