travel products Archives - Mom's Guide To Travel

Mar 06 2016

Spring 2016 Travel Accessories For The Savvy Traveler

This post originally appeared on the Victorinox Swiss Army Blog.

The right travel accessories can make all the difference in preparing for a trip. With Spring break around the corner, most of us are sorting out final travel plans, arranging activities, organizing hotel stays and deciding which travel gear we’ll carry to make our journeys easier.

Last week I spoke to a savvy traveler crowd at the Los Angeles Travel and Adventure Show on how to turn a business trip into R&R travel. During my presentation, I demonstrated how to pack for a mixed purpose trip and shared a few vital tools I like to use to make my travel life easier.

Spring 2016 Travel Accessories To Love

The Spectra 2.0 Dual-Access extra capacity carry-on luggage is my all-time favorite piece of luggage – my companion for travel. Unique and utilitarian, it’s like that favorite purse you keep carrying although you have a dozen others in your wardrobe. I’ve forgotten about the three other carry-ons I own and opt to carry the Spectra with me on all my trips. I’ve taken it on a birthday staycation and explored the Catalon region with it by my side.

If I can make my stuff fit, the Spectra comes with.

The Werks 5.0 is another piece from Victorinox Swiss Army that I’m also starting to love. Consistent with the Swiss Army brand, the luggage is multi-functional and offers five different ways to use it. Both of these pieces are the Swiss Army knife of carry-ons.

The Werks is roomier than the Spectra and offers a designated removable area for you to hang business jackets or suits. It’s expandability is a useful feature when you need a few extra inches of space.

I’m looking forward to taking it with me to Europe this year. An improvement I would make on the design is spinner wheels like the Spectra. Those wheels are a mobility god-send. It makes the luggage feel like it is on autopilot pushing itself.

I regularly show off this feature when I adjust outerwear and papers as I am rushing through the airport.

Travel accessories that protect your identity

As I plan my travels to Europe this year, aside from my luggage piece, I am considering security of my day-to-day items while touring as well as security of my personal information.

Last year I started to learn more about RFID-blocking accessories. I observed a growing number of manufacturers releasing products that offered the feature.

RFID stands for radio frequency identification. Identity thieves utilize technologies that tap into radio waves to automatically identify people or objects. They steal your passport and credit card information without you knowing it. Knowing that there is a risk, I don’t travel overseas without using an RFID wallet.

RFID wallets protect your information

This RFID-blocking passport wallet from Lewis N Clark is smart because it allows me to hold my passport, credit cards and cash. It is slim and compact. In black leather, it is a bit masculine for my taste. If they made it in fun colors like purple or red leather, I’d be inclined to carry it around all the time. When I switch out my wallet, admittedly, I am swapping security for fashion.

A multi-functional cross body bag

The cross-body bag is another piece of travel gear that I utilize on those travel abroad trips. The bag has RFID protection in it as well. I like using cross-body bags especially when I am traveling with my kids. It allows me to be hands-free and provides me with better mobility.

I own several fashionable cross-body bags but this cross body travel bag from Lewis N Clark has worked the best thus far because of its compartments and pockets. You know how I love compartmentalization! For me, the bag is more functional than it is fashionable but it works when I have little hands to hold.

Lastly, I have two new accessory favorites: the Victorinox packing cubes and spill-resistant pouches. I’ve talked about my love for packing cubes before and why they’re a must for the savvy traveler, but the reason why these cubes have won my votes is that they have a separate compartment (there goes that word again) for you to store dirty or wet items. The large cube has a handle which makes it useful for carrying it on its own.

If you need a larger compartment for wet or dirty items, the Victorinox spill-resistant pouches are the bomb dot com. The smaller piece is great for your toiletries that love to spill ONLY when you are in transport, no matter how tightly you secure them.

The larger piece is going to work well for swimsuits, wet gym wear and washcloths that never like to fully dry when it’s time to pack up.

So there you have it. These items are a few of my Spring travel gear picks. When you see me traveling next I’ll either have all or most of these in my arsenal. These pieces make my packing and travel life much easier.

What about you? What’s in your bag? What is some of your favorite travel gear? Have you heard of any of the pieces mentioned in this post? I’d love to check out some of your favorites.

You Are Also Going To Love

Jun 30 2015

Travel Products That Help Make Your Travel Life Easier

This travel segment originally aired on WBALT-TV 11 Baltimore. You can also watch it on the site here. In the segment I talk about several travel products that I love which help make my life easier.

