Protect your melon; pack the right hat.

by Pam Mandel on

This is kind of gross, and I’m a little bit sorry for that, but I still have scaly bits on the tops of my ears. This because I burned the daylights out of them by wearing the wrong hat while on a recent adventure. I made it worse by neglecting to apply sunscreen to my poor ears — I’ll skip the part about what happened when I started to peel.

I pack a baseball style cap for my travels. I’d picked up a Sun Tripper cap from Sunday Afternoons while at the Outdoor Retailer show. It’s really cute, it’s that military shape, it’s got a split bill so it packs down nice and flat, and it’s got a stretchy drawstring on the back so it stays on your head in the wind. This matters; I watched the wind take a travel-mate’s cap and hurl it into the desert, there was no retrieving it. My cap stayed securely on my head the whole time. I also found that the funny little pocket in the top of the hat was actually useful. I tucked my ID and a little bit of cash in there, it was nice to have a secret stash and I didn’t worry about my head being pick-pocketed.

But as I’ve mentioned, I needed coverage for my ears. This was a tactical error on my part — I should have gone with a safari hat instead of just a cap. Sure, the extra coverage looks a little silly, but my ears hurt like hell and did I mention, they were kind of gross about a week later. Sunburn isn’t a joke, even when it’s limited to the tops of your ears, and I could hear my doctor’s voice in my head giving me the melanoma lecture. What I’m saying, is go with the extra coverage. Sunday Afternoons has some other options that I’d have done better to choose for this trip. I won’t soon forget that painful sunburn and I don’t expect to make that same mistake again. Get the coverage, people. The Sun Tripper cap is 24.00, the safari range starts there and goes up to 48.00. There’s a convertible cap too — just snap on the ear and neck coverage — that goes for 28.00. That would have kept the sunburn at bay.

In addition to sun coverage, I was delighted to find that I still had my SmartWool beanie in my photo bag. I’d used it to wrap up some camera gear I wasn’t using, but I ended up wearing it on cold mornings and evenings in camp. This stretchy little reversible beanie takes up negotiable space in my kit (really, I’d no idea it was in there!) and I was delighted to find that it had hitched along with me on my camping trip. SmartWool brands this little cap as a “training beanie” — whatever with that. I’m calling it a travel beanie and leaving it right where it is, stowed in my photo backpack, holding my lens polarizer. I’ll be happy the next time I find the wind is biting my ears or the night is a little cold. 25.00 from SmartWool.

Great Shoes for Hot Weather Destinations

by Pam Mandel on

There is no getting that pair of socks clean from the red dust, they are dyed a tie-dyed rust color from the dry campground. My feet needed a good soaking, too — a walk on the beach in the surf took care of that. Sure, my feet were filthy, almost to an embarrassing degree. But they were happy, not too hot, free from blisters and fatigue. I attribute this to picking the right shoes for that camping and hiking trip.

Keen McKenzie Water Shoes

I spent two weeks wearing these shoes almost every day. I wore them for long walks, trail hikes, schlepping around the city, stomping about in gravelly, dusty, washouts and on grainy flat plateaus where the sun baked the top of my ears. I kind of fell in love with them on about day three of my camping and hiking and road tripping adventure. After all, these shoes treated me right.

Keen’s McKenzie’s are really comfortable, it was no trouble to walk in them all day long. They’re closed (but well ventilated) so I wasn’t constantly knocking tiny stones out from where they’d wedged in under my arches. (The shoe is essentially your standard Keen sandal with the open bits enclosed in a mesh upper.) They’ve got a collapsible heel cup, meaning you can wear the shoe as a slide without damaging it, perfect for legging it to the campground loo in the middle of the night or navigating the TSA. They’ve got a solid hiker sole, so they’re grippy on trails. My feet were supported, not too hot, dry, and totally content in these shoes. Cost? 90 USD, your choice of three earthy color combinations.

The only issue — which wasn’t really a problem because I was in desert like climates — was that they took longer to dry than I’d like. I’d have regretted putting my feet into cold, clammy shoes on chilly mornings. But no worries, I’d also packed a pair of sport sandals.Ecco Coba Performance Sandals

I’m not crazy about the look of performance sandals, the designs tend towards a bit too orthopedic for my tastes. But I tried on a pair of Ecco’s WAVE footbed sandals at the Outdoor Retailer show and was pleased and surprised by how comfortable they are — and I ended up packing a pair for my recent adventure.

