Travel Essentials Blog

With the holidays fast approaching and shopping to be done, we went through our favorite and best selling items and picked out a handful of products that we think make great gifts, and they’re all under $50!

GorillaPod

GorillaPods – These amazing, flexible tripods are great for travel photography. You can hook them to fences, posts, set them on flat or uneven surfaces. Set your timer and you can be in every picture, even if you’re traveling alone! And, they come with an easy detachable clip that you can leave on your camera instead of having to screw the tripod on each time you want to take a photo.

Ogon RFID Protective Wallets – These chic and modish wallets make a great addition to any purse or pocket, and while they look great, the main appeal of these Ogon aluminum wallets is that they block RFID (radio frequency identification) signals that some newer ID and credit cards contain. That way, there can be no electronic identity theft.

Thermasilk Long Underwear - These silk undergarments have long been a favorite at Travel Essentials. See our recent blog post for more information on these Mens and Women’s tops and bottoms!

Balanzza Digital Luggage Scale

The Balanzza Digital Luggage Scale - A useful piece of technology, the Balanza Digital Scale is easy-to-use, easy-to-read and helps travelers to avoid overweight-baggage fees.

First Class Sleeper – Everyone knows that airplane seats aren’t always the most comfortable places to sit – and the discomfort gets even worse when you’ve got a long flight ahead of you. Thus, the First Class Sleeper was born. Easy to inflate and deflate, the sleeper cushions your entire body, providing comfort, even on the stiffest airline seats.

Petzl Head Lamps – Petzl head lamps are perfect personal lighting, whether you’re riding your bike home at night, taking a walk in the woods, spelunking, or even reading after your friends or family have gone to sleep in the hotel room. Different styles offer variety in size and lighting power, but all of them live up to Petzl’s excellent standard of quality.

Petzl e+Lite Head Lamp

Visit www.TravelEssentials.com for more great gift ideas!

3 Ounce GoToob

And they’re now in stock! The amazing, fabulous, handy GoToob has added a 3 ounce sized bottle to its repertoire, joining the best-selling 1.25 and 2 ounce sizes on shelves this week. Made from silicone, GoToobs are pliable and “squeezable”, making it a breeze to squeeze out whatever liquid or gel you’re traveling with. The bottles have leak-proof valves and a rubber seal in the cap to make sure it won’t leak in your luggage. And the 2 ounce bottles have a suction cup built into the side so they can easily be stuck to the shower wall or bathroom mirror. The bottle’s collar has a built-in labeling system that allows you to choose from conditioner, shampoo, sunblock, lotion or soap. And, when you fill the bottle the large opening is easy to fill and makes it easy to clean the bottles. And hey, the silicone is food-grade and bpa free, so you can even use them for something edible!

All three sizes of GoToob are TSA approved and carry-on friendly, so you can fill them with whatever you need on your next trip, slip them in your quart baggie and slip them into your carry-on luggage. Easy-to-fill, mess-free, environmentally friendly, simple to clean, and completely handy, we don’t know how people traveled before the GoToob!

Visit www.TravelEssentials.com to check out our entire selection of GoToobs!

Now through December 24th, Briggs & Riley is offering our customers a spectacular deal. Order any bag that costs $350 or more and automatically get $100 off the purchase price. Any bag you buy that is priced between $249 and $349 will receive an automatic $50 discount.  Plus, here at Travel Essentials, we offer you free shipping on any wheeled bag, making this an even more incredible deal!

Not only is this an amazing deal, but it’s a deal on an amazing product. Briggs & Riley make high-quality bags that will last you a lifetime, and they’re not scared to guarantee that with their “Simple As That” Lifetime Warranty, that ensures that they will repair your bag for life, no matter how the damage occurred, even if it was the airline’s fault.

U420XW Wide-Body Expandable Carry-On

One of our favorite new bags from Briggs & Riley is the U420XW 20″ Wide-Body Expandable Carry-On. Specifically designed to fit into more overhead compartments than 22″ bags, the U420XW adds a little bit of width to the bag to also offer maximum packing space in your carry-on.

The standard carry-on rule for domestic flights is that uprights need to be shorter than 22″. However, 22″ bags will not fit in some overhead compartments, meaning you will have to gate-check your bag, anyway. International flights and airlines have varying policies on carry-on luggage, many of which requiring bags to be 20″ or shorter, which the U420XW 20″ Wide-Body Expandable Carry-On accomplishes. Of course, you should always check with your airline before hand to make sure that you’re following their specific rules and guidelines.

Visit www.TravelEssentials.com to see all of our Briggs & Riley Bags.

Are you planning on heading south for the winter? Taking a vacation on a tropical beach? Or spending some time “down under” to escape the cold? If so, you’ll need to protect yourself from the sun. A lot of people rely on sun block to keep them from turning pink, but if you’re going to spend a lot of time outdoors, that doesn’t always provide the protection you need.

Adventure Hat

Sunday Afternoons specializes in clothes and hats that will keep your skin out of harm’s way. Most of their shirts are rated at an UPF (ultraviolet protection factor) of 40 or more. Most of their hats have the even higher rating of UPF 50+.

Our favorite Sunday Afternoons Hat is probably the Adventure Hat. Designed for both men and women, the Adventure Hat comes in a variety of colors.  As we’ve noted on our website, “The fabric of this hat, dermatologist approved, will block all UVA/UVB rays anywhere; in the desert, tropics, high altitudes, or offshore. Weighing only 3 oz., it makes it easy to pack in your suitcase or gear bags. This is a traveling necessity you don’t want to be without.”

Women's Passport Shirt

If you want to protect more than just your head (and most of us probably do), we’d recommend a shirt as well. For men, the Sunday Afternoons Island Breeze Shirt has UPF 40 rated protection and also manages to be soft, moisture-wicking and well-ventilated. And, for the ladies, the Sunday Afternoons Passport Shirt provides the same comfort and UPF 40 protection. Both shirts come in a variety of flattering colors.