Posts Tagged double-duty gear
ExOfficio Nio Amphi Convertible Pants
Yeah, I know, I’ve heard all the reasons why these travel pants that convert to shorts are not for cool people. If you’re part of the fashion police brigade, you can ignore this review of ExOfficio’s version.
For everyone else—and judging by what I see on the road “everyone else” is a whole lot of people—these Nio Amphi ones are the top shelf version of this adventure travel staple. But first, if these convertible pants are so dorky, why are they so popular?
There’s one primary reason: one less item to pack. Here at Practical Travel Gear we believe in packing light and one of the best ways to pull that off is by choosing a lot of double-duty gear. These pants are exhibit A in that strategy. They’re pants when you need pants, but the legs zip off and they’re shorts when you need shorts. Handy on a hike or when you’re a man in a country where men don’t wear shorts (which is, unfortunately, most of the world). Pants by day, shorts by night in the hostel or guesthouse.
The ExOfficio Nio Amphi ones make the packing even easier by being super-light and wrinkle free. They weigh about half what a couple cheaper pairs I have weigh and they feel nicer on the skin as well. Their tag line says they “dry faster than you can say ‘amphibious’” and while that may be stretching it, I’ve repeatedly found them to dry in less than an hour on an outdoor clothesline—impressive.
These travel pants are water resistant and stain resistant and in my experience they still look like new after multiple trips and washings—both in the sink and in a machine. They’re light and wispy, but still pack a 30SPF sun protection.
As with most ExOfficio products, there are a lot of little details that set these apart. There’s a nice built-in woven nylon belt that can be removed, there are flaps covering the zippers on the legs when the bottom parts are removed, and there’s a soft liner around the waist to make them more comfortable. You want pockets? These pants have so many pockets you could stash your money in seven different places if you wanted, including two zippered back pockets, a couple that close with Velcro, and some secret stash pockets for change or bills.
The ExOfficio Nio Amphi pants come in three colors and multiple sizes for men and two colors for women. The list price is $75, but less popular colors and sizes sometimes get discounted to move them out the door.
Free Shipping On Orders Over $50 at ExOfficio.com
See the ExOfficio Nio Amphi Women’s version at Backcountry.com
Posted by Tim in Adventure Gear, Travel Light on September 1st, 2010
SugarSync Program is a Life Saver for Frequent Travelers
If “your whole life” is on one laptop or smart phone, what happens if you lose it? If you use a desktop at home and a laptop or small netbook when you travel, how do you make sure you have all the files you need on both devices, in their most current form? What if you need to get one of those docs from a third device, like an iPhone or iPod Touch?
I used to sweat and worry about these questions before I discovered SugarSync a couple years ago (including when I had GoToMyPC, which was often a bust). Now I’m completely relaxed when I travel, knowing I can get to anything I need from any device anywhere. It’s a file sync program, an online back-up program, a file sharing program, and a photo upload program all rolled into one. At a price that starts at $50 a year for 30GB, it’s really cheap insurance and is cheaper than a sleeping pill prescription. If all my devices get wiped out in one day and the backup hard drive does too, I’ve still got my files and photos.
I seldom feel comfortable raving about a software program as there are always a few annoyances that keep it from being as useful as it should be and most of them let me down on a regular basis. I can honestly say this SugarSync one works like a dream though. You just tag the folders you want to share between devices and with “the cloud” and let ‘er rip. After the files, photos, songs, and videos are uploaded, each time you make a change to any of the folders on any device, behind the scenes this program makes the updates. It works in the background, seldom taking up much in the way of resources or slowing down your system.
Then you can access those files from either registered device or just log into your dashboard online and view or download what you need. You can also e-mail a file link to someone (like YouSendIt), attach a photo to send them, or share a whole folder of files/photos by invitation.
What’s really cool is, you can do all this from your mobile device as well. For the iPhone or Touch you just download the app, sign in once, then magically all your stuff is there. (You can even put files into a “Magic Briefcase” to get at them quickly without searching around.) If you take a photo with your iPhone, it’s automatically added to your “mobile photos” folder and it’s on every device you have registered—no cables required.
In case all that is not enough, the file syncs are done with SSL encryption so nobody snoops, plus they keep the last five versions of your files in case you make changes and then need the old version. And on top of that, you can show off photos from your home PC or stream music that’s on your laptop from your smartphone or Touch. How cool!
There’s almost nothing I wish this could do that it doesn’t and if you don’t believe me, you can take it for a 30-day trial run or test out a 2GB version indefinitely. To me that shows a lot of confidence in the product and it’s well-deserved.
Plans range from $50 a year (or $4.99 a month) to $250 a year for 250 GB. Here’s the pricing breakdown.