Ecco’s Coba sandals feel like real shoes. Normally, I wear Chaco sandals, the model that’s not much more than a sturdy sole strapped to your foot with webbing. Ecco’s shoes gave me a lot more support. The foot bed has a waffle-y surface to it that aids in keeping your feet cool and it’s got a nice feel too it, a soft suede type finish. All three straps are adjustable and it’s easy to get them to fit just right — or to tweak them a little, if, like me, you find there’s a spot that needs a little breaking in. The sturdy soles were great for long walks or short trail hikes. And they’re light — I clipped them on the outside of my bag when I wasn’t wearing them and the weight they added was negligible. Cost? 130 USD. A bit steep; you might want to explore your options if you’re price sensitive. Two colors, white or “moon rock” — a natural light brown.

I caved and on the trip home, I wore my Ecco Coba sandals with socks. They were so easy to get in and out of in the airport and on the plane that I went for the full on dorky socks and sandals look. Hey, I was surrounded by strangers. I’ll pack these sandals again for camping and outdoor trips, but heads up — they are not a water shoe, you really want something else if you’re planning on getting your shod feet wet. That’s why you I also packed…

Cheap Flip Flops

You need them for campground showers (and, honestly, some hotel showers), beach walks, leaving propped outside the tent, wearing with a summer dress when you can’t bear the idea of shoes any more, and those long, long stints in the car or bus. You can always find space for them in your bag, and after you’ve had a good walk in the ocean for disinfectant purposes, you can pass them on to some fellow traveler whose had a blowout. There are few items I’d categorize as disposable travel gear, flip flops (zoris, thongs, whatever you like to call them) are one. Get a pair. Spend as much as you like, from 5 USD to, well, you want to spend 70 USD on flip flops, you go right ahead.

Gadling gear review: LifeStraw portable water filter

by Kraig Becker on

As a gear reviewer, I see a lot of different travel and outdoor products come across my desk. Some are unique and useful, others are shameless derivatives of products that have come before them. I’ve seen a few pieces of gear that are truly ingenious, but many more that are just down right whacky. It isn’t often that you get a new product and immediately realize that it has the potential to change the world. That is exactly what we have in the LifeStraw, a water purification system that is inexpensive, simple to use, and highly effective against preventing the contraction of waterborne diseases.

One of the biggest threats to the health of people living in developing countries across the globe is a lack of clean water. In fact, according to water.org, nearly one billion people on our planet do not have access to clean drinking water. The LifeStraw was developed as a direct response to this growing crisis and is meant to be a cheap, yet effective, way to prevent the spread of disease in countries where waterborne illness is prevalent. The filter has already been put to good use in a number of developing countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa.

The LifeStraw is simplicity at its finest. It really is just a straw, albeit one with a sophisticated filter built-in. That filter makes all the difference however, effectively removing 99.9999% of all waterborne bacteria including E coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Shigella and Salmonella. It also blocks 99.9% of waterborne parasites as well, including Giardia lamblia and Cryptosporidium Parvum. That makes it a handy item to have in your pack when you’re traveling through regions where clean water is a commodity.Like any other straw, you simply dip the LifeStraw into a water source, including straight into a river or pond, and sip the liquid through it. The filter system takes care of all the nasty stuff and will even filter out particulates from the water, although too much dirt and silt can cause the straw to get blocked. When that happens, you simply blow air back through the system to clean out the filter and then continue using it as normal.

Backpackers and adventure travelers will find the LifeStraw to be an excellent emergency water purifier, although it isn’t likely to replace purification systems such as those from SteriPen, which allow you to clean liters of water to use in bottles or hydration packs. The nature of the straw means that it isn’t the most efficient way to get a drink while on the move, although it is a great, cost effective option for those whom that isn’t a concern. The LifeStraw weighs just 2 ounces, is very sturdy, and costs $19.95, which makes it a great back-up option for those “just in case” scenarios.

At the beginning of this story I mentioned that the LifeStraw is a product that could potentially change the world, and while it has its benefits for travelers, I was speaking more so of what it can do for the developing world. The device is able to filter more than 260 gallons of water over its lifespan and because they are so relatively inexpensive, they can be easily distributed throughout the third world. In those places, it has the chance to improve the health of the people that live there in a dramatic way, potentially extending their lives and preventing the spread of disease. The developers of LifeStraw are so convinced of its potential in those environments, that it has an option to donate the product for use in developing nations.

