Travel Accessories: One Plug Is Never Enough

kjb — 2008-08-26T10:00:16-05:00

It's hard to believe that something like this hasn't come along before. The Belkin Mini Surge Protector with USB Charger is one of the most ideal travel accessories we've seen for people who travel with gizmos. If only it had a catchier name!

The charger is simple enough, turning one plug into three while protecting your devices with a built-in surge protector. (So while you're charging at the airport during that heavy lightning delay, there's no reason to worry!) It also offers two USB ports so you can charge your cell phone, iPod or anything else that uses a USB connection.

Best of all, the charger starts at only $25 and is available directly through the company's website.

Related Stories:
· Mini Surge Protector with USB Charger [Official Site]
· Travel Tech coverage [Jaunted]

Sexy Toy Taking over World's Beaches

pbb — 2008-08-04T11:15:04-05:00

Waboba Balls are taking over beaches worldwide, and we totally want two:

Made of a combination of plastics with a lycra coating, it is described as having the consistency of a breast implant.

The golf-ball sized toy floats in the ocean and swimming pools, but given a good toss, it'll skip along the waves like a stone. For $8, the Waboba looks to us like the most fun you can have on the beach outside of Greece.

Related Stories:
· Waboba [Official Site]
· "The Must-Have Beach Toy of the Summer" [Telegraph]
· Beaches coverage [Jaunted]

Showy Suitcase: Heavy and Ugly but Pushes Itself

amandak — 2008-07-30T09:45:26-05:00

The last hi-tech suitcase we looked at can follow you, but we're still waiting to see a live version. What we have seen in real life is the Live Luggage electric-powered suitcase, and after hearing what a UK Times reporter had to say after taking this case on holidays, we've decided to stick with what we've got.

This motor-powered suitcase has quite a few drawbacks, starting from the fact that when it's empty, it already weighs 25 pounds, so you're going to have to pack super light. It's hard to get up and down stairs--and we also think it's ugly. Sure, when you're pulling it on a flat surface the motor makes it really easy, but since the British version costs £700 (almost $1,400) we're really not thinking it's worth it.

Related Stories:
· Live Luggage [Official Site]
· The £700 Motor Suitcase That Drove Me Wild [UK Times]
· The Suitcase You Can't Lose [Jaunted]

[Photo: LiveLuggage]

Travel Gear: Truck Tarps Turned Luggage

Dan Gould — 2008-07-29T13:45:25-05:00

Visions of epic travel don't generally include a hand-me-down pea green hard case. And besides, with some airlines now charging for checked luggage, finding a overhead bin-sized bag is key.

Swiss company Freitag has an elegant solution to the travel bag dilemma. The F37 Renegade bag is part of a collection of luggage that's made out of colorful recycled truck tarps, seat belts and inner tubes. The Renegade is industrial-grade tough, waterproof, meets most size regulations for carry on luggage and even has handles on the bottom to easily get it in and out of the overhead bin.

The coolest feature on the Renegade, though, is its ability to zip apart into two separate bags. The top piece can be used as a day pack and the large bottom compartment can stay back at the hotel.

Since Freitag uses a random collection of truck tarps for the outer skin of the bag, no two are alike; you'll never have to worry about getting this bag mixed up with someone else's. And thanks to its construction from reclaimed materials, the F37 is also a winner from a sustainability perspective.

Related Stories:
· Freitag [Official Site]
· Baggage coverage [Jaunted]
· Travel Gear coverage [Jaunted]

New York: NYC Subway Paranoia Gift Set

Hunter Walker — 2008-06-24T16:47:12-05:00

Are you a New York City Subway rider who's constantly plagued by fears of an another terrorist strike? Visiting town and don't want to get blown to bits? Well, you're in luck! Thanks to Subivor, you can save yourself in the event of a bombing or biological attack for the low, low price of $24.99!

PlaneFeet: Sanitary Slippers for Your Feet

juliana — 2008-06-03T15:35:21-05:00

From the same people who bought you PlaneSheets, come PlaneFeet: "security socks" that you put on when going through the airport security checkpoints shoeless.

The slippers look pretty much like the paper booties that CSI teams wear at murder scenes except these have the PlaneFeet logo plastered all over them. The slippers also come with a clear plastic storage pouch.

The PlaneFeet people go on to suggest that you wear the slippers on the plane to protect your socks from dirty carpets or in your hotel room. (Although, being the hotel snobs we are, we're not sure we would stay in a place where the rugs are bad enough to require slippers.)

We've actually seen a few airport checkpoints offering similar paper booties for passengers to wear if they aren't wearing socks under their shoes. And at $2.50 a pair, maybe you'll just take your chances with gross floors. But if you're a germaphobe, you can stockpile your PlaneFeet: Order 10 pairs and you get a batch for the discounted price of $20.

Related Stories:
· PlaneFeet [Official Site]
· Travel Gear coverage [Jaunted]

Would You Ever Use an Airplane Seat Cover?

juliana — 2008-05-27T16:45:01-05:00

We've been known to bring along our own pillows and blankets when taking a flight, but for some reason we can't imagine ourselves using a NiceFlights airplane seat cover.

But maybe we should get over how uncool it would look to carry and unwrap one of these things. After all, the seat cover does sound promising when fighting nasty airplane germs. And according to NiceFlights, "airplane seats are generally cleaned after an average of 78,000 visitors!"