SugarSync Online Backup, Sync, Share – Try FREE for 30 days
Posted by Tim in Business Gear, General Gear on August 26th, 2010
New Balance 851 Multisport Shoes
If you’re going to pack light it’s important to utilize double-duty travel gear, so we like to review items that do more than one thing well. These New Balance shoes have treated me well on multiple trips where I wasn’t going to do any heavy-duty hiking in the mountains. For jogs, long walks on a path, and pounding the pavement in a big city, this one pair of shoes will leave your feet feeling good at the end of the day.
I’ve long been a fan of New Balance shoes because the company doesn’t pretend everyone’s feet are the same width. Most of their models come not just in multiple sizes, but multiple widths as well. For this 851 multisport model, I slipped into an extra-wide version and it fit perfectly.
If you look at the specs for this shoe on the New Balance site, you’ll see lots of capital letters and trademark signs that basically add up to this: there’s a lot of support built in. You’ve got lots of cushioning, stability control, and mid-sole support.
These sneakers also feature a water-resistant suede/mesh upper that worked well when I got caught in a couple showers. I also liked the comfy cushioned tongue, the laces that stay tied, and the fabric hook on the back for slipping them on or off.
These New Balance shoes are extremely comfortable and at 12.5 ounces, are not a big burden to pack. When I headed out for a trip to Chile this week where I would mostly be visiting wineries, biking, and walking around Santiago, these are the shoes I packed for getting around during the day.
The New Balance multisport 851 shoes list for $80, but you can get them at a discounted price at the Shop New Balance site or at Endless.com at the link below. (The men’s version model number is listed as MO851 and the women’s version as WO851.)
New Balance Men’s Mo851 Sneaker at Endless.com
New Balance Women’s Wo851 Multisport Shoe
Posted by Tim in General Gear on August 18th, 2010
Citronella Wilderness Wash from Sea to Summit
We love to review double-duty travel gear here on Practical Travel Gear, especially when it’s cheap and light as well. So how about hand-washing laundry detergent than also helps keep the bugs away?
That’s the idea behind Sea to Summit’s Citronella Wilderness Wash. You squirt some of this in the sink and wash your sweaty clothes. Then instead of your shirts smelling like flowers or perfume (which insects and bees will just love), you smell like citronella—a scent that the critters hate—and sandalwood.
Even better, this concentrated washing liquid comes in two sizes that are easy to carry on and airplane. The 1.3-ounce one goes for $3.50 and the 3-ounce one is a buck more. (If you’re going on a long overland or camping trip, however, you can buy an 8-ounce version.)
I tried this citronella laundry soap out on two recent trips and it did the job as well as any other liquid detergent I would use. I kind of liked the smell too—it’s not overpowering. If I were in a sensitive area I would rather have this along than one with harsh chemicals: it’s biodegradable and paraben-free.
It lives up to the “super concentrated” label as well. I’ve done five hotel bathroom sink loads with the smallest size and still have nearly half of it left. Whether you’re hiking through the mountains or backpacking around the tropics, this bug-unfriendly washing liquid is easy to pack and well worth the minimal cost.
And hey, this is multi-use soap meant for camping, so in a pinch you can use it for dishes, your body, or your hair. Double duty indeed.
See more details at the Sea to Summit site and follow the link below to order it from REI.
Sea To Summit Citronella Wilderness Wash Soap – 1.3 fl. oz. at REI
Posted by Tim in General Gear, Travel Light on August 12th, 2010
Columbia Silver Ridge Stretch Travel Shirt
Want a quick-dry, lightweight, multi-functional shirt that moves with you when you’re on the move? This long-sleeve stretch version of the popular Silver Ridge shirt from Columbia works a lot of features into its $55 list price.
It’s got tabs with buttons so you can roll up the sleeves as you get hotter and keep them there. There’s a fabric hook on both the inside and outside to hang it up. Each pocket has a zipper and there’s also a pocket where you can stick in a pen or small knife, with a buttonhole to allow it to poke up through the pocket flap if the object is too long. It’s made of wicking, quick-dry nylon, but the additional 4% elastane fabric provides more give than similar shirts so you have a wider range of motion.
Naturally it dries quickly when you sink wash it and in my experience it only took five minutes for sweat to dry if I moved from a hot place to a cooler one. There are vents to let out some of that body heat too, which helps a lot, and a mesh liner along the top third of the shirt.
The fabric is wispy-light, a good thing unless you routinely rely on your shirt for sun protection—the SPF rating is only 15. Not for the Danes perhaps.
The Silver Ridge Stretch long-sleeve shirt from Columbia Sportswear comes in five sizes and four colors. There’s a women’s version too, with significantly trimmer styling and no pockets on the front. It has a list price that’s $5 less, has an SPF rating of 30, and comes in six colors.
The links above go to the specific shirt pages on Columbia.com. It’s also available at these retailers:
Columbia Silver Ridge Stretch Shirt – Men’s at Backcountry.com
Posted by Tim in Adventure Gear, Travel Light on July 22nd, 2010
