Posts Tagged double-duty
InsectShield Bandanas and Hats
I typed up this review in advance while looking out at the waves lapping on the beach of Tulum, palm trees swaying in the breeze and tropical birds singing in a morning chorus. But last night I slept under a mosquito net and I have a mosquito coil burning next to the lounge chair I’m in to keep the vampires at bay. At times it’s like getting dive-bombed.
Fortunately, I’m armed with a whole other arsenal of weapons, including some clothing with insect protection built right into the fabric. ExOfficio has for years had a line of Buzz Off products that were treated with built-in Permethrin, but this InsectShield line is even more durable, lasting 70 washings before the 0.52% of repellent wears off. It’s invisible, odorless, and—in my experience quite effective. You still have to spray something on exposed skin though, as this will only protect what it is covering.
Mosquitoes flying around your legs and ankles are annoying enough (a good reason to wear some InsectShield pants), but it’s even more maddening when 
they are flying around your head. That buzzing in the ears is enough to make some people flail around like a dancing lunatic and walking around with bug bites on your face is never fun.
Fortunately, you can protect your head or neck for only $12 with the ExOfficio InsectShield bandannas pictured here. They come in a variety of colors and each has little mozzies on it so you don’t get it mixed up with a plain bandanna. Any long-term traveler learns that the bandanna can be a great double-duty item too, working as a head cover, sweat rag, impromptu napkin, valuables holder, and more.
Then there’s this InsectShield Adventure hat, which I’ve been using for six weeks now. There’s nothing even slightly fashionable about this hat and I’ll admit it’s probably not the kind of thing you want to wear while posing for photos. It’s a floppy hat that will protect you from the sun and from bugs and only weighs two ounces 
though, so function wins out over form. It knows its job and does it well, not really caring if you look cool or not. (Hey, at least the chin strap is detachable.)
If you’re going to be in hot sunny places for a while, you need a wide-brimmed hat anyway, so get this, the bucket hat, or the Cotton Sun Bucket model and keep the mosquitoes at bay at the same time. If you don’t mind being a redneck, you can get a baseball cap one instead—or that with a flap coming off the back to cover that neck.
The Adventure Hat lists for $36 but sometimes you’ll find it on sale for less at the ExOfficio site or at Backcountry.com.
See the full line of InsectShield products.
See the other ExOfficio reviews at Practical Travel Gear.
Posted by Tim in Adventure Gear, Kids and Family, Travel Light on July 22nd, 2009
Road Test: Kensington Wall/Auto/Air Power Adapter
This travel adapter is not the flashiest piece of gear in my travel bag, but certainly one of the most practical. And, after all, this website is practicaltravelgear.com, right?
Kensington’s Wall/Auto/Air Ultra Portable Notebook Power Adapter (K33197US) is like a quick-change artist, capable of powering and charging a notebook computer, iPod and cell phone on airplanes, in cars or at the hotel.
With changeable tips for different devices, it can replace several power supplies if you’re carrying multiple gadgets on the road, lightening the load and taking up less space.
And it’s lighter than the brick-like power adapter that came with my Dell notebook. When you’re schlepping gear around an airport, every ounce and pound you can leave behind makes a difference.
The Kensington power kit comes with plugs and adapters to use the power ports on planes. This airplane power feature will become even more essential for business travelers as more airlines add in-flight wi-fi access.
One note here—I do just about all of my flying on American Airlines, which is generous with power ports but they are limited to 75 watts. The Kensington adapter will handle up to 120 watts, but your notebook may not work in the air if it draws more than 70 or 75 watts because of the limitations of the plane’s power system. Check the power supply that came with your notebook to see the rated power. Smaller notebooks are the ones most likely to work—some of the larger ones are very power hungry and may not work with airplane ports.
This adapter will also power gear from a 12-volt power supply in a car or from AC plugs—either 120 or 240 volts, an added bonus for international travel.
Kensington makes a wide variety of tips to power different devices, so check for compatibility with your gear.
The Kensington power adapter comes with several built-in safety features, including protection from drawing too much current, short circuits and overheating. In my experience, Kensington is a quality manufacturer and I’ve heard many reports from other users about how strongly they stand behind their products.
The list price for the adapter is $149.99, but refurbished models (Kensington 33197RR) can be found for $25-$30. The new models have a two-year warranty, while the refurbs are covered for one year.
I’ve carried a refurbished model around for way over 100,000 miles and never had a problem. Wait, there was the time the dog chewed up one of the cables, but I can’t blame that on Kensington.
This adapter has been a reliable, solid piece of equipment that meets the most important test of all. It just works.
Posted by JohnG in Business Gear, Travel Light on May 11th, 2009
Better-priced Travel Pants From REI
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. I usually travel with a pair of convertible pants that turn into shorts, but you’ve got to admit they scream “Tourist!” just as loudly as a floppy hat and a camera case. So when I’m traveling some place where men in shorts aren’t common (um, turns out that’s most of the world actually), I like to have a pair of lightweight pants that stay cool and don’t make me look like a backpacker. These do the trick nicely and are the kind I can wear out to dinner or a club without feeling self-conscious. Or I can wear them on a hike and know that they’ll wick away the sweat.
They’re not your average cotton chino slacks. They call the synthetic fabric “neo-linen nylon,” but all I know is it’s soft, breathable, and very lightweight. These are the kind of pants you can wash in the sink and they’ll be dry before morning, which means less to pack. They’ve got plenty of pockets tucked around them, including two rear button-closure ones, two concealed zipper pockets at side seams (handy for those pound or euro coins) and a zippered hip pocket. Like most any sheath of fabric they will “block harmful UV rays.” Not completely wrinkle-free, but close enough for casual wear.
They come in khaki or graphite in a variety of inseams. Men’s versions only though unfortunately: REI’s Roundezvous Pants for women list for $56.
Search “adventure pants” at REI.com
Posted by Tim in Adventure Gear, Travel Light on May 6th, 2009
