Posts Tagged Eagle Creek
Comfort Eye Shade from Eagle Creek
Just in the past month I’ve had two overnight bus rides and a nine-hour overnight flight, so I’ve had plenty of opportunities to try out this Comfort Eye Shade from Eagle Creek.With this on I was oblivious to flickering screens and neighbors’ reading lights and I snoozed as well as can be expected while not lying in a flat position.
This Eagle Creek version is basically a soft microfleece upgrade on the scratchy cheap eye masks some airlines still hand out. Unlike an upgrade on a plane though, this one won’t cost you much: it retails for a mere 10 bucks. It comes in gray or blue and weighs less than an ounce.
In another improvement on the scratchy kind, this eye mask is molded to block out more light around your eyes and it has a thick adjustable elastic strap instead of some flimsy thin strap that won’t hold up to multiple uses.
Let’s imagine though that Business Class is just not good enough and you want to upgrade further. Well there’s a Comfort Plus Eye Shade that is a little softer and more feminine, with a quilted fabric and Primaloft filling on the inside. It wouldn’t look good on me, but if this look and cooler surface appeals to you more, it’s $15.
Like most Eagle Creek products, both versions are widely available and easy to find. I even saw the first version in the Santiago, Chile airport as I was browsing the shops before heading home. (There it was $12, in case you were wondering…) You can buy the Comfort Eye Shade or Comfort Plus at many travel retail stores or online at just about any of the travel gear outlets. Follow the link of your choice below if you want to snooze better on your next flight, overnight bus trip, or long train ride.
Comfort Eye Shade at REI, at Campmor, or Amazon
Comfort Plus Eye Shade at Backcountry or Magellan’s Travel Supplies.
Posted by Tim in Business Gear, General Gear, Travel Light on August 25th, 2010
Eagle Creek Multi-function Travel Clock
I’ve long been on a quest to find the perfect travel alarm clock. This Eagle Creek one is still not it, but it comes closer than most.
It seems like designing the perfect travel clock wouldn’t be all that hard: lightweight, small, inexpensive, quiet, dependable, stingy with batteries, and lighted.
It’s the combination of those last two that always seem to throw the designers and this Eagle Creek Multi-function clock fits the pattern. It hits most of the right notes, but doesn’t have a light, which left me, as the Jayhawks say, stumbling through the dark.
“But hey,” they would probably answer, “what were you expecting for $16.50?” (You’ll rarely find it discounted from that, so go with the best shipping option for the online retailers listed at the end of this review.) For that measly price you get an alarm clock with snooze, one-button displays of 16 time zones around the world, the date, calculator/currency exchange and—my favorite extra—a thermometer. (When your bedmate says she’s freezing, you can look up and see if she’s delusional.)
Getting the clock set up is not exactly Apple-intuitive: you’ll definitely need the instruction manual. And the manual is pretty useless when it comes to figuring out the currency conversion function. The battery is included though, so you can get going out of the box and after the initial set-up you can leave it alone until you change time zones. Then when you reset that time zone later, all the others adjust as well.
In normal display state, you see the date, time, and temperature, though oddly the time is displayed as 2-45 instead of 2:45, which still looks odd to me after weeks of use. As mentioned before though, there’s no light—not even one you can press in the middle of the night to see what time it is. So if you want to check the time, you need to take it with you to the bathroom or something.
But the lack of a light is likely because of using a watch battery to keep the weight and size down. The whole thing closes up, clam shell style, for traveling and is less than five inches long. It only weighs a few ounces and it comes with a lifetime warranty.
I’m still looking for that perfect travel alarm clock with all of the above plus a light and easy-to-deduce controls, but until I find it this will work. I just need to keep my Timex Indiglo watch next to it at night…
When I say this travel alarm clock is widely available, don’t take my word for it. Follow these links to shop for it at eBags, Buy.com, REI, or Amazon.
Posted by Tim in General Gear, Travel Light on July 21st, 2010
Eagle Creek Global Commuter Laptop Bag
I’ve been using Eagle Creek gear since my first backpacking trip, but the company makes practical luggage for those who have moved on to real jobs as well. Take this Global Commuter laptop bag, which will speed you through the airport but last you through several career changes.
Consider this to be the versatile traveler’s laptop briefcase. Sure, you can carry it into a meeting wearing a business suit, but you can also sling it over your shoulder as a messenger bag or strap it onto your back with shoulder straps if you’ve left the laptop in the hotel room and are sightseeing. With the kind of clever but unobtrusive design work Eagle Creek is known for, the flap that hides those backpack straps also has a wide fabric loop that lets you slide the bag over your wheelie suitcase handle.
