The Tikka Plus and Zipka Plus from Petzl are amazing little headlamps that offer a ton of light in a tiny little package. Slightly larger than a golf ball, each light will easily fit in the palm of your hand (though the Tikka Plus is just a little bigger because of its bigger headband). And, they’re both water resistant, so you can use them in the rain or fog - just about anywhere you can think of (except underwater).

With three different levels of light, and a strobe mode, the four LED bulbs can illuminate up to 32 meters (104 feet) and last up to 150 hours on 3 AAA batteries (included). LED bulbs are great since they are much smaller than traditional bulbs – they are also extremely impact resistant, and since they have no filament, they last practically forever.
Note: Petzl recommends against using lithium batteries since their higher output during discharge can cause the lamp to overheat and possibly damage the LEDs.

These two lights each have a single push button on the top of the unit, which accesses all light modes. By simply pushing the button more than once it’s easy to cycle through the various settings (once for brightest, twice for moderately bright, three for economy setting and four times for strobe mode).

The battery compartment is easily accessible with the use of a coin (to pry it open), though some care must be taken when changing the batteries to make sure that the bottom of the compartment is properly seated when closing it back up.

While the light output and functions are the same for the Tikka Plus and Zipka Plus, the difference between the two lights is the strap used to attach the lamp to your head (or arm, or wherever you need light).

The Tikka Plus has a one-inch wide, adjustable elastic strap and is the most comfortable on your head. The strap is attached to a plastic holder, which lets you adjust the direction of the light.

The Zipka Plus has a built in, retractable cord which makes the Zipka Plus much more compact and lightweight (65 grams w/batteries (2.29 ounces) vs. 78 grams (2.75 ounces) for the Tikka Plus). The cord is made of a high-strength synthetic called Dyneema. This fiber is extremely abrasion resistant and has a yield strength comparable to high strength steel. Depending on the level of use and/or abuse, the Dyneema cord should last for years (and if it doesn’t the manufacturer offers a 3 year warranty).

After over two years of use the elastic on my Tikka Plus is starting to stretch out a little, so the Zipka Plus might prove to have a longer life span as a headlamp (I can’t report on the longevity as I’m more prone to losing them then to wearing them out). The cord on the Zipka Plus also offers the advantage of being easy to attach to bike handlebars, a water spigot or backpack straps.

Whether lounging around a campground with a book, scrounging for firewood or going for an evening stroll, the comfort and adjustability of the Tikka Plus made it my headlamp of choice. It’s also extremely useful at home. I use it when I’m checking the chicken on the grill, taking out the garbage and it’s great for lighting up those dark little corners behind the TV and stereo, when I need to fiddle with the cords.

With that said, I find the Zipka Plus has its place as well. Without the elastic headband it’s much more compact and perfectly suited to travel as an all-around light or as a book light. It came in very handy in dimly lit Thai guesthouses. I also use the Zipka Plus for backpacking and keep one stowed in the top pocket of my daypack because I never know when I might need a good light.

Travel Essentials is excited to offer a 20% discount on the wonderful Superlight line of rolling luggage from Briggs & Riley. This is a big deal because Briggs makes some of the best luggage you’ll find anywhere and because Briggs rarely goes on sale. On top of that, through Monday November 10^th, we are offering customers who purchase any Superlight rolling bag at 20% off free UPS Ground Shipping.

Longtime customers of Travel Essentials know that hands down, Briggs & Riley offers the best value in “traditional” luggage in the entire industry. Elegant yet practical designs and unbeatable durability combine with their pioneering “Simple As That®” warranty to give their customer the best bang for their buck.

The Briggs & Riley commitment to its customers starts with the aforementioned warranty that really is “Simple As That®”.  Here it is verbatim:

Guaranteed for Life.

Our industry-best “Simple As That®” warranty protects every piece of Briggs & Riley Travelware against any bumps in the road, even damage caused by an airline. Just call us at 888-HMB-BAGS and we’ll tell you where to ship your damaged bag. Or, if you prefer, we’ll direct you to one of our Authorized Repair Centers, where we’ll fix your luggage free of charge. Simple as that.

That’s it. No fine print. No exceptions. So even if the airlines back a truck over your Briggs & Riley bag, or if your dog gets hold of it and chews it up, it’s covered.

