Packing a pump bottle for travel – easier with DripLock
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?
Packing
Long-term travel packing idea for men 2
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.
OneWorld 65 Power Adapter for 200+ Countries, USB-A & USB-C charging
If you travel to many counties and take electrical equipment, Oneadaptr’s OneWorld 65 Adapter can make your travels easier, more convenient.
Carry An Extra Phone Power Bank When You Travel 3
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.
AirTags to track your luggage 5
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.
Great Gifts for Travelers – under $15 1
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?)
Great Gifts for Travelers from $15-$30 1
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.
Pack a down blanket for travel in just carry-on!
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.
A first aid kit must – ZipStitch or Steri Strips 1
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.
Favorite smallest, light luggage scale for long-term travel
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!
Best soap dish for travel – a soap bag!
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!
Best hair dryer for travel – Conair Travel Smart
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.)
Packing a hard-bristled brush 1
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…
Will your Amazon purchase be what you expect – or counterfeit?
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.
A favorite travel top by KikiSol
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.
This trip, a most-durable daypack 1
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.
HydraPak lightweight collapsible water bottles great for travel
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.
Pack an umbrella for travel?
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.
Minimalist phone case for travel – RhinoShield bumpers
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.
Take this towel when you travel long-term or short-term 2
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.
Killed my hair dryer
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.
Stranded no more – out of Miami and into Sicily!
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.
Less tech is more travel experience
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!
Getting ready to travel again 1
I’m getting ready to travel again. I’ve really enjoyed having the past year with my family. I must confess I had a bit of a dilemma deciding whether to travel again or to stay put in a comfortable apartment home close to my family and friends. But in the end, I chose the travel my soul craves over the comfort my heart craves.
I have been out of that apartment for a few weeks now and I have my ticket to fly to Europe.
My next long-term travel packing list 2017 4
Here’s what’s in my travel bag — and why. I’m always on the lookout for items I’ll take on my next long-term travel. This is my constantly updated report on what I consider, what I take, and how it works.
