Posts Tagged ExOfficio
Great Gear and Travel Prizes for $10
[Passports with Purpose is now closed. Tune in again at the end of 2012!]
Over at my Cheapest Destinations Blog, I’ve been involved for three years with the annual Passports with Purpose drive. In the past we’ve collectively built (and staffed) a school in Cambodia and built a whole darn village for a Dalit tribe in India.
Close to 100 bloggers are giving away all kinds of goodies thanks to some generous sponsors. This year the goal is to raise $80K to build two libraries in Zambia. All the money goes toward that goal—no fat administrator salaries soaking up the funds.
On the gear side, here are a few examples of what you can possibly get for just a $10 donation:
- Multiple giveaways of the Kindle Fire, Kindle Touch, and Nook
- A pair of the great P-cubed Travel Pants we reviewed recently
- A First Ascent Microtherm down shirt
- The SteriPEN Freedom USB-charged water purifier I reviewed last week
- A $150 gift certificate to pick out travel clothing from ExOfficio
- Gura Gear Kiboko Photography Backpack
- TravelPro Walkabout LITE 4 – 29″ Expandable Spinner suitcase that Ramsey just reviewed
- Voltij backpack by Guerrilla Packs
- Bamboo Blend Traveler’s Pack from Grand Trunk
And that’s just the start because there are all kinds of awesome travel tours, hotel stays in swanky resorts, gift certificates to villa rental or B&B places, and other prizes you didn’t even know were possible for a traveler on a budget to experience—especially for a mere 10 bucks. That’s all you have to cough up to get in on the running for a prize. Spread it around to a few and increase your chances to win.
My sponsor is a company you’ve read about here on Practical Travel Gear before: Pacsafe. This company makes a lot of cool bags and gadgets that put multiple hurdles in front of people trying to get their fingers on your goods. For Passports with Purpose, Pacsafe is giving away one of their cool VentureSafe 200 daypacks pictured at the top of this post. This is an anti-theft day bag that features slash-proof mesh built in, locking buckles, and lots of small features that will frustrate bad guys looking for an easy score. (There’s a video demo at that link.)
It holds 20 liters worth of stuff and will give you years of hard-core use, keeping your gadgets safe. Their products come with a two-year warranty and I’ve got items that still work like new after five years of travel.
Follow this link to make a donation, either choosing this Pacsafe bag or going for one of the many other great prizes.
Don’t put it off too long though! The cut-off date is December 16 and notifications will go out on the 23rd. Just in time for the holidays…
As I write this a bundle of money has already come in, thanks in part to the marquee sponsors who through cash in the bucket to get things rolling: Round the World with Us, TravellersPoint, and HomeAway.
* Update – Congrats to Nora Dunn (@hobonora on twitter) who won the Pacsafe daypack. And thanks to Pacsafe for helping PwP raise $88,000 for charity. That’s huge!
Posted by Tim L. in Adventure Gear, Business Gear, General Gear, Kids and Family, Travel Light on December 7th, 2011
ExOfficio DryFly Flex Travel Shirt
This DryFly Flex shirt from ExOfficio is a great all-around travel shirt that converts from long sleeve to short and will deliver years of use for a good value price. It looks good too.
Anybody that’s been following this blog (or just following me around) knows I’m a big fan of ExOfficio clothing. There’s always at least two or three of their items in my bag no matter where I’m going. Despite that, most of those items still look brand new—even the ones I wore every week or two when I was living in Mexico for a year.
This DryFly one is another winner for travelers: lightweight, quick-drying, wrinkle-resistant, ventilated, and made well to hold up for the long term. For a bonus you get sun protection and wicking properties. This is one of those shirts you can cram into your bag and pull it out ready to go on the other end.
It looks dressy enough to be your “nice shirt” if you’re backpacking but need to look respectable for a restaurant splurge or border crossing. It uses snaps instead of buttons and I especially like how these snapa are hidden on the front of this one—it gives it cleaner lines. There are still the qualities you expect in an ExOfficio shirt though, like mesh shoulders inside, a zippered security pocket, and a snap/tab system for rolling up the sleeves.
The “flex” part of the name refers to the stretchy qualities this shirt has. There’s some give to it so you can use it on real adventure activities and feel comfortable when you’re moving around. And okay, if you’re not all that slender it will cut you a break.
This DryFly Flex shirt lists for $80 but is currently priced at around 40 dollars, which puts it in line with other brands’ shirts that aren’t as well-made. Usually when the price drops to this level it means they’re cleaning out inventory, so go grab one now if you like the look of this shirt.
There’s also a short-sleeve version of this and a women’s version with a curvier cut. Follow this link below to check out all the options and see what else is discounted:
Free Shipping On Orders Over $75
See other reviews of ExOfficio travel clothing.
Posted by Tim L. in Adventure Gear, General Gear, Travel Light on October 20th, 2011
Sol Cool Summer Shirts from ExOfficio
Hot enough for ya?
For staying cool or hanging poolside, this line of Sol Cool shirts from ExOfficio could be the ticket. Somewhere between a wicking workout shirt and a rash guard shirt for swimming, these T’s provide 50+ UPF protection and will dry quickly if you wear them into the pool or ocean.
Made of a proprietary blend of polyester and spandex, then treated on top of that, these shirts feel cool against your skin even when it’s scorching out and and won’t smell like a locker room after being worn all day. They come in nice summery colors like “light aloe” and “light coral.”
