Posts Tagged packing aids
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
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
Kangaroom Personal Media Pouch for Packing Gadgets
One of the most frustrating byproducts of the digital age is having to pack up so many gadgets, cords, and plugs every time you move from one place to another. It can drive a normally calm person over the edge as they search every nook and cranny of their suitcase or backpack for that certain adapter or charging cord that went into a crevice or forgotten pocket somewhere.
I’ve found I stay a lot less frazzled if I can keep all that junk, errr, electronic enhancement, in one place. I like this Kangaroom Personal Media Pouch I’ve used on the last couple trips because it’s a handy size and not overly 
complicated. Basically you have your choice of six small pockets of two different depths and one catch-all larger one at the bottom for something longer like a Steripen or portable hard drive. This might not cut it if you’re a gadget freak with six chargers along (and if you are, get a Callpod), but for most people this is enough.
It zips together in a package that’s about the width/height of a hardcover book, but thinner. At that size it’s small enough to fit into a laptop case, large purse, or small backpack. It’s not marketed as water resistant, but there’s a liner than will keep your gadgets dry within reason if your water bottle leaks on it a little.
The Kangaroom Pouch is made in China and the plastic zippers feel a little iffy around the corners, but you can’t complain because the list price is only $12.99. It comes in four color combinations too, from bright bubblegum pink to subdued camel/chocolate.
There’s another version where you can insert a power strip to have multiple outlets at your disposal. Unfortunately it doesn’t come with the power strip already built in, so don’t get it as a gift! Follow this link to see all the other reasonably priced Kangaroom travel cases.
Related posts:
Tom Bihn Snake Charmer
The Pros and Cons of Packing Cubes
Posted by Tim in Business Gear, General Gear on December 17th, 2009
Spongeable Shower Gel Travel Sponges
Here’s one inventive way to pack light and still get around the airport security restrictions on liquids: carry a sponge that’s already loaded up with bath gel. That’s the idea of the Shower Gel in a Sponge, which is good for at least three washings.
A company called Spongeables makes a whole line of these things, with the larger ones designed to hold enough for 20 showers. These little ones that fit in the palm of your hand are great for travel though, especially if you’re going to be in a cheap hotel with nasty soap. You can carry one of these lightweight packages along, a solid that is also well less than 3 ounces, and breeze through security without even taking it out. But then you can be nice to your skin when you shower, coming out radiant and smooth.
I’m not sure how they get all these ingredients in there and make it work—there are a bunch of patents involved—but I was pleasantly surprised at how long this little bath sponge lathered up. After six showers I probably could have used it another time or two. Each one has shea butter, olive oil, Vitamin A, Vitamin E, and a few other ingredients, plus your choice of girly or manly scent. After using this Spongeable, you are clean, moisturized, exfoliated, and fragrant.
These shower sponges would make for a nice gift for the traveler of any kind and are inexpensive and small enough to qualify as a stocking stuffer. They list for just $3 each in the small size (a buck or less a bath) and the largest ones are $7. You can even get some heart-shaped ones come Valentine’s Day—in “spicy mango” or “peony passion.”
Buy the Spongeables online or see the company’s retail locator for where they are carried—common chain stores like Rite-Aid, Albertson’s, Fred Meyer, and CVS.
See more at spongeables.com
Posted by Tim in Travel Light on December 3rd, 2009
5 Things I Always Pack – Max Hartshorne
This month’s guest post of “5 things I always pack” is from Max Hartshorne, editor of the long-running popular travel site GoNOMAD. (I like that site so much I’ve written articles for it for years.) Here’s what he always carries when he hits the road.
Power Strip
Almost no hotel outside of the US has as many plugs as we electronically-oriented travelers need. So I use a little black compact power strip that gives me three places to charge and I only need to use one of the hotel’s adapter-needing outlets.
Blazer
I usually wear my navy blazer on the plane, it speeds me through security for some reason. It’s a piece of clothing that makes any man feel well-dressed. Coming to dinner without a jacket makes you look like a rube, and so does wearing those ubiquitous white sneakers that brand a traveler as an American tourist. For this reason I always bring nice-looking loafers too.
Gadget sack
These days, everyone has their gadgets and each one needs its charger. In a stiff nylon zip bag, I have my electric plug adaptors, (either the two-prong European style, or the larger three-flat plug used in Britain) my cellphone charger and the various USB cords I need for my computer.
Smaller pack
I like to travel with a nylon drawstring day pack, which holds my travel writer essentials; my camera, my notebooks, my sunglasses and a few pens. Having this smaller pack is crucial because my daypack is full of stuff that I don’t need when in the field.
Neck Pillow
When I’m facing a long flight, using an inflatable neck pillow along with the airline-issued pillows gives me a small chance that I will actually fall asleep in the air. It’s rare but the neck pillow makes it closer to being a possibility. Without it, I’m awake the whole time, no matter how long the flight is.
Max Hartshorne is the editor of the GoNOMAD.com travel website and writes a daily blog called Readuponit. He travels abroad about 10 times a year to write articles for the website.
Posted by Tim in General Gear, Travel Light on November 3rd, 2009