Video Transcript

JENNIFER: DAN SAYS CHANCES ARE YOU ARE GOING SOMEWHERE. WHEN YOU TRAVEL, THERE ARE THINGS TO TAKE WITH YOU TO MAKE YOUR TRIP EASIER. FAMILY TRAVEL STRATEGIST, TAWANNA BROWNE SMITH IS HERE. GOOD MORNING. LET’S TALK ABOUT THE LUGGAGE AND HOW FAR IT HAS COME.

THIS IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE PRODUCTS. THIS IS REALLY FOR THE SOLO TRAVELING MOM OR DAD. THIS IS CALLED THE RIDE ON CARRY ON. ESSENTIALLY IT IS A CHAIR THAT WILL HELP TO REPLACE YOU CARRYING AN ADDITIONAL ROLLING STROLLER. YOU PUT YOUR CHILD IN THE CHAIR. YOU STRAP THEM IN. THEN THERE’S THE SEAT BUCKLE HERE. THEN YOU HAVE YOUR LUGGAGE. THEN YOU JUST PULL THEM.

JENNIFER: HOPE THEY ARE SAFE AND OKAY.

THEY ARE SAFE BECAUSE THEY ARE LOCKED IN IT. YOUR LUGGAGE IS GOING TO BE PACKED. YOU DON’T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT IT TIPPING OVER. THE WEIGHT IS BALANCED. THIS IS A HEADREST THAT’S A TURNTABLE THERE FOR THEM.

JENNIFER: I CAN SEE HOW THAT WOULD WORK.

WHEN YOU GET ON THE PLANE, YOU PUT IT INSIDE. YOU DON’T HAVE TO DO THAT.

JENNIFER: ALL RIGHT. LET’S TALK ABOUT THIS STUFF. THIS IS MEANT TO MAKE LIFE EASIER. YOU ARE NOT CARRY ANYTHING.

IF YOU WANT TO BE BAGLESS, IT HAS 17 POCKETS. YOU CAN PUT A MINI PAD AND CELL PHONE AND LOOP YOUR HEAD AND MONEY IN THERE. YOUR TRAVEL DOCUMENTS CAN BE IN THERE. YOUR ID IS IN THERE AS WELL. YOU CAN ALSO PUT A CAMERA IN HERE. THERE ARE SEVERAL DIFFERENT WAYS YOU CAN USE THIS. WHEN YOU GO THROUGH SECURITY, JUST TAKE IT OFF AND PUT IT THROUGH THE SECURITY TRAY. YOU ARE DONE.

JENNIFER: IT IS LIGHTWEIGHT. I IMAGINE IT COMES IN MANY COLORS.

YES, IT DOES. AND ITS AVAILABLE FOR MEN AS WELL.

JENNIFER: NOW CHECK THIS OUT. LOOK AT THAT.

THIS IS A REALLY INNOVATIVE PRODUCT. I HAVEN’T SEEN ANYTHING ON THE MARKET LIKE IT. THESE ARE BRIDGELESS EYE WEAR. YOU ARE PROBABLY WANDERING WHAT IT WAS. NOISE CANCELING HEADPHONES FOR YOUR EYES. THEY ARE LIKE SUCTION CUPS. THEY BLOCK OUT AMBIANT AND UVA LIGHT. YOU CAN USE THIS ON THE PLANE WHEN PEOPLE HAVE THE SHADES OPEN, AT THE BEA CH TO BLOCK OUT THE SUN, IN THE CAR TO TAKE A NAP.

JENNIFER: ALL RIGHT. THIS IS AN ARMREST.

THIS IS AN ARM PILLOW. IT IS THE LITTLE THINGS THAT COUNT. THIS LITTLE THING MAKES YOUR — THIS CUSHION MAKES YOUR — FLIP IT ON THE ARMREST AND MAKES IT MUCH MORE COMFORTABLE. IT IS ADDING FIRST CLASS TO YOUR ECONOMY CLASS. IF YOU DON’T HAVE THE OCCLES YOU CAN USE IT FOR YOUR EYES.

OR USE IT AS A LUMBAR CUSHION IN THE CHAIR. IT’S MULTIFUNCTIONAL.

ALL RIGHT. MATCHING OUR CLOTHES HERE.

YES, THIS IS THE HARD CASE SPINNER LUGGAGE. AND IT HAS DUAL ACCESS. I TOOK THIS LUGGAGE WITH ME TO SPAIN. THE FIRST T HING THAT I LIKE IS IT HAS THE TSA APPROVED LOCKS. YOU DON’T HAVE TO HAVE AN ADDITIONAL LOCK TO PUT ON IT. THESE JUST LOCK IN. YOU HAVE THE COMBINATION. THEN YOU CAN ACCESS YOUR LUGGAGE IN TWO WAYS. THERE’S A FRONT WAY TO ACCESS IT AND —

JENNIFER: OF COURSE IT IS GOING TO STICK.

