Posts Tagged wrinkle-free
Five Things I Always Pack: Jody Halsted
Family travel authority Jody Halsted is based in the too-often-overlooked Midwest. Her family travel tales can be found at Family Rambling and Uptake Attractions. Jody also shares her passion for traveling with kids in the Emerald Isle at Ireland with Kids. When not writing — or traveling — she’s talking to tourism destinations about social technology or speaking to crowds at Irish fests about the magic of family trips to Ireland.
Of course there are way more than five things I take when I travel — but many are the things we all bring along, like a camera, Kindle, extra batteries or chargers. That’s not interesting. Here are the five more interesting items that I never leave home without.
1. Shutterbug Cocoon Liner
To say I like bags may be an understatement- which is why I adore my Shutterbug pouch. This quilted liner fits into a large tote or purse and protects my camera, tablet, video camera and other accessories while letting me use the bags I already own. At $32.95 it’s a steal.
2. A nice dress that won’t wrinkle
A classic wrap dress in non-wrinkling fabric is both flattering and suitable for so many situations. I have a few, and my favorites include a black cocktail length in jersey fabric and a pink Bali Cafe Wrap dress from Fresh Produce (in photo above).
3. Cute Crocs
I say Crocs and people picture the ugly shoes with holes; few know that Crocs makes cute shoes that are comfortable and great for travel. I have wedge heels and flats and travel with a pair of each — I usually wear the heels and pack the flat — making sure all my outfits will coordinate with the shoes I packed. I’ve toured Walt Disney World in a pair of Crocs wedge heels and not had sore feet! (Many are available here: Crocs line at Endless.com
4. Flexible keyboard
My husband — who totally “gets” my geeky side — bought me an Acer tablet for Mother’s Day. I adore it and it completely replaced my netbook. Because it has a full size USB slot and a mini SD slot I can easily load images from my camera for editing. And the keyboard is nice for short bits of writing. However, since I tend to be a bit long winded at times, I pack a full size flexible keyboard.
5. Trunki and Boost-a-Pak
I specialize in family travel, so my girls are often along for the journey. They each have a Trunki, a ride-on, pull along suitcase and a Boost-a-Pak backpack / booster seat (also made by the Trunki company). We adore dual purpose items! The Boost-a-Pak is currently only available in the UK, so we did pay both the exchange rate and shipping, but the product has more than paid for itself as we don’t have to check car seats!
You can follow Jody’s travel journeys @iatraveler on Twitter; learn about her speaking engagements at The Professional Tourist.
Posted by Kara in General Gear, Kids and Family on August 16th, 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
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
Ex Officio Skirt from the Women’s Go-To Collection
Here’s a skirt that I know will make its way into my luggage for lots of future trips. It’s the black, women’s “Go-To” skirt by ExOfficio, a manufacturer that specializes in travel clothing (and a company that we love here at Practical Travel Gear). Here are just a few highlights:
Comfy, practical fabric: It’s made with Dri-Release jersey, a “microblend performance fabric,” that is not only super soft, but it also dries four times faster than cotton, it’s odor resistant, it wicks away moisture and it won’t shrink. Specifically, it’s 81% polyester, 14% cotton and 5% Spandex
Flattering style: The skirt has a drop-waist silhouette, which means it doesn’t hug your tummy at all; there’s a seam that sits below your hips. It’s falls below the knee (on my 5-foot, 9-inch frame).
Doesn’t weigh much: It’s lightweight and can be easily rolled down tight to fit into a carry-on bag.
Security pocket: The tagless skirt has just one small, hidden zippered pocket at the side of the waist — big enough to fit a set of keys, lipstick and ID with room to spare. (I wore the skirt for a night and didn’t even realize it was there! It’s that subtle.)
I think my only caveat in recommending this skirt is that it seems to run big. I have a medium, but I’m pretty sure I could fit into a small (and I rarely fit anything that says “small”). It gaps a little on my waist and slips down to my hips a bit. Still, I wore it on a trip to Wildcatter Ranch, a guest ranch just outside of Graham, Texas, last month — paired with cowboy boots (when in Rome!) and a patterned, sleeveless jersey top. That was for a dinner out at the ranch’s steakhouse; but I’d wear it with a cotton tank top and flip flops to the beach, or even a fancier top and pumps for a more formal affair. It’s definitely a versatile garment that travels well — it remained wrinkle free after being squished into my carry on bag during a day of travel.
Purchase the Go-To skirt in black or port (deep wine purple) for $60 at the Ex Officio website; other items from the Go-To collection that are made from the same Dri-Release material include a Go To short-sleeve T-shirt ($40) and a Sleeveless Dress ($65).
Related post: Ex Officio Savvy Skirt
Posted by Kara in Travel Light on May 7th, 2010
Performance Polo Shirts from Greg Norman
Since the U.S. media is all obsessed this week about a pro golfer wrecking his car in the wee hours, how about some golf clothing?
The venerable polo shirt has been a wardrobe staple for decades now and it doesn’t show any signs of going away. It presents a way to wear a collared shirt and not look like a slob, while still being comfortable and retaining full movement. From the Greg Norman-designed golf course to the 19th hole bar and then some, a Greg Norman golf shirt will do nicely. And since it’s getting chilly out, they come in long-sleeve versions as well.
I’ve worn this long-sleeve Greg Norman ML50 polo on a few trips now and while it’s a bit shiny for my tastes, it has been a great item to pack, especially since it’s supposedly 30% lighter than the average golf shirt. It’s ridiculously wrinkle-free, to the point where I’ve balled it up and crammed it into a small pocket on purpose just to abuse it. After about five minutes on me after unpacking, it looks fine. It wicks the moisture well without getting stinky and claims an SPF factor of 50 to protect your skin from the sun. And of course it dries quickly if you have to sink-wash it.
While this may not be the kind of thing you want to pack when setting off for a year-long trip as a shoestring backpacker, this clothing line is worth considering when you are going to get subjected to “business casual” or want to pack light for multiple situations.
Strangely this $69 shirt is only listed in three colors on their consumer site, none in black, but the corporate site where you can get your own logo put on them has the same model in black. This was a retail version I received though, so maybe in the stores you can score a black one.
Naturally the company has dozens of other styles and colors in short sleeves for when the weather heats up again. Want to find a real bargain? Try the Shark Tank Clearance section!
Posted by Tim L. in General Gear on December 2nd, 2009