Briggs & Riley pioneered the above warranty about ten years ago and when they did most of us in the industry thought that they would surely go broke honoring it. However, for two reasons, the opposite has happened. First it eased the classic customer concern regarding durability. Second, Briggs had no choice other than to produce luggage with the highest level of durability. It was either that or face the prospect of going broke honoring such an amazingly comprehensive warranty.

To this day only Eagle Creek offers a similar warranty. And Eagle Creek’s version is only good for a limited portion of their line offerings.

But it is not just a warranty that sets Briggs & Riley apart from the crowd. Briggs bags look great and work great. No matter how good the warranty, consumers wouldn’t choose Briggs time and time again if it weren’t for their well-thought out and practical designs, excellent colors and classic styling.

The Superlight line offers scaled back option of Briggs popular expandable LX bags. In fact, bout the only thing the Superlights lack, when compared to the LX’s, is expandability. With the Superlights you still get the warranty. You still get the rugged 2520-denier ballistic nylon. You still get handy garment carriers in the larger (22” and above) sizes. You still get the Outsider® handle system for easy, wrinkle-free packing. And you still get everything else that makes Briggs the best value in the business, including durable, well-protected wheels, heavy-duty zippers and corner guards that save the most vulnerable spots on your bag from the wear and tear of frequent travel.

And best of all you get it all in a lighter weight and less expensive package. Following is a quick comparison of the two lines. Please remember, the only real difference is the expandability of the LX line. Here you go:

Superlight vs. LX Comparison Chart

So I think you can see, if you don’t really need an expandable bag you can save quite a bit of money opting for bags in the Superlight series. You’ll still get everything else that sets Briggs & Riley bags apart as the value leader in high quality, traditional luggage design.

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. And for the month of October we’ll be donating $5.00 for each Anne McAlpin Pink Microfiber Travel Towel we sell to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Anne’s company, Pack It Up, already donates $1.00 per towel sold so together we’ll make it $6.00 every time Travel Essentials sells one.

Below is the official press release.

In support of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October, Travel Essentials, a luggage and travel accessories retailer in Ashland Oregon, is donating a portion of sales of its Anne McAlpin Pink Microfiber Travel Towel to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

For every Pink Travel Towel sold Travel Essentials will donate $5 to the Foundation. And to encourage support for this great cause they are also offering customers a 10% discount on the towels during the month.

“We’re a small company,” says owner Nancy Bestor. “But we realize that every little bit helps. We hope to raise money for the foundation and to raise awareness among our customers.”

A favorite of travelers everywhere, the Anne McAlpin towel is lightweight, compact, quick dry and velvety soft. It opens up to a generous, beach towel size of 62 x 35 inches yet packs into a deluxe travel bag that’s about the size of a paperback and is designed to also carry your swimsuit, sunscreen and sunglasses. It’s versatile too and can be used as a blanket, sarong and even a shoulder wrap on cool evenings. Anne, who is America’s leading packing and travel expert, designed it herself and also donates $1.00 from each towel sold to the Foundation.

Travel Essentials is a local, family-run business, owned by Robert and Nancy Bestor since 1994. For more information about Travel Essentials’ store or products, visit http://www.TravelEssentials.com or call 1-800-258-0758.

Several decades ago, Alex Tilley set out to create the ultimate outdoor hat. Tired of having hats fall apart on him, sink into the depths of the sea, or blow off his head when a gust of wind took him by surprise, he used his years of sailing experience and hat savvy to create the last hat you’ll ever need to buy.

And what are some of the problems that Tilley conquered with his hat? The first issue he wanted to address was durability. Made from pre-shrunk cotton, the Tilley Hats are hand-sewn in Toronto, Canada. And Tilley Endurables is so proud of their product, they offer a lifetime warranty. If you ever manage to wear out your hat, just mail it back to them and they’ll replace it for the cost of shipping. Or, if you lose or mangle it, through some fault of your own, they also offer a 2-year warranty, allowing you to pay only 50% of the cost to get a new hat.

Another important issue to Tilley is comfort. Tilley hats are made to fit loosely, held on your head by gravity rather than an uncomfortably tight inner band. But, so that you won’t have to worry about losing your hat to an inopportune gust of wind, the Tilley hat has tuck-away, adjustable wind-cords on the front and back of the hat. They tuck neatly inside the hat when they’re not needed, but if you’re out and about on a windy day, simply pull the cords out, place one in front of your head and one behind - and your hat will stay on all day.

