Posts Tagged daypacks
Stuff Sack Eco-friendly Items From ChicoBag
Sometimes we get our hands on something that is downright perfect for our reviews on Practical Travel Gear: lightweight, easy to pack, eco-friendly, useful, and inexpensive. What else can you ask?
So naturally I was all over the items from ChicoBag: various kinds of bags that weigh almost nothing, pack up small, and use recycled materials. The company started out with the ever-more-common (thankfully) reusable shopping bag that packs down into its own pouch, but they have taken it many steps further.
This past week I’ve been trying out a cool messenger bag that slings over my shoulder when I’m riding a bike or walking to the store. It packs into a pouch (with room to spare) that’s a good bit smaller than a mass-market paperback book. It has a carabiner on the side for hanging it. When you unfold it, however, it’s a fully functional messenger bag with a strong and roomy interior, a front zipper pocket, and two stretchy side pockets that will each hold a water bottle. The strap has two adjustment buckles.
It proved itself to be quite strong in my tests and it’s made from durable recycled PET ripstop fabric. Fabric you can wash in a machine I might add. That’s just the start though on an item that is comprised of 80% recycled materials. We’re talking fabric and webbing that are 100% Recycled PET, airmesh and strap liner that are 100% Recycled Polypropylene, a carabiner that’s 97% Recycled Aluminum, and hardware that is 100% recycled nylon. (Apparently the zippers and flap magnets are the weak point making up the lost 20% in the reuse chain.)
I haven’t traveled anywhere with this bag yet, but it’s coming with me for sure on my next trip. For anyone who doesn’t normally take their laptop outside of the hotel room, this would be a great bag to bring along for daily sightseeing. When you’re heading home, just pack it up in its pouch again. It only adds a mere 5.6 ounces to your load and can even fit in a little bike seat pocket.
ChicoBag makes lots of other cool items too in a variety of fun colors. I tried out a water bottle carrier made of the same materials and packing up into a much smaller integrated pouch. Later this year the water carriers will go on sale at some retailers packed together with a Kleen Kanteen water bottle, around $20 combined. The carrier has a pouch for money or ID and another for “pen, chopsticks, and lip balm.” Chopsticks? Well, okay, if you say so.
All of their products come with a one-year warranty and are attractively priced, like only $18 for the messenger bag and $20 for the daypack pictured here. Most of their fun recycled material shopping bags are $5-$10.
Who says you have to be rich or inconvenienced to pack light and lower your impact on the planet? See all the available styles, colors, and prints at ChicoBag.com.
You can also find their products in stock at REI and Amazon.
Related reviews:
UltraSil Daypack
Flip and Tumble Bag
Tom Bihn Packable Daypack
RuMe Reusable Bags
Posted by Tim in General Gear, Kids and Family, Travel Light on February 3rd, 2010
Ultra-Sil DayPack Goes from Fistful to Backpack
I keep an Ultra-Sil shopping bag in my car’s glove compartment and occasionally take it on trips with me where I know I’m be doing some local shopping. It wads up tiny but holds a load of 200+ pounds.
Sea to Summit has expanded on the idea with this nifty Ultra-Sil Daypack. It follows the same general idea: the backpack comes in a little wadded ball that weighs only 2.4 ounces (68 grams) and has a snap to clip onto a belt or strap. When you take it apart, however, you’ve got a daypack that holds 20 liters and is super-strong. Seams are reinforced and it’s made of water-resistant Siliconized Cordura.
This product enables you to add a third option to your bags without taking another bag. You’ve got your main suitcase or backpack, a smaller bag with your laptop or other gear, then this wispy one that can be your sightseeing daypack. Or it can be your shopping bag when you go out to stock up on food. (Just don’t do like I did and stuff a leaky bag of white cornmeal into it and end up looking like somebody signed you up as a drug mule.)
It almost looks like a magic trick with you unfold this instant daypack because it compresses so small that you can wrap your hand around it and obscure it completely. For reference, it’s even smaller than the Flip & Tumble ball that bag goes into. It comes in five colors and lists for $28. It may end up going for less online, but for now it’s hard to find. The Sea to Summit people say it’ll appear any day now at REI though, so search their site to check.
Get the full scoop at the Sea to Summit product page, including where to buy it at an independent retailer in your area.
