Posts Tagged gizmo

There are some things you can’t have too many of on a trip. Like pockets.

You’ll need them for travel documents, cell phones, music players, keys, pens, glasses, money…well, you get the idea. And a couple of creative inventors offer ways to organize your small travel necessities and keep them from getting lost or stolen.

Newco Enterprises offers the PUP Personal Utility Pouch and the slightly-larger Gizmo bag. The PUP, designed for men and women, can be worn any of three ways—around the waist, across the chest or over the shoulder. The attached strap will fit just about any waistline, from a malnourished supermodel to a hearty eater. 

The PUP is 8.5″ wide, 6.5″ tall and 1.5″ deep. It’s made of soft luggage material, is machine washable and comes in a choice of eight colors.

The giZmo bag is about 20 percent larger than the PUP and has a similar layout. With a detachable strap, it could also be used as a purse organizer.

Jean Newell invented the PUP while working as a real-estate agent and needing a way to keep an array of electronic devices at hand. As they say, the rest is history, with Jean starting her own company to make PUP and giZmo bags.

The retail prices are $19.95 for the PUP and $24.95 for the giZmo at Newco’s website.

Another entrepreneur, Kendra Kroll, takes a slightly different approach with the PortaPocket line. Kendra’s Undercover Solutions offers different sizes of pockets that can be looped on a belt or attached to a band around your waist, arm or leg. They can be worn outside or concealed underneath clothing.

The pockets are just the right size for credit cards, keys, cell phones, music players and other road gear. I’ve been to several places where walking through downtown streets and looking like a tourist isn’t considered safe. These would come in handy for keeping valuables safe.

I asked Kendra if she’s ever gotten any grief from the TSA for carrying one of these concealed through a checkpoint. Even if it wasn’t carrying anything illegal, I could just envision a TSA rookie finding it during a “random” patdown and thinking it was a big catch.

“I was in Las Vegas last week and wore my PortaPocket Essentials on my leg right through security at both airports at either end of my trip without mentioning anything or taking it off,” Kendra says. “Of course, there was no metal in there.”

Prices for PortaPockets range from $9.95 to $24.95 and they are available from the company’s website.

My hands-on review of the PUP line and PortaPockets shows they are well-made and should stand up to many miles of travel. Because there’s no such thing as too many pockets.