Of course that’s just the beginning. The Global Commuter is checkpoint friendly, meaning you can just unzip it and lay it flat while going through security instead of having to remove your laptop from its bag. It’s got pockets and more pockets for all your papers and gadgets: one on the outside, four on the inside, and specific pouches and pockets for a phone, music player (with audio portal for the cord), and pens. There’s a removable key fob and a file organizer. Two-way zippers have handy pulls and there’s Velcro in all the right places.
This bag holds up to a 17-inch laptop and will only add an additional 2.5 pounds to your load. It’s made of heavy-duty ripstop nylon though that is water-resistant.
It comes in three colors and lists for $135. There are certainly cheaper laptop bags out there, but consider this one an investment. Like all of Eagle Creek’s gear, it’s built to last: the bag is guaranteed for life. See the full specs and more photos at the Eagle Creek site and check street prices at the online retailers below.
Eagle Creek Global Commuter Carry On Bag from Backcountry.com
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Posted by Tim in Business Gear, Travel Light on April 28th, 2010
Eagle Creek HC2 Hovercraft Upright Rolling Carry-on
In the battle to outfit travelers with a lightweight rolling suitcase that fits in the luggage compartment of a plane, Eagle Creek’s Hovercraft line has won lots of fans—including me.
We review a fair bit of luggage on this travel gear blog and most of the time it’s carry-on bags. Frankly we despise the idea of paying checked baggage charges unless we’re getting a super-low fare to compensate, like on RyanAir or Spirit Air. Plus any company can crank out a basic block of a bag with wheels that can be stuffed with a week’s worth of clothing. The challenge is in making something useful that will stow away above your head on a cramped jet.
I’ve been a big fan of Eagle Creek gear since my first backpacking trip around the world and I’ve bought and reviewed loads of their gadgets and accessories over the years. I wasn’t sure that their suitcases would be anything special until I tried out an earlier incarnation of their Hovercraft line back in this 2008 review. Then I kept using it. And my wife kept using it. And we took it on a two-month trip last summer. It’s still going strong, with no rips, broken zippers, or blown-out wheels. That’s probably how they can provide their “No Matter What” warranty: if anything is defective or the bag is damaged—even by the airline—they’ll replace it or fix it free.
This bag looks a lot smaller than the previous version and though it’s technically half an inch over the usual 45 linear inches carry-on limit (at 14 X 22 X 9.5 inches), it is noticeably more compact than many other 22-inch rolling bags out there. In my closet it actually fits inside the old Hovercraft bag I mentioned earlier if that one’s expansion zipper is open. Still, it holds a hefty 48 liters or 2925 cubic inches in carry-on mode, a bit more when unzipping the expansion part.
The Eagle Creek Hovercraft suitcases are designed to be used with packing cubes, so it’s pretty minimalist on the inside to allow plenty of cramming. Just a zippered mesh pouch on the flap, a tiny outside pocket on that, and then a big compartment with cinch fabric and four straps to hold things down. The outside is a different story though. There you find a large exterior compartment with a key fob, a front pocket to keep the essentials handy, another two zippered compartments, a built-in luggage tag, and a side pocket for a water bottle.
All the components feel well-made and carefully designed, including the large solid rubber wheels and quality telescoping handle pictured at the bottom. I also like the cushioned fabric handles (nothing to break) and the quality lockable zippers with rubber on the pulls. It’s got a skid plate and corner bumpers for protection.
It’s not the absolute lightest bag on the market at 7 pounds 6 ounces, but considering the built-for-a-lifetime wheels and hardware, that’s pretty impressive. You have to cut some corners to get more than a few ounces lighter than that on a wheelie bag. (When a pound or two really matters, like on cheapo European airlines, you’re better off with something like the Tom Bihn Aeronaut.)
You can get this in black to look like everyone else or in shades of dark blue and orange. It is also available in an almost identical 20-inch version. See the full lowdown at the Eagle Creek HC2 Hovercraft page. At a list price of $250 this is an investment, in line with a high-end backpack, but it frequently goes for under $200 at online retailers like the ones listed below. Shop around.
Get the HC2 Hovercraft 22″ Upright at eBags.com
Hovercraft Upright 22 at Backcountry.com or at Amazon.com.
Posted by Tim in General Gear, Travel Light on April 1st, 2010
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