Related review: Tom Bihn double-duty packable daypack
Posted by Tim in Kids and Family, Travel Light on January 14th, 2010
Overland Equipment: Bag Review & Giveaway
I’ve coveted friends’ Overland shoulder bags, so I was thrilled to receive and review one of my very own — and give away some of these quality products to lucky Practical Travel Gear readers. (More on that below, but no skipping ahead.)
Overland Equipment has been making durable bags for women since 1981. These are sporty and stylish products that are meant to be used everyday — and because they are so functional, they’re great for travel, too. I dig my medium-sized Donner ($58) bag because it has an adjustable shoulder strap; I can wear it across my chest messenger-style when I’m in a crowd or on a mission to get somewhere (I walk faster when bags aren’t dangling off one shoulder).
Another favorite feature: the integrated water-bottle pockets on either side. They are fashioned such that you can’t see the water-bottle tops peeking out from the pockets at all. Just a nice discreet way to carry water when I’m out and about shopping or sightseeing. The front organizer pouch has five different pockets to carry small items like pens, a point-and-shoot camera and loose change. The fleece-lined pocket is designed for sunglasses or phone, another feature I dig, since I’m always digging through my purse to find my phone when it rings. I like the idea of having one special spot for it.
The main compartment — also with an interior pouch — is surprisingly big, but at 10 by 7.5 inches, it’s also tall-ish and deep. I think I prefer shorter and wider, since I find it easier to locate items in a bag with such dimensions. Another thing I’d change on the Donner: the front organizer pouch has a Velcro fastener. I don’t like that “rippppp” sound I get when I open the flap; a magnet closure would be much classier.
So perhaps my ideal Overland bag is the 10-by-12-inch Auburn ($50; above left). This bag (still considered “medium size” by the manufacturer) has a magnetic closure and still more room to store stuff — but no water-bottle holders. The cute Bayliss ($45; below) also has a magnetic closure, but it’s compact at 6.5 by 7.5 inches. I think the Bayliss would make a great little purse for travel if you need something just to carry the bare essentials. Plus, it’s designed to be worn as a waist pack or over your shoulder with the 1-inch-wide adjustable strap — we love double-duty items at Practical Travel Gear, so I give that feature a huge thumb’s up.
Want to have an Overland Equipment bag of your very own? Again, the company is giving away one of each of these styles. All you have to do is tell me where you’d first use the bag — whether it’s on a trip, to your kid’s soccer game, or during a weekend of errand-running around town. (You’re a guy entering to win a bag for your wife, girlfriend or mother? Tell me how and where you think she’ll use the bag.)
Leave comments below until Thursday, September 17 at 11:59 p.m. (EST). I’ll draw THREE lucky names via a random-number generator — each will win either the Auburn, the Bayliss or the Donner style bag. I’ll announce the winners in a new post on Friday, September 18. U.S. mailing addresses only; one entry per person. Good luck!
9/17 UPDATE:
Here are the winners of the Overland Equipment bag giveaway:
Auburn – #46 Tammy
Bayliss – #43 McKim
Donner – #78 amy
Email me at kara [at] PracticalTravelGear [dot] com with your full name and snail-mail address, and I’ll get your prizes out to you. Enjoy your new bags!
Posted by Kara in General Gear on September 11th, 2009
9 Road-tested Travel Gear Winners
I am still unpacking my stuff from a two-month trip through Mexico and Belize. I was carrying plenty of travel gear I was trying out for the first time—and have reviewed on this blog—but also some “oldies but goodies” that proved their worth once again. Here are nine items that have stood up to the rigors of the road and have performed well time after time.
Pac-safe Laptop Backpack and Daybag
I have used a Pac-safe B100 laptop backpack on a whole series of trips and I used it again on this one. It still looks almost new though and has retained its shape perfectly. I felt confident nobody was going to slash my bag in a crowded market and it doubled as an in-room safe where I could lock up my laptop and camera (with a cable lock) when I was wandering the town without it. My wife used the smaller Metrosafe 200 bag to carry all the essentials when we were sightseeing. This company makes great stuff and it’s worth the premium, especially if you’re carrying anything valuable you’re worried about. You can get most of their product line at Magellan’s.
Eagle Creek Toiletry Kits
When I’m checking a bag, I travel with an Eagle Creek Wallaby I got a few years back. My wife is still using an older version she got more than 10 years ago. Filled with compartments and pockets and a hook to hang it from wherever you can in the bathroom. When counter space is limited, this is very helpful, plus when packing up to go you just zip it up and you’re done.