OF COURSE. IT HAS THE DIFFERENT COMPARTMENTS. THIS IS CARRY ON LUGGAGE. THIS IS APPROVED FOR YOU. IT ALSO WORKS INTERNATIONALLY. I CAN ACCESS IT THE BACK WAY.

JENNIFER: THAT’S GOING TO HAVE THE BIGGER CAVITY. ALL RIGHT. YOU ARE COMING BACK IN THE NEXT HOUR. WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO BE TALKING ABOUT THEN?

I’LL BE TALKING ABOUT PACKING TIPS STRATEGIES.

You can watch the second segment about packing tips here.

Jun 29 2015

Travel Products That Make Your Travel Life Easier

On Sunday I did a morning travel segment on WBAL-TV 11, a local station in Baltimore, where I spoke about innovative travel products that make your travel life easier. It was a fun experience sharing some of my favorites with the audience.

Travel products segment — Moments before going on air for the segment.

Travel is stressful enough, between flying, getting through security checks quickly and easily, or traveling solo with your child so I like to keep my eyes out for travel products that are going to make the experience just a fraction easier for me. Below you’ll find the five travel products that I talked about on-air.

Travel Products — I’m just noticing all the red. Can you tell it’s my favorite color?

Victorinox Spectra Dual Access Extra Capacity Carry-On

Luggage means everything to me. I’m not a backpacker so I’ll rarely talk about those types of products. I like toting around luggage that is both functional and fashionable. The features that I like about this luggage piece from Swiss Gear, the same company that makes timeless Swiss Army knives, include:

TSA-accepted 3-dial combination lock
lightweight construction,
easy maneuverability with its 360degree spinner wheels
WHAT I LIKE most about this luggage is that it helps keep me organized. I know exactly what I need to put where, in order to maximize the space and design.

Occles Eyewear

This second item is really unique. These are bridgeless eyeshades called Occles, a company of Scotland. You’re probably wondering what are bridgeless eyeshades. Think of noise cancelling headphones but just for your eyes. The eyeshades are like little suction cups that block out ambient and UV light which not only protects your eyes but allows you to go to sleep a little faster. You can use them when you

are on the plane
on the beach and the sun is shining
or if you want to sneak in a nap in the middle of the day when the kids are running around.

A Pillow For Your Armrest

The third item is the Walter and Ray Arm pillow. This super light-weight plush cushion doesn’t take up much space in your bags and comes in handy when you’re on a flight and you want to comfortably rest your elbows on that hard arm rest. The extra padding is such a small detail but it’s the little things that count. You can also use this as a lumbar cushion.

If I’m in a window seat and no one is beside me, I’ll put the arm pillow on the arm rest near the window and lean against that as a back rest, sitting at a diagonal to give myself more leg room. It would be uncomfortable to do that with the exposed seat handle digging into your back.

Functional Travel Clothing

Pocketed travel clothing is really useful when you want to travel hands-free and avoid carrying an extra bag for smaller items. This ScottEVest travel vest has 17 pockets that you can fill with all types of necessities. And because of it’s design, it doesn’t look bulky once the pockets are filled. The vest can hold and conceal your cell phone, money, id, head phones, ipad minis you name it. Talk about compartmentalization.

The Ride On Carry On

This product is a classic. It is a foldable child’s chair that converts your carry-on luggage into a stroller. It folds flat so that you don’t have to detach it from the luggage and you can store it in the overhead bin as is. The headrest doubles as a tray table and it’s included. It supports a child from 8 months – 5 years with a weight up to 50 pounds.

It’s wonderful because it replaces trying to push a stroller and carry-on luggage, which is a challenge to maneuver when you’re flying solo with a child. I used it when my husband was deployed and I had to travel with my then 2 year-old solo. It made a world of a difference maneuvering around the airport with a small child and carry one luggage.

When the link to the segment is ready, I’ll put it up in another blog to share with you all. You can find any of the products that I mentioned in the links below or through the Amazon widget in the right sidebar of this page.

Products

Occles bridgeless eyeshades – http://www.occles.co/

Walter & Ray Arm Cushion – http://walterandray.com/product/armpillow-plus/

What are some of your favorite travel products that ease your travels?