I’ve been trying out a short-sleeve one and a long-sleeve one in the humid tropical heat of Florida. I’ve worn them at the pool, at the beach, and around town. They’ve been supremely comfortable and dry quickly when hung on a chair or line. On my body, however, it was a different story as it’s hard for anything to dry fast when it’s on a body coping with heat approaching 100F.
I found one issue to keep in mind for anyone close to hirsute: the fabric is so thin that chest hair can affect the lie of the fabric against the skin. So if you’re a woman wearing something under it or a man who waxes, no problem. If you’ve got extra testosterone, however, you may want a real rash guard shirt for swimming and boogie boarding.
For most people though, these are great travel shirts for warm places and make packing very easy: they’re lightweight, thin, and can be stuffed into tiny spaces without getting wrinkled. Shake it off and go.
The Sol Cool shirts from ExOfficio list from $45 to $50. Get them direct from ExOfficio.com.
Check prices at RockCreek.com (Men’s) and Altrec.com (women’s).
See more reviews of ExOfficio travel clothing.
Posted by Tim L. in Travel Light on August 4th, 2011
A Year of Travel Gear
For the past year I’ve been living at 6,500 feet in central Mexico, in a historic colonial city that involves lots of climbing up hills, stairs, and cobblestone streets. In that time I’ve also traveled to a dozen other places in Mexico, and to Sedona, Salt Lake City, Chile, Costa Rica, Panama, and Peru. I’ve used and abused a lot of gear during that time, so here’s a look at what was really useful and what held up well.
I’ve been wearing travel pants at least half the time, whether I was traveling or not, because they’re lightweight and were easy to carry down in a suitcase. The Titanium Expedition ones from Colombia Sportswear I reviewed a while back held up well except around the back pocket, where the ironed-on pocket glue gave out after a while. The ExOfficio Altyn ones did better and if I hadn’t spilled chili-laced food on them now and then, they would still look practically new—even though I’ve had them since spring of 2009. Their FlexCord corduroy pants I wore all winter still do look new.
I’ve worn my North Face Gore-tex hooded coat through two rainy seasons now and it has never let me down. Through drizzles and downpours, it keeps me dry without making me bake inside.
I’ve plowed through a lot of shoes in the past year, some I’ve stuck with long after I was reviewing them, others I’ve loved less as time went on. The hiking shoes I like enough to take home with me are my Hi-tec Viper Trail Ultra ones. Besides those, the footwear that’s gotten the best workout is probably the pair of Keen Rockaway sandals I wore 9 months out of 12 and took on a few trips. They’re comfy, even after walking around all day, my feet stay cool, and they look good.
Every bag and piece of luggage I brought with me and used repeatedly has held up well and all of it’s going back with me, so no complaints there. High marks for Eagle Creek, Tom Bihn, Kelty, and Osprey. All the Sea to Summit accessories are still going strong too, like this little toiletry kit I take with me every time I’m going carry-on only.
Somebody stole my Victorinox Swiss Army knife out of a checked back somewhere in the Mexico City airport, but I can’t really complain since my mom got it for me before my first round-the-world journey in, oh, 1993? Not bad for something that retails for $22 at Backcountry.com.
There’s a rattan crushable hat from Tilley that I’ve worn all year in the high altitude Mexican sun, but the company ended up killing off the product before I even got to review it. It’s a testament to the quality of their goods though that this one has kept its shape that whole time and still looks great. It’s hard to go wrong with Tilley hats.
And of course no gear round-up would be complete without three items I take on almost every single trip: my SteriPen Opti water purifier, my Callpod Chargepod for keeping the gadgets going, and my Kangaroom pouch for keeping all those gadgets and cords in once place.
Got wanderlust? Check out our sister pub Perceptive Travel for the best travel stories from wandering book authors.
Posted by Tim L. in Adventure Gear, General Gear, Travel Light on July 13th, 2011
ExO Dri Long-sleeve Travel Shirt is a Keeper
We’re big fans of packing light here at Practical Travel Gear, which means taking clothing that can work in multiple situations and climates. I’ve taken this ExO Dri 1/4-zip shirt from ExOfficio pretty much every time I’ve packed a bag in the last four months, so it’s definitely a keeper.
This is one of those do-it-all travel shirts that more than pulls its weight—and it only weighs a few ounces. First, the features: quick-drying, odor resistant, wicking, sun-protecting, and very wrinkle-resistant. So it doesn’t get stinky when you’ve worn it for three days, but when you finally get around to washing it in a sink it’ll be dry in a few hours. When I work up a sweat in this ExO Dri shirt, it’s gone in jiffy after I cool off. (If you care about the specs, it’s treated with dri release and FreshGuard.)
None of that matters if it’s not comfortable, but fortunately this shirt feels great. It’s not clingy and it feels as soft as cotton. After about 30 washings, it feels the same as it did when I got it and hasn’t lost any color.
There are three colors of this on the ExOfficio site, but oddly enough not the one I have in Jade Green. That color is on sale at Backcountry though. This long-sleeve shirt lists for $48, but it’s on sale right now for almost a third less as we head into warmer weather.
Get this great ExO Dri 1/4 Zip Shirt direct from ExOfficio or check prices at Backcountry.com
Posted by Tim L. in Travel Light on April 27th, 2011
