Posts Tagged packing aids
Packable Ultra-Sil Sling Bag is Tiny but Strong
We’ve reviewed a good number of Sea to Summit products here because they make a whole lot of practical travel gear and gadgets that won’t bust your budget. Since we also like to bring your attention to travel items that can pack up small, it’s time for their latest Ultra-sil product, the Sling Bag.
Once again, this packs into a tiny little pouch that you can wrap your hands around—that’s a USB thumb drive next to it in that photo. It’s small enough to hook onto a loop on your bag or it can easily stuff into a corner of a backpack. Pull out the insides though—magician’s dramatic flair optional—and you’ve got a useful messenger bag for shopping or sightseeing. Opened up it’ll hold a bunch of fruit or the day’s needs around town: guidebook, camera, journal, and some gadgets even.
The official capacity is 16 liters, and it just may actually be strong enough to hold multiple liters of your favorite beverage, but I wouldn’t recommend testing the limits. The seams are reinforced, but your shoulder is not.
It’s made of strong siliconized Cordura nylon and has a real zipper along the top enclosure so you can close it to keep the snow or rain out. But it weighs all of 2.2 ounces.
The Sea to Summit Ultra-sil Sling Bag is available in Green, Black, Blue, Red, or Yellow. The zipper, strap, and connected pouch are all the same color. The list price is $30 and I’d love to tell you what you can get it for on sale at retail, but it’s new and still hard to find. The only places I can find carrying it online so far are smaller outlets like Summit Hut and Moosejaw. Watch the Sling Bag product page at Sea to Summit for availability updates at other outlets.
See more reviews of Sea to Summit products.
Posted by Tim L. in General Gear, Travel Light on February 10th, 2011
Best Practical Travel Gear of the Year
Here at Practical Travel Gear we review a lot of new items first-hand, to the tune of one new one almost every weekday. So we’ve seen enough to know what’s been good and what’s been great. Here are our picks for the best travel gear we checked out over the past year.
John Gordon
Best Cell-Phone Accessory
Wilson Electronics’ Sleek Universal Cell Phone Signal Booster is a must-have if yourphone often drops calls because of poor signal coverage. Even in places that show no signal at all, I’ve been able to place calls. Really. The cradle design is also handy if you’re using the phone for GPS navigation or with other travel apps. It hadn’t been officially released at the time of our review, but is now widely available through Amazon and other vendors.
Best Portable Light
Joby’s Gorillatorch Flare does so much, it’s hard not to like it. It fits right in a car, suitcase or backpack. And the bright LED light has spindly legs that wrap around just about anything. Plenty of room to use the imagination. It’s built tough, designed to withstand a 6-foot tall. And with the energy-saving LED light, the battery should last a long time. Three AAA batteries should last up to 80 hours of normal use, depending on the brightness setting of the light.
Best Small Portable Luggage Scale
Here’s a piece of gear that can quickly pay for itself. The Balanzza MINI Digital Luggage Scale helps avoid expensive overweight bag fees now being charged by many airlines. It will weigh bags up to 100 pounds. Airlines are clearly cracking down on overweight bags. The Balanzza MINI will help you pack smart and avoid haing to reach for your wallet at the airport.
Tim Leffel
Best Eco-friendly Green Gear Item
The Brunton Restore Solar Charger isn’t perfect: its only inputs and outputs are USB and mini-USB, but this rugged power pack is much more travel-worthy than its competitors and stores an impressive amount of juice (up to 2,200 mAh, with a 1,000 mA/5V output). I’ve dropped it multiple times, crammed it into impossibly small spaces, and left it out in the rain several times when a sunny day turned dark. It’s still cranking.
This is a charger that’s well-designed and I’ve charged my devices with it at least 50 times now, saving untold amounts of fossil fuel. Plus I can keep the damned battery on this next item going…
Best Do-it-all Device
The iPod Touch is the contract-less, AT&T-less cousin to the iPhone, doing almost as much for $1,000 less a year. Sure the battery life sucks, typing is slow, and it doesn’t render Flash sites, but this thin device makes up for all that with what it can do on the road. With this in my pocket I have a currency converter, calculator, note-taker, web browser, e-mail checker, Skype phone, music player, gaming device, weather forecaster, podcast player, good maps, and mini-guidebooks. It was a little painful to spend a few hundred bucks on this thing, but now I’d hate to be without it when on the road, especially for international travel.
Best Easy-to-pack Travel Shoes
The New Balance WT100 sneakers are perfect for travelers who want to be able to get a workout but are still trying to pack light. They jam down flat when packing (that entire upper is mesh), so they don’t increase your bulk like most sneakers do, and they weigh about the same as a pair of hiking socks. They don’t have monster thick cushioning of course, so you probably don’t want to train for a marathon in them, but they’re fine for walking around the park or a workout in the hotel gym. I keep reaching for these time and again when packing only a carry on.