Clothing from ExOfficio
I talk up ExOfficio travel clothes on a regular basis because time after time they meet or beat my expectations. I wore something of theirs pretty much every day for two months solid, yet the shirts and pants look just as good as they did the day I took them out of their packaging. From travel underwear to Insect Shield items to quick-dry shirts, this is great stuff. My one complaint is that every bead of sweat shows up way too easily in some of the darker shirts—a problem that’s not as obvious with some of my cheaper patterned shirts (also synthetic) straight off the local clearance rack.
Steripen Water Purifier
I’ve raved about this SteriPEN Traveler so many times since I got it three years ago that I ought to be doing TV commercials for them. I got the runs exactly one half of one day on this trip—out of 61 days total in Mexico and Belize. By using this I also saved at least a hundred plastic water bottles from the landfills or sides of the road. The one drawback I’ve found is the optional solar battery charger takes a good 6-8 hours of direct sunlight, which is not always plentiful during rainy season or while hiking in the mountains.
Skype
OK, this is technically software, not gear, but it’s a wonderful thing for travelers. I got a Skype unlimited calling subscription and online phone number with my own area code before I left so relatives could call us with their regular phone and it was a domestic call for them. It rang anytime we were online or they could leave a voice mail if we weren’t. It’s so cheap I’m keeping it going permanently just for when I travel. I took along a Philips Skype USB phoneon as well so I didn’t need a headset.
Convertible Travel Pants
Yeah, they’re kind of dorky, but all three of us had a pair or two and they got a lot of use. Pants when you need pants, shorts when you don’t. The definitive double-duty travel gear item. You can get nice versions from Columbia, ExOfficio, North Face, etc. at Sierra Trading Post or a slightly cheaper store brand version at REI. Right about now at least one brand is probably going on sale…
Chargepod Callpod
This is another product I absolutely love. Between two of us we were carrying two iPods, two home cell phones, and two Mexican cell phones this summer. With this cool Callpod gadget we could leave all the proprietary cords behind and have just one charger. (See photo at the top of post.)
Timex Rugged Field Expedition Watch
I’ve got eight watches on my dresser at home, but this is the one I take with me on trips. My Rugged Field Expedition watch has taken a licking and kept on ticking in six countries so far, through all kinds of weather. I think this one pictured is not available anymore, but I’ve had good experiences with the whole line. (And I like the light-up Indiglo feature.)
Teva Omnium Shoes
I just reviewed these awesome
Teva Omnium sandal shoes last week, so click the link above for the lowdown.
Also, from a working digital nomad standpoint, I was quite happy with the performance of some items I reviewed here recently, like the HP DV3 13-inch laptop and my Kodak Easyshare Z1012 IS camera with 12X zoom.
Stay tuned for more!
Posted by Tim in Adventure Gear, General Gear, Travel Light on August 12th, 2009
Packable Double-duty Backpack from Tom Bihn
If a gear item is inexpensive, light, and comes in handy for multiple uses, it’s right up our alley here on the Practical Travel Gear blog. This Tom Bihn packing cube backpack is far from ergonomic and it’s not much more then a few pieces of cloth, two straps, and two zippers, but sometimes less is more.
The idea of this bag is that you use it as sort of a giant packing cube in your suitcase/bag, then when you’ve unpacked you can use it as a daypack, a shopping bag, or whatever. I’m kind of ambivalent about packing cubes though and confess than I only have one with me on my current tw0-month trip for the summer.
Instead I just jam this into a corner or lie it flat between layers of clothing. Then after arrival I use it almost daily it seems. I can ball it up when I’m not using it and it doesn’t add any extra weight to what I’m already carrying when I come back from the store loaded down. And it can get loaded down if you want it to: it holds a respectable 16 liters (975 cubic inches).
It has two compartments: one smaller one on the bottom and the main one on top. It’s made of lightweight but very strong nylon and has heavy-duty zippers. Made in the USA, but it lists for only $35. Nice. It comes in black or yellow.
There’s one more use for this bag that I’ll be taking advantage of on the way home. You can pack souvenirs in it when you come back with more than you left with and need an extra bag for the plane.
You can only get it direct from Tom Bihn though (keeps the overhead down), so check it out online.
See our other Tom Bihn product reviews:
Posted by Tim in General Gear, Travel Light on July 15th, 2009
