When opening a recent purchase from the Dwell store, we were surprised to uncover a new type of safe packaging material. ExpandOS is eye-catching—with its paper-made pyramid-like structure—and the…
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When opening a recent purchase from the Dwell store, we were surprised to uncover a new type of safe packaging material. ExpandOS is eye-catching—with its paper-made pyramid-like structure—and the…
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I absolutely love getting away, be it a day trip or an overseas adventure. As an avid traveler, I’ve picked up a few tricks to eliminate the stress of getting out the door and onto the road in a timely manner. One of my favorites is to keep items in luggage that I never unpack. It’s always ready and saves me a lot of time. Plus, it keeps me from having to store my travel items in other locations when they’re not in use — the luggage is a great place to store my travel gear. The following are items I keep bagged, even when I’m at home.
Since I’m lazy, I’ve often avoided packing toiletries, figuring I’d buy a little toothpaste, a toothbrush and a mini deodorant at the hotel. I’ve also depended on the soaps and shampoos that they provide. But in the past few years, I’ve learned the hard way: that’s a bad idea. “What ever can go wrong, will go wrong,” Murphy says, and I’ve found myself scrambling for a drug store in the middle of who-knows-where one too many times.
Today, I keep a travel toiletries bag packed and ready at all times:
Your needs my vary (contact lens solution, hair gel, etc.), but the practice still applies. Keep this bag packed, do not touch the contents and you’re good to go. Of course, you can extend this beyond toiletries.
If you’ll be flying or traveling by bus or train, it’s helpful to pre-pack a small bag of things you might want to keep under the seat in front of you. It might include extra chargers for your electronic devices (many bus and train seats have outlets), copies of prescriptions for active medicines, a little cash (you may want to buy on-board food), and your own empty water bottle.
I recommend buying an extra charger for your phone and keeping it stashed in this bag. Yes, it’s an additional cost but forgetting it at home or worse, at your destination, is a major hassle. Put it in your bag and forget about it.
Also consider bringing your own earphones if you want to watch TV without using airline freebies, a neck pillow and something light to throw over yourself in case it is chilly. Finally, don’t forget ear plugs, gum or an eye mask/sunglasses for sleeping. Again, these can be purchased and packed well ahead of time.
Finally, there are some additional items you might want to pack now, even if you won’t be going anywhere for months:
Of course, never forget the golden rule of packing: Anything you bring can be lost or stolen. Remember this when pre-packing your bags.
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We made the perfect safari bag and a video on how to pack it
For our first Cool Hunting Edition travel experience we brought 24 friends and readers on safari in Zambia. Over the course of eight days, CH Zambia guests experienced the wonders and wildlife of Africa with a few surprises from our brand partners. More stories and videos here. Packing for…
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Focus sur cette vidéo Jetman qui a réalisé un des rêves de l’homme : voler comme un oiseau. En effet, Yves Rossy a pu survoler des paysages suisses grâce à un jetpack. Des images incroyables filmés par Evert Cloetens sont à découvrir en vidéo dans la suite de l’article.
An unexpected twist on our recent kayaking trip gives a chance to really test some gear
Being prepared for any situation is a key element to ensure safety in the outdoors. In the case of our recent sea kayaking trip in Hawaii we had the unexpected chance to put our life jackets and dry bags through some thorough testing. While kayaking Kauai’s Napali Coast we were toppled by some big waves. Though we were able to upright the kayak, enough water had gotten in to the hull that we became swamped and had to float alongside the craft for an hour or so before being picked up by a passing tour boat.
Both the Kokatat Ronin Pro and OutFIT Tour Lifejackets had a comfortable, secure fit enabled by a variety of adjustment straps. The OutFIT Tour had ample pocket space for snacks, a knife and waterproof camera whereas the Ronin Pro was more streamlined to keep a lower profile. Needless to say, while floating out to sea we were really happy that these PFDs did their job keeping us above water.
Wetness is inevitable while sea kayaking so we carefully packed our food, shelter, clothes and supplies in dry bags specially made for keeping water out in even the most extreme situations. Here are four we used and were pretty impressed with.
A standard dry bag is a top-loading duffle with a roll top that ensures a water-tight seal. OR improved on this design firstly by adding a partial window to help locate items without having to open the bag up—helpful when you have several of the same style. By adding a second, internal roll top, the Double Dry lives up to its name—in our case keeping all of our food dry even though the bag was strapped down inside the hull of our kayak.
Adding shoulder straps to a dry bag makes it useful for day hikes at your destination or as a rainy day backpack. Aquapac also added an internal compartment to keep wet things separated from dry things as well as a small, clear stash pocket with its own roll top for extra precaution—helpful for stashing a camera or phone.
While it’s nice to unplug when on an outdoor vacation, having a phone on hand is useful in case of emergency. Throughout our adventure my iPhone was in this case and it stayed perfectly dry all the way through.
Organizing supplies in to smaller bags is good for keeping things handy so why not use dry bags for that as well. These Innate bags feature a one-way valve that lets you easily squeeze out extra air to make the bag occupy the least space possible.
While our kayaking adventure ended several days early, we quickly recovered with the counter-balance of luxury at the St. Regis Princeville.