Author: ArtsyChowRoamer

9 Essential Travel Products

YOU WILL NEED

If you like Pina Coladas
And getting caught in the rain
If you’re not into yoga
If you have half a brain

 Escape – Rupert Holms

As I stare out the window of my mountain quarantine cabin on Day One too many, I am dreaming of the joyful days of travel.  I want to scream ROAD TRIP; even if it is just a REALLY SHORT ROAD TRIP four blocks away.  You know what I mean?  I bet you do!  So I decided since we are all thinking about escape, I thought I’d give you a list of super cool products so when we get the green light, we’ll be ready to roll smarter and safer than before. This blog post will give you some essentials that you’re gonna need.

• NUMBER 1-A SMART SUITCASE

Everybody needs this suitcase called Next Gen from Samsara Luggage. You can pre-order it now to receive it just in time for any late summer plans you might make.  Not only is it sized for on board use but it still allows you to pack more.

You remember how you had to scramble to find a phone charger on long trips or sit in a Starbucks to get some unsafe wifi time?  Not anymore! This bag provides you with hotspot smart technology and a personal charging station; it is removable to use elsewhere too.  TA DA!

A built in GPS tracker lets you see where the bag is anytime anywhere.  You say you lost my luggage?  Take that Delta!  Three different color choices offer style; available in white, black and yellow (the easiest to spot should you decide to check it).

Made from a poly carbonate material, it is easy to clean and super strong to take any airline abuse it will receive. Go to Samsaraluggage.com and pay just $279; a pretty great price for all the goodies you get.

• NUMBER 2-ELECTRONICS ORGANIZED

You know what a pain it is to try to gather all your electronics, cords and chargers when traveling?  Usually they end up just thrown in the bottom of the bag you are carrying on board.  Grid Its by Cocoon Innovations has a better idea for that.

While they come in multiple sizes they are basically flat rectangular boards with a criss crossing latticework of elastic bands.  This creates randomly different sized pockets to hold different sizes of gear.

Small loops can hold your average cable, medium your phone or camera, while a larger one can hold down a portable hard drive or wall charger.  Once you have all your gear loaded, it slides into your luggage like a laptop with a handle for easy access.

Organized but not fussy.  How brilliant is that?  Go to Cocooninnovations.com and pay $19.99 for a medium board sized 12x8. It also comes in extra small, small, large and extra large sizes for whatever you might want to organize with endless configurations on each board.

• NUMBER 3-THOUGHTFUL DESIGN FOR TOILETRIES

Can we talk toiletries?  While people spend a lot of time on the right suitcase to buy, they grab just about anything to put their toiletries in and yet that gets the most TSA attention.  A company called Gravel Travel has put a lot of thought into their design.

The Explorer Bag comes in two sizes (read men vs women here) with a sturdy water proof exterior that keeps your stuff from getting crushed but is still flexible enough to squeeze into your suitcase gaps. A water-resistant interior makes any spills cleanable.

A separate compartment for your toothbrush keeps it away from other germy stuff.  A pocket on the back hides a hook for hanging when counter space is lacking.  Yet another pocket offers a handy spot for a charging cord for toothbrush or razor.

The larger bag offers a separate transparent bag with TSA approved bottles for liquids.  Go to GravelTravel.com to get yours for $39.20 or 63.20. Oh and BTW, they make a lot of other cool stuff you might like too. Enjoy the video that will give you more info on this bag.

• NUMBER 4-GERM KILLING UV-C WAND

Sharper Image has a sanitizing UV wand that is gosh darn handy to have around these days during sanitizing necessity! Turn it on and wave it across TSA bins, wand it over your seat before buckling in or put it to good use in your room once you reach your destination.

In 10-20 seconds the ultraviolet-C light it emits deactivates the DNA of 99.9% of bacteria and germs including E-coli.  It is chemical free, odorless and leaves no harmful residue. It is perfect for cleaning toys, remotes, door knobs, and light switches. It will also clean personal items like toothbrushes. A must have at $79.99. You won’t just use it when traveling.

• NUMBER 5-AIRLINE POCKETS KEEPING YOU CLEAN

Airplane trays continually rank as one of the dirtiest places on board.  Airplane Pockets has designed an expandable tray cover and storage unit that is a lifesaver of a sanitizer.

The stretchable cover slips over the tray with a handy drop down pocket that replaces using the dirty one on the back of the seat in front of you.  That pocket expands to hold your phone, laptop, ear buds, water bottle, magazines, eyeglasses, kindle, snacks, eye drops and more.

