A soft place to sit. I don’t expect that wish will be a necessary anymore, thanks to a new item in travel — inflatable ergonomic Evolution Cushion by Cabeau! This cusion packs rather small & it’s light, so it’s well worth the packing impact. It’s strong and evenly distributes your weight. It’s easy to adjust the how firm or soft you’d like it.
Getting sick is especially bothersome when you’re traveling. But of course, illness happens and there are plenty of good, easy ways to deal with that. For now, let’s talk about ways to prevent illness. This page covers some online info and books that I know to be excellent and helpful. Each comes as an ebook too, so you can take it with you as you travel. Hint: Everything pretty much comes down to eating real food over fast and processed foods. This is often called Whole Food Plant-Based (WFPB). This sets you and your body up for its best health so you can minimize illness and maximize opportunities for great adventures. I don’t give medical advice so don’t take my words that way, but I and others know that as you learn what’s in these books it’s possible to balance local experiences and enjoy the local cuisines of the places […]
How can you easily pack a pump bottle for travel or other transport so it won’t pump its contents into your luggage contents or drive you crazy packing it up every time you move locations?
What would an average man be best off packing for his one-bag travel? I loved this man’s style, a great travel packing idea.
If you travel to many counties and take electrical equipment, Oneadaptr’s OneWorld 65 Adapter can make your travels easier, more convenient.
Always have a spare (external) battery to recharge your smartphone as you travel. But don’t just take the first, least costly, or most powerful battery you find. There’s more to choosing one that’s worth carrying.
The short of it:
If you have an iPhone, I recommend you have Apple AirTags™ in each piece of your luggage, in your handbag or backpack, and in your tech bag (if you travel with one) before you board your next travel transportation.
When you’re seeking a great gift for a traveler — something this person can actually use while traveling — you ask friends for ideas and read “gift guides” but do they actually help? Are they realistic for this person’s travel? Can you afford them? (Did you know that per Fortune Magazine, More Than a Third of Americans Return Gifts They Receive Over the Holidays?)
This is what I call my Get-Real Gift Guide for People Who Travel because so many gifts given to a person who travels simply aren’t realistic as things a person can actually use while traveling. For a plane maybe, but not for the duration. If your friend must carry one-trick items for the entire time she/he is away, that isn’t actually helpful.
Debating packing a sleeping bag? There’s a better alternative. This light weight packable down blanket costs a fraction of the price and is more flexible.
You’re traveling, perhaps in a foreign country. You get cut/laceration/gash. What do you do? Do you need stitches? Or do you have what you need to close that gash? Will your first aid do the trick? I have some ideas for you.
A luggage scale is worth its weight in gold to travelers due to baggage limits. But it must be tiny, light, accurate, long-lasting. This Lewis N. Clark Mini Digital Luggage Scale is, for me, the best!
A covered soap dish is one of my one-bag™ travel frustrations. That’s all changed for me now, thanks to Matador’s FlatPak™ Soap Bar Case. It’s a bag for your soap. No melted soap. No wasted space!
Travel with a hair dryer is viable. Even when living out of a single carry-on bag for an extended time. I know because I am doing it. And I’m so happy that I am!
Bottom Line: From my experience, any American who would like to travel with a hair dryer will be wise to take a Travel Smart® hair dryer by Conair. Specifically, the blue 1200-Watt Tourmaline Ceramic Hair Dryer, Dual Voltage, model TS263. (SRP $29.99)
(Unless it is replaced by an even better model when you read this.)
Once in a while, we who travel come into a packing dilemma and have to either give up the item or become creative.
For me, that was this hairbrush.
The issues:
It has too long a handle so it didn’t fit in a fabric pencil case, makeup case, etc.
The spikes grip everything they touch, eating clothes and everything else — including any typical fabric they’re wrapped in.
It takes too much precious room.
The solution…
If you’re shopping on the Amazon website, you need to read this!
As you prepare to travel are you looking at travel supplies, items, or clothing on Amazon?
While slow traveling or digital nomading, are you thinking of buying something at Amazon because it can be sent to you?
Are you living in a country that lacks certain products and using Amazon to get them?
I’ve been reading articles and press releases from TheCounterfeitReport.com for a few years now. The things they report are always disturbing — and important! Wherever you live, if you end up with a counterfeit power cable, your device may become damaged, and even fire is a possibility. If your SD card is counterfeit, you may lose your cherished travel photos. And what good will a fake not-waterproof raincoat do for you on wet travel days.