The Tilley Hat also offers protection from the sun and rain - keeping your head and neck dry and free of sunburns. And, internal closed-cell foam in the brim of the hat means that if you ever drop it in the water, it won’t sink into the depths, but it will float, waiting for you to retrieve it.

And, if the Tilley Hat weren’t great enough, a secret pocket inside the top of the hat is just large enough to hold cash, hotel keys, a quarter for a phone call, and your driver’s license. It really is the “World’s Best Outdoor Hat.”

Click Here to Purchase the Tilley LTM6 at www.TravelEssentials.com

Savvy Chic clothing from Ex Officio is a smart, fun line of travel wear that looks great even after it’s been in the bottom of your suitcase for a week. Made from a rayon/polyester mix with a hint of spandex for stretch, the Savvy Chic pants and tops make great clothes for plane and train travel - stylish yet extremely comfortable. Their crinkle texture looks great right out of your suitcase, so you won’t have to worry about finding an iron while you’re abroad.

The most popular Savvy Chic items would probably be the Savvy Chic Pants and the Savvy Chic Athena. The Savvy Chic Athena is a long-sleeved, fashionable women’s top that is lightweight for summer heat but also manages to cover and protect your skin from the sun’s harsh rays. The Savvy Chic Jacky is a women’s Jacket that is a perfect extra layer in the evening, when it starts to cool down.

So, head over to www.TravelEssentials.com to check out our selection of Savvy Chic - and remember that we’ll be getting new stock in throughout the summer!

Comfortable, functional, and stylish designs.

Established eighteen years ago, Sunday Afternoons began as a small family-run business that designed sun protective outdoor gear to sell at trade shows, craft fairs and outdoor markets. As time went by, they began to design and redesign products based on what worked, what was popular and what was cutting edge. Sunday Afternoons has grown throughout the years and is thriving as a manufacturer of sun-protective hats and clothing for customers all over the world.

In women’s sun protection, our most popular Sunday Afternoons shirts are the Trade Winds Shirt and the Passport Shirt. both of these shirts offer high ratings of UPF sun protection, venting to keep you cool, and light, airy quick-drying material.

In women’s hats, we find that the simple elegance of the Kauai Hat and the Riviera Hat is quite popular. Both hats provide protection from the sun for your face and neck, while offering style and durability. Or, for a simple visor, the Key West Visor is great for gardening or a day in the yard.

Stay protected from the sun.

Our most popular men’s shirt is the Island Breeze Shirt. Made from an airy, comfortable fabric, the Island Breeze will wick moisture away from your skin while allowing plenty of air in and protecting your skin from the sun with a UPF rating of 40. In hats, the Adventure Hat has been our most popular among men. Perfect for a day on a boat, on the beach, hiking in the sunlight, or even on safari, the Adventure Hat is designed to protect your face and neck from harmful UV rays while still permitting air to circulate, keeping your head cool. Visit TravelEssentials.com today to check out all our Sunday Afternoons hats and shirts to prepare yourself for the sunlight of spring and summer.

Anne McAlpin is a true travel expert.

Anne McAlpin started packing light at the age of sixteen, when she took a student bike tour in Europe. Having to carry everything on her bike really made her think about each item she packed, and wether or not it was necessary. As an adult, she created packing seminars for cruise-ship travelers on how to get all of their swag home. She saw that a lot of people packed way more than was necessary and she saw an opportunity to help.

Anne’s Pack It Up book (with included packing DVD) was her first venture into the world of packing assistance - promoting the idea: “If you want to get away from it all, don’t take it all with you!” After a while, Anne McAlpin started designing her own travel products to making packing easier, lighter, and more efficient.

Next Tuesday, April 29th, Anne McAlpin, the packing guru herself, will be appearing at Travel Essentials for an exclusive packing seminar. During this hour-long workshop, Anne will pass on the myriad packing tips she’s picked up throughout the years. She’ll also demonstrate how to pack a tight, efficient bag using her favorite packing supplies and products.

Space is limited, and we’re almost out of seats, but if you’d like to reserve a spot, you can give us a call at 1-800-258-0758. Anne will be presenting her information at two separate times - a 2:00 p.m. seminar and a 6:00 p.m. seminar. Travel Essentials will offer a 10% discount on that day to all workshop attendees, and customers who spend over $100 will receive a free copy of Pack It Up.