Folks on the testimonials say they love them so much they ordered more to give as gifts. If you have somebody that has to travel right now-run-don’t walk and buy them for yourself too. You can sanitize and clean easily for the next use and at $39.99 who wouldn’t want it?

• NUMBER 6-MAKE VIDEOS LIKE A PRO

For those of us who have less than desirable tech skills folks are coming up with the tools to help us with that. If you’re like me and you have tried your hand at making the videos so necessary to document travel, gatherings, occasions and just every day life-your hands shake.

It happens to everyone. Say hello to your little friend Osmo Mobile 3 Gimbal by DJI. This little tool holds your phone and gives you a joystick way of running your videos while keeping the camera steady. It makes your videos look more professional instantly instead of looking like home movies.

Activating “active track” underneath the handle makes an incredible difference on zoomed in shots allowing you to track people in your frame. You do the legwork and let the tool do the rest. The link up there will get you a discounted price of $89 instead of the usual $119 too making it an affordable equipment buy.

• NUMBER 7-CLIPA HOOKS ARE THE BEST

OK ladies-you know how you go into the bathroom and there is no place to hang your purse and you look dubiously at the dirty floor and try to figure out how to hang it around your neck and not drop it? Or you go to the bar in the restaurant and there is not a bag or coat hook?

Here is where Clipa hooks come in. Watch the video to understand the simple design offering a spring-loaded hinge and rubber feet on the ends that allow you to turn it into a hook for any kind of necessary hanging duty.

Open it up and hang your purse off a shopping cart or headrest in the car. Hang a winter coat off a table or bar in the airport. Hang another bag off your suitcase handle. There’s a million uses for it actually. The best thing is it comes in a variety of finishes and you can keep them on your purse handle for use whenever needed. They look like an accessory and at a $16 price point you can afford them all. Great idea right?

• NUMBER 8-ANKER IS POWERING UP YOUR STUFF

Anker just updated it’s Power Core Fusion charger which combined a USB battery pack with a USB wall charger which made it great for traveling. But now, it’s even better and you’re gonna want one.

Now the Power Core 5000 PD includes a USB-C power delivery port. What makes that so great you ask? Because it is the same size and weight-just one of the USB ports has been replaced with an 18W USB-C PD port.

So now you can charge a phone from 0 to 50% in around 30 minutes. Use it to power up whether it is plugged into the wall or not. It can charge tablets up faster, a Nintendo Switch or give your laptop a little extra run time in a pinch.

All the advantages of a portable battery without the hassle of extra chargers which makes it a great travel tool. At a $40 price point it is such a steal that Amazon is out of stock right now. Apologies! 😲😬

• NUMBER 9-GREEN PHONE CHARGING CAMP STOVE

Last, but not least for all you campers that wouldn’t be caught dead on a plane for the next year; I found a phone charging camp stove that is green!

Yep, it’s a unique wood burning stove that has both a battery powered fan to promote flame with little smoke and a thermo electric power system that turns the heat into power for the on board battery.

The battery features a USB port which means you can plug in your phone and get a quick charge from a few twigs you found on the ground.  It boils water in under five minutes. It cooks your meals. It has a light so you can see what you are doing.

I suggest you get the bundle because it comes with the folding portable grill and a kettle pot.  Cool huh?  Get just the stove for $149.95 or the bundle for $229.95, go to Bioliteenergy.com to add the Camp Stove 2 Bundle to your cart. Check out the video below to see more. You could use it on the deck while sheltering at home these days too right?

• CONCLUSION

In these days and times it may have seemed like writing about travel products would be a waste of time but I don’t see it that way. We all have to have something to look forward to and while some of these products are certainly meant just for travel, there are a few that you can use every day.

I try to find things for you that are affordable but will make a big difference in how you are presently doing things. It’s a good thing. Helping you to be smarter, safer and affordable is what I’m all about. I hope you agree that we offered you a great lineup of products in this blog post.

If you like what you read, you might also like to read other posts under Explore the World or Just Because. You’ll find other helpful and entertaining posts there. Hey, don’t be a stranger! Let me hear from you on what you thought about the products. Tell me what else I could write about that would help you solve your problems or satisfy your curiosity. Until next time…

Cheers,

ArtsyChowRoamer

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TO MY READERS: This post appeared in a shortened version in my column The Curious Corner for Smoke Signals Newspaper