Most Innovative Clothing Item
With so much competition, it’s gotten pretty darn hard to make a travel jacket interesting. We’ve reviewed plenty on this gear blog that are lightweight, functional, and easy to pack, but just when I thought I’d seen it all I received this ExOfficio Storm Logic one (pictured at the top) and went “Wow!” It’s comfy and warm, but it’s the extra 
features that really make it. There are fitted pockets for all your gadgets and then it packs into a built-in pouch and becomes…a travel neck pillow! Double-duty travel gear with a twist.
Coolest Cheap and Light Item
Speaking of a twist, some things we review here we like just because they’re inexpensive and fun. This Twistick keychain corkscrew retails for only 10 bucks, but it ensures that you won’t face the sad affair of a full bottle of wine but no corkscrew.
Kara Williams
Best All-Around Travel Skirt
I’ve worn this long black skirt with cowboy boots and flip-flops, cashmere sweaters and tank tops on my travels this year. It truly pairs with just about anything, the elastic waist is incredibly comfortable and it folds down to nearly nothing for carry-on packing. This skirt from ExOfficio’s Go-To collection gets an A+ for versatility.
Best Travel Item to Prevent Cranky Kid Meltdowns
Since getting this large, soft-sided cooler from Norchill in early summer, my family hasn’t traveled by car without it. The durable cooler fits our water bottles, fruit, sandwiches, yogurts and more for any weekend trip, and sits conveniently between the kids’ seats in our minivan. I like having food and drink on hand to save money on restaurant and drive-thru meals, and keeps the kids happy when their stomachs start grumbling en route to our destination.
Best Travel Product for $20 or Less
Sunscreen is a travel item I never go anywhere without, and I wear it daily in the summer at home in Colorado, too. I continue to be enamored with Beyond Coastal products. While the Natural SPF 30 is too chalky and zinc-y for me, I highly recommend the Active SPF 30. It has little to no fragrance, and goes on smoothly. The Natural Lip Balm with SPF 15 has the best lemon-y taste, and keeps my lips silky smooth. The kids like these products, too, which makes the lubing-up process painless.
Want to see last year’s picks? Best and Worst Travel Gear of 2009
Posted by Tim L. in Adventure Gear, Business Gear, General Gear, Kids and Family, Travel Light on December 27th, 2010
Eagle Creek ORV Trunk 22 Carry-on
Want a wheeled carry-on that you can pick up and carry like a duffel bag? Want a wheelie bag you can use and abuse without worrying that it’s going to fall apart after a few trips? This Eagle Creek ORV Trunk 22 bag fits the bill and will probably keep rocking your travels for many years to come.
This is basically an Eagle Creek Orv 22 duffel bag that’s been fitted with wheels. As I got off a turboprop plane in Costa Rica last week, I had the surreal experience of seeing the two side by side as another passenger grabbed her wheel-less one in the same color. It holds 43 liters (2,600 cubic liters) and adds a few pounds because of the frame, handle, and wheels. It comes in at 7 pounds, 8 ounces, which is a tad below most (but certainly not all) competitors in this size class.
This is a rugged, tough bag that feels like it will take a beating, however, and the company chose not to reduce weight at the expense of function or durability. You get quality wheels and a quality telescoping handle, plus carrying straps in three different places, which I really like.
It is designed to be used with Eagle Creek’s Pack-It packing cube system. As I’ve said before, I’ve got mixed feelings about packing cubes, but for the two-week trip to Costa Rica I’m just finishing up, I decided to go with their system and use packing cubes: one full Pack-it Cube for the main clothes, one for the socks and underwear, the included shoe pouch, and a toiletry kit. That’s how they’ve got it pictured in their accompanying guide, but with an additional Pack-It Folder for the shirts.
There’s even a little picture book enclosed in the packaging showing you how to use all these cube products to maximize your space. I still don’t think it helped me pack any more clothing than my regular roll-and-stuff system, but unpacking and finding what I wanted was much faster, which can be useful if you’re moving from hotel to hotel or are living out of one bag for an extended time.
As for features, the ES2 wheels performed admirably and I liked the ergonomic handle. Even when I piled a daypack on top with my laptop and camera, it all felt sturdy. This qualifies as a carry-on though, so I didn’t have to check a bag on my international flights. It also worked well for all the internal flights I took on Nature Air where the cheap tickets have a really low weight limit. Despite stuffing this full, I was easily able to carry it when I couldn’t use the wheels.
I like the built-in shoe pouch a lot. It holds two or three pairs of shoes easily and keeps them away from your clean clothes. There are two small pockets on the front, one being an exact fit for the compact Sea to Summit toiletry kit I take when I’m not checking a bag. The quality zippers aren’t grabby either: a problem I’ve run into a lot with cheaper bags.