If anyone knows how to travel light and travel right, it’s Anne McAlpin. She spent 280 days of last year on the road, and she averages 25 flights each month. She has cruised the Panama Canal 98 times and visited 67 countries. Here’s a sneak-peak at a few of her packing tips:

• Always use your business address on your luggage ID tag, you don’t want to advertise your home addresses when you’re leaving home.
• The last thing you want to do on a vacation is iron. Rolling your clothes will allow you to fit more in your suitcase and cut down on wrinkles.
• Take travel sized toiletries. Don’t try and pack the entire contents of your medicine cabinet.
• Never pack your jewelry or valuables inside your luggage.

Visit www.TravelEssentials.com today to check out all of Anne McAlpin’s cool travel gear!

Illuminate just the page.

The Lightwedge is just a phenomenal idea. Allowing you to light up the page you’re looking at, but nothing else makes the Lightwedge ideal for planes and buses, car trips, or reading at night without disturbing your sleeping partner. Made in two different book-sizes as well as a mini size, there’s an appropriate Lightwedge for everyone. The Paperback sized Lightwedge is 7.4 x 5.5 inches, fitting perfectly over the entire page of any standard paperback book. The Original Lightwedge is a little larger, measuring a 9.25 x 6.5 inches, and will fit over the pages of standard hard-backed books.

Magnify small print on maps.

The Lightwedge Mini, on the other hand only measures 5 x 2.25 inches and is perfect for travelers. Not only can it be used to read a book if you’re bored on a bus or fighting jet lag at night, but you can also use it in the car to read maps, check your directions or guidebook, or hunt for other information. The Mini Lightwedge comes with handy little hard plastic case that will protect the sensitive lense from scratches and the abuses of travel and frequent use. For the larger Lightwedge, we recommend picking up a Lightwedge Softcase, made in both Paperback and Original sizes to protect your lenses from the scratches and abuse of your adventures.

The Gorillapod in action.

The Gorillapod camera tripod is an amazing little piece of technology. Flexible and firm, the Gorillapod’s bendable legs allow you to set it on any surface, smooth or rough. Or, and this is even more fun, you can wrap the legs around a tree branch, fence post, chair back, stair rail, lamp post, bike handle (though take it off before you ride again!) or anything else you can think of!

Ideal for traveling, the Gorillapod folds flat and will easily fit in purses, roomy camera cases (we’re not talking about those sleeves that barely fit your camera), daypacks, coat pockets, waist packs, or totes. (When collapsed, it’s 6.6 inches long and about an inch in diameter.) In this age of digital cameras, low lighting has become a problem – you snap a photo in what seems like perfectly reasonable light, and the camera disagrees and uses the blaringly bright flash, or does nothing and delivers a blurry photo. Well, the Gorillapod offers a “steady hand” to remedy this problem – so get that scenery shot every time, and take wonderful timed photos with yourself in the picture!

Now in six fun colors, the Gorillapod is as fashionable as it is functional. If you want a functional, versatile, creative tripod for your next international adventure (or trip to a park down the street!) the Gorillapod is exactly what you’ve been looking for. Visit TravelEssentials.com to check them out today!

Tarmac 25 and 28″ Rolling Bags

As you may remember from our earlier post, the newly redesigned Tarmacs from Eagle Creek have arrived. And since we think that these bags represent the single best value in the luggage industry, and because our blog now gives us the perfect forum to do so, we’ve decided that a pocket-by-pocket review is an excellent thing to do.

First, a little background on these rolling, “soft-sided” bags. The Tarmacs are a combination of rigid and soft. There is just enough structure to durably mount the wheels and the handle. The rest of the bag is a tough, flexible material with rounded corners and soft sides. And soft is a good thing, because the softer a bag is made, the longer it will last. A soft bag will give when it takes a hit or a scrape. Hard sided bags on the other hand do not give and thus have specific and acute wear points.

Flexible exterior provides increased durability

As an analogy I’ll bet many of you own a basic duffel bag that you’ve had for years. Despite all the abuse you might have inflicted upon it, nothing has gone wrong with it because there is nothing to go wrong with it. It has no hard edges or corners and the only moving part is a sturdy zipper.

