Posts Tagged gift ideas
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
Multifunctional Screwpop Can Fly With You
I started Practical Travel Gear at the end of 2005 (see the archives here) to be an antidote to the splashy reviews I was seeing in magazines. I thought there needed to be a place where $5 items got more play than ones that were $5,000.
That hasn’t changed, so I present to you the $4.95 Screwpop. It’s simple, effective, multi-functional, and cheap. That may not get the folks at Outside magazine excited, but I think this is a great item for people who are average travelers and not cliff-scaling superheroes.
This ingenious little gadget gives you four things: a Phillips screwdriver, a regular screwdriver, a lug nut wrench, and then one thing for when you’re done using the others—a bottle opener. I haven’t had a need for the 1/4-inch hex nut part since the Screwpop people sent me this thingy a few weeks ago, but I have successfully used the other three items. I tightened a loose door handle with the Phillips #2 tip, put something together with the #2 screwdriver tip, and successfully opened six beers along the way.
The two screwdriver tips are on the same insert: you pull it out and flip it around to use the other. The part that surrounds it is the wrench. The bottle opener can also double as a keychain, though obviously you need a little more dexterity to open the bottles with a whole ring of keys on there. (If you can no longer get it to open a bottle, that may be a sign you’ve had too many, so think of it as a built-in tester too.)
Since there is no knife on here, even the most dim-witted TSA agent should let it through in your carry-on bag. It’s made of a chrome-plated zinc alloy, but is relatively light at less than an ounce and a half.
You can order these direct at Screwpop.com and they’ll ship five for the same shipping price as one. Or look for them at hardware and camping stores as the company ramps up their distribution.
Posted by Tim in General Gear, Travel Light on January 27th, 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
Stow and Go Pocket Gloves from TrailHeads
As the south gets gripped by a cold freeze, I’ve worn gloves more times in the past month than I usually do all winter long. So I’ve had plenty of chances to try out these nifty Stow and Go Pocket Gloves from a company that puts out lots of nifty items: TrailHeads.
The main target markets for these are runners, cyclist, and others who need to leave the house with just one or two esssential items, like a house key or a bit of money. They would work well as general travel gloves too since they’re lightweight, compact, and useful as an additional place to hide some cash. You could also use them for spring skiing, with beer money handy that doesn’t require digging through your pockets with gloves on.
Each hand has one double-flap pocket that keeps an item close and secured on the top of your hand. If the item is something flat, you don’t even notice it’s there. On top of the pocket is a Hyperreflect strip that helps you be more visible at night—always handy on the road when there are tuk-tuks or auto-rickshaws manned by suicidal drivers whizzing by. (Or cars sliding around on ice.)
The gloves are made of Lycra, so they conform to your hand, are washable, are breathable, and dry quickly. There’s a terry lining though to feel nice against your skin. TrailHeads Stow and Go Gloves list for $28 and are available at their own site or at Amazon.
While you’re at their site, check out the other interesting items that will set you up for being active in cold weather. Women might especially dig the Goodbye Girl Ponytail Hats, which also come in kids’ versions.
Posted by Tim in General Gear, Travel Light on January 13th, 2010
International Adventure Maps from National Geographic
Will “corner of the map” become an anachronism in the digital age? I hope not, because no matter how good the online maps get, they’re never going to be as user-friendly as a paper one you spread out on the table when dreaming and planning. This is especially true when you’re off the grid in international destinations. Good luck getting “street view” directions for the countryside around Uxmal or trying to get insight from Google Earth on the screwed-up, no-signs roads of Costa Rica. And at $11.95, this is a whole lot cheaper than daily GPS rental charges from Hertz—if that’s even an option where you’re going.
Unlike with most online maps, these have little icons to tell you where the beaches, surf breaks, fishing spots, snorkeling spots, and best windsurfing areas are—from one side of the Yucatan to the other. Every lighthouse, airport, and gas station too. The back side breaks down the most important archeological sites.
These are not fragile AAA maps, however. They’re waterproof, tear resistant, and “GPS compliant with a full UTM grid.” So there, you can have it both ways.
See more information on any of the adventure maps at www.natgeomaps.com
Posted by Tim in Adventure Gear, General Gear on January 10th, 2010