As with all Eagle Creek products, they stand behind ORV Trunk carry-on bigtime. There’s a lifetime “no-matter-what” damage repair warranty if something goes wrong.
The ORV Trunk 22-inch Carry-on Bag comes in several color combinations and lists for $250 at EagleCreek.com. Check the sites below for sales and specials.
ORV Trunk 22 at eBags
Eagle Creek ORV Trunk 22 at Backcountry
Get it at RockCreek.com
See other carry on bag reviews
Posted by Tim L. in General Gear, Travel Light on December 15th, 2010
Weigh to Go: Balanzza MINI Digital Luggage Scale
With airlines charging hefty fees for overweight bags, it pays to know how much your luggage weighs before heading to the airport.
The new Balanzza MINI Digital Luggage Scale is an easy way to avoid overweight charges. And it’s small, light and portable for easy traveling.
The scale is simple to operate. Turn it on, choose whether you’d like to see the weight in pounds of kilograms and loop the scale strap around a strap or handle on the luggage. Then pick up the bag and see the weight.
The scale seems accurate. On a test suitcase, it was within half a pound of a digital bathroom scale I had been using to weigh my bags. But weighing myself on the bathroom scale, it was about 20 pounsd off—so I’d trust the Balanzza scale as being more accurate. I only wish the bathroom scale was correct, though—it would be the easiest 20 pounds I ever lost.
Of course, carrying a bathroom scale on the road isn’t what I’d call practical. So the Balanzza wins hands-down there. It weighs less than a third of a pound and will weigh bags up to 100 pounds.
Other veteran travelers consider a portable scale as an essential travel item. Freelance writer and traveler Beth Blair lists a slightly different Balanzza model as one of the five things she always packs.
The price of the Balanzza MINI Digital Luggage Scale is a reasonable $24.95, which would make it a nice gift for any traveler on your list. It’s available at the company’s online store and will also be available in select Bed Bath and Beyond stores and other specialty stores across the U.S. Follow the link at the bottom to buy it online right now.
So if you don’t want to become “that guy” who has to dig through luggage at the airline ticket counter, trying to find something to remove to avoid overweight charges, know what your bags weigh beforehand and plan accordingly. The Balanzza MINI Digital Luggage Scale will help and can easily pay for itself.
Balanzza Mini Luggage Scale at Magellan’s.
Posted by JohnG in Business Gear, General Gear, Travel Light on November 1st, 2010
5 Things I Always Pack – Beth Blair
Freelance writer and blogger Beth Blair once worked as a flight attendant and she sometimes flies with kids, so she has learned plenty of lessons about luggage, packing, and useful travel gear. For today’s guest post, here are five things she always packs.
1. Flashlight
This tradition started back when I worked as a flight attendant and was required to carry a flashlight while on duty. Since then, my flashlight has come in handy many times including fixing a flat tire on a rental car, the night a hotel’s power went out for several hours during a severe lightening storm, and several times on airplanes when the reading light was burned out. I’ve been carrying Modus 1 by ICON (pictured below).
2. Luggage scale
I never paid much attention to the weight of my luggage since I try and carry-on as frequently as I can. However, when packing for a two-week cruise I realized how easy it could be to go over my airline’s max luggage weight, especially on the return trip home when the suitcases would be bursting with souvenirs. I use the Balanzza Digital Luggage Scale which fits nicely in my suitcase’s outer pocket.
3. Travel Carbon Monoxide Alarm
This is my newest travel gadget and I am thrilled to be packing it, just in case. Carbon monoxide poisoning is extremely dangerous because it is colorless, odorless and tasteless. I’m even more passionate about this item since someone I know via Twitter recently encountered a carbon monoxide scare while on vacation in a cabin, the gas fireplace wasn’t venting. Fortunately the CO alarm went off and alerted the guests to the problem. I have a First Alert Travel Carbon Monoxide Alarm.
4. Lollipops
There is nothing more painful than plugged ears while flying, especially for children who don’t know how to pop their ears. Usually medication won’t kick-in quickly enough and that’s where the suckers come in handy. Right before descent I hand my kids a lollipop and let them suck away. I’ve even shared them with adults in pain and they’ve worked. I pack classic Tootsie Pops, they last longer than other versions.
5. Business cards
I’ve found that carrying a stack of cards imprinted with pertinent information is time saving and convenient whether I’m traveling for business or pleasure. They especially come in handy when a baggage agent needs to log your information after the airline loses your luggage.
Beth Blair is a former flight attendant turned travel writer specializing in family travel and safety. She writes for Aviation Security International magazine and is co-founder of The Vacation Gals. Learn more about her on her personal site BethBlair.com.
See other guest posts in this series: 5 Things I Always Pack
Posted by Tim L. in General Gear, Kids and Family, Travel Light on October 14th, 2010