The LifeStraw has been around since 2005 but is just now becoming available to purchase in the United States and Canada. For anyone traveling to destinations where the quality of the water is questionable, it is an extremely useful piece of kit to have in your pack.

Mosquito Repelling Gear: It Works

by Pam Mandel on
The last thing you want to bring home from your safari? Malaria. And if you’re a bug attractor like me, it’s not just the anti-malarials you’ll want to pack. You’ll also want a good sized helping of DEET infused goo. And some stuff made from fabrics that have mozzie repelling properties.

Once you’ve caved in to the fact that you’re going to be a khaki covered dork, your life will get a lot easier. Start with the BugsAway shirt from ExOfficio. In addition to UV protection, it’s made with Insect Shield, a fabric infused with permethrin, a bug repellent, that holds through 70 washings.

I liked this shirt a lot. I liked the side vents that let air in along the back, I liked the securely zippered pockets, I liked the cut. It comes in a couple of colors, not just khaki. It’s wrinkle resistant, so I could stuff it in my day pack and just shake it back out into shape. I wore my BugsAway shirt almost every evening in camp and in the buggier beach towns. The result? None of those nasty through the shirt mozzie bites. This is a great travel shirt, a fine addition to a tropical travel wardrobe. The shirt is 88.00 from ExOfficio — you might want to check out their complete BugsAway line.

I also wore an Cocoon Insect Shield sarong on a number of occasions. I wore it to the beach, I while hanging out on tour bus, in the tropics I used it as an extra layer over the paper thin sheets provided at my hotels. I wore it as a scarf on the safari rig and used it as a beach towel. Mine was a preview model — they’re not yet out on the US market, but keep an eye on the Cocoon site if you want one.

I always pack a wrap of some kind, it’s the most versatile and useful item. The bug proof features of this one meant that the I had a skirt/scarf/wrap that also kept the biters at bay. I got a minimal number of bites during my travels to mosquito choked places, and none of them were on the areas covered by the sarong or my bug proof shirt.

The rest of my clothing I sprayed down with Ultrathon insect repellent. Good for six weeks or six washings, it worked well and didn’t leave any detectable chemical smell in my clothing. I far preferred the treated clothing options to slathering myself with bug repellent; that stuff smells, gets sticky, and I was relieved to have to use it just on my exposed extremities.In addition to packing mosquito-proofed clothing, I included a sleeping bag liner/sleep sheet. Mine was cotton and also came from Cocoon. I was pleased that I’d decided to bring it along. Not only did it keep me from using the perfectly disgusting hotel sheets in Nairobi, it also provided just the right weight of coverage for those hot nights in camp. The liners are 36.00 and come in three colors.

The mosquitoes liked my sleep sheet no more than they liked my bug proof clothing, which is to say not at all. During my two week trip, I received the most bites the night I went tromping through the grass in the darkness without applying repellent to my sock-less feet and ankles. It was my own fault.

“Don’t get bit,” is one of the primary pieces of advice the doctor at my local travel clinic pushes on travelers bound to areas with mosquito or other bug-borne illnesses. It costs a little bit more to add bug repelling attire to your travel kit, but it’s worth it. This stuff works.

Gadling gear review: ExOfficio Sol Cool shirt

by Kraig Becker on

ExOfficio is a company that has earned a reputation for designing excellent clothing for travel and outdoor adventure. Their comfortable, stylish, and high quality apparel is just as popular with travelers visiting the Louvre as it is with those exploring the Serengeti. The ExOfficio catalog includes clothing to keep you warm and dry in unexpected rainstorms and cool and comfortable in the warmest of climes. They even have gear designed to keep pesky bugs away – something that can come in handy in certain destinations.

One of the newest additions to the ExOfficio gear closet is the Sol Cool collection of shirts. Designed to provide protection from the sun’s ultraviolet rays, these quick drying tops also reflect heat and wick moisture, while still remaining highly breathable. In theory, all of that should help keep us more comfortable on our warm weather adventures, although upon review, similar gear hasn’t always lived up to the hype in the past.

Living in Austin, Texas, I