In everyday life, counterfeit products are a disappointment, perhaps with a serious cost. But as you travel, your loss may well be even greater. So, I want you to be aware of what’s going on at Amazon. (Other sale sites too but today the focus is on this most popular website.)
Rather than try to write this all for you, I have received permission to reprint the press release in full.
I hope you’ll read it.
Once in a while, you happen upon clothing that’s absolutely perfect for travel. Here’s one that’s a go-to top for me in 2018. It’s a brand called KikiSol and this top is called Storm — Black Back and White Jagged Tee. I love KikiSol’s fabrics; they are “printed by hand.” The top has depth and feeling. Plus, it’s cotton! I LOVE cotton clothing — it’s healthy and comfortable.
It takes up almost no space in any travel bag.
Traveling with only a carry-on, I’ve found it more important than ever to have a good daypack as a supplement. After much searching, I selected the Matador Beast28. Here’s what it is and why I chose it.
I’m not obsessed with the “hydration” craze but as a traveler, I have always carried water. Long ago I carried a metal canteen. (You’ll see it on this page.) Then I was stuck carrying 1-liter plastic water bottles. Now, I have the HydraPak Stash. Very light. Folds down. Very convenient. I’m hoping to have the HydraPak Stow soon as well. Also discussed here.
Is it worth the space and weight to pack an umbrella for your travels? There were too many times having to carry my backpack was already bringing me to tears, so I resisted. But an umbrella can be so much nicer than a rain poncho at times, so I’d buy one, then discard it and buy another later.
This changed when I discovered the Fjord Folding Trekking Umbrella by Innate. It’s the thinnest in diameter and lightest umbrella I have found. Yet, it’s durable.
Now that I’ve put this Innate umbrella to the test, I can tell you about it and recommend it.
I have loved the RhinoShield (Evolutive Labs) CrashGuard™ “Bumper” protecting my iPhone. Light and minimal while doing a great job of keeping my iPhone from breaking — and keeping in my hand where it belonged when in use.
I didn’t have to worry about my phone sliding out of my pocket or handbag because the CrashGuard™ bumper keeps it from sliding. At the same time, it wasn’t thick and sticky, not difficult for me to pull the phone out or a pocket or my Lewis N.Clark Waterseals water-resistant pouch when I needed it. This and a plastic (not glass) over the screen was a perfect combination for my phone’s protection while traveling.
I’m excited to have my new RhinoShield case coming! It’s called the Mod and it’s a next-generation bumper but with an optional backside too.
When you travel, always bring a towel. (But the right towel — and I have one to recommend!)
“You got a towel with you?” were some of the first words said to Arthur Dent as he started his adventures through the universe. And so they went, towel coming in handy. Today, I ask you the same, and offer you the same advice.
Matador’s new Nano Dry Shower Towel ended my search for a great travel towel.
This is the story of finding the right towel and why it’s so good.
I was absolutely determined this time to carry a hairdryer and have hair that looks nice and polished each day. That was not meant to happen.
Be careful what you wish for. I am carrying only a 50-L carry-on duffel bag that converts to a small backpack and after logging in around the Miami airport for a day and walking 5 or 6 miles in one day just to find a plane out of Miami and another 5 miles the next day to get somewhere, I was feeling the load. I was wishing my backpack would be lighter.
Having finally escaped from Miami because of a sympathetic American Airlines staffer who fully understood the situation, I was in New York City JFK airport. But frankly, I smelled. I certainly did not feel good look decent. I had hoped American Airlines and their Ambassador lounge people would understand the errors made and in sympathy allow me to use their shower for five minutes but their rules didn’t allow for this. So instead I bathed in the public women’s room. And… I blew dry my hair. That was my downfall.
Once released from Miami International Airport by my Hero Customer Service rep I was safely in NYC. From there I had 2 more planes, a train, an automobile in between, and my own blistered feet. That got me to Sicily. After an overnight stay in Catania I was able to take yet another train and finally arrive in Palermo.
This blog is called Tales of Travel and Tech, but I’d like to remind everyone that traveling doesn’t mean taking all your tech with you on your vacation.
Want to maximize your travel experience? Then skip the tech!
Most of the time, that is. Not all of the time.
There’s plenty a bit of tech can do to expand your travel, but not if it blocks you from experiences!