Durability issues really begin when moving parts are added and when bags become rigid in order to accommodate handles and wheels. Eagle Creek have always done an outstanding job with the Tarmacs, employing an extremely durable foundation for the wheels and handle without adding much weight. With this new edition Eagle Creek has produced an excellent refinement of an already great bag. They’ve improved upon what was good and made the necessary tweaks to the few minor shortcomings of the original Tarmacs.

Reinforced corners protect your bag and what’s inside

Exterior pocketing, grab handles and interior organization have all been nicely improved. The already heavy-duty wheels, rugged shoulder patches and the abrasion resistant fabrics have all been tweaked for the better. And, of course, the Tarmacs are backed by Eagle Creek’s unbeatable “No Matter What” damage repair policy that still states “If your luggage is ever damaged (even if by the airlines) we’ll fix it free of charge – no matter what”.

Starting from the base, Eagle Creek shows off its commitment to the durability of the Tarmac line by beefing up the bags where it counts the most - where the luggage meets the road. Burly, smooth running wheels are recessed and protected by a sturdy housing.

Reinforced wheel housing and rugged, off-road wheels

This housing also acts as a rugged curb guard, allowing the user to smoothly drag the bag from the street, up the curb and onto a sidewalk, without scraping and abrading the ballistic nylon fabric. The bottom feet not only keep the bag balanced when standing upright but are also positioned to provide protection for the zipper as well as providing an extra handle when the Tarmac needs to be lifted or carried. Further zipper protection is provided by a small, but highly effective, strip of rubberized piping placed alongside the zipper where it makes the corner from the side to the bottom of the bag.

On the bottom front corner, a significant wear point, Eagle Creek has added both a ballistic nylon patch and a rubberized patch to further fight the affects of wear and tear that occurs from usage.

As I noted above ,the top front corners and the sides of the Tarmac are rounded and soft in keeping with the design of these flexible bags. With the new Tarmacs, Eagle Creek has done an great job of protecting the bags where it is necessarily rigid and keeping it soft and flexible where they can for a longer life.

How Does It Pack?

Deep pockets in the lid provide extra packing space

The Tarmacs offer very handy built-in organization, with four large, deep pockets that provide outstanding storage space for jackets, sweaters, extra shoes, rolled up t-shirts, socks and underwear–really just about anything you can think of. Two of the pockets are on the outside of the lid and you’ll find two more to match them on the inside of the lid. The smaller of the two interior pockets is plastic lined and makes a perfect spill-containing storage place for your toiletries kit. Because of this pocketing, and particularly the interior pocketing, Tarmacs always look a bit small on the inside. This is really an optical illusion as about one-third of the interior packing space is in the interior pockets inside the lid.

The shoe box separates dirty shoes or clothes

On the main interior section Eagle Creek has provided a new zippered pocket, which they call a “shoe box.” Their idea is that it will be a handy place for footwear, keeping shoes from soiling other contents. We suspect that most customers will use it for dirty clothes.

When not needed, the shoe box compresses flat and takes up almost no packing space. They’ve also added a zippered pocket between the handle tubes to help the user fill that often-wasted space—a great place for stashing ties or rolled up undergarments. Or, given the protection of the handle housing, small breakables would do well there.

Other Details

The zip-expansion adds 15% to the packing space

All the Tarmacs offer an expansion panel that adds around 15% more capacity, depending upon the particular model. A simple zipper releases the expansion panel, and the bag simply becomes a bit thicker to accommodate all that extra stuff you bought on your trip. The bags also include an “add-a-bag” strap that allows just about any duffel, tote or garment bag to be attached to the face of the Tarmac and wheeled as one. All exterior Tarmac zippers offer eyelets allowing easy locking of any of bag’s compartments.

Click through to our web site to see the entire line of Eagle Creek Tarmacs and get additional specification information including actual weights and measurements.

Visit TravelEssentials.com to check out all the Tarmacs from Eagle Creek.

The tarmac with a ORV Gear Bag and a Small Flight Bag	The Small Flight Bag on the Tarmac handle	The sturdy foot on the bottom of the Tarmac
Use the handy baggage clip to carry extra bags	The top front pocket	The larger, bottom front pocket
Tarmac with the ORV Gear Bag attached	Lockable zipper pulls	Tarmac interior, including the center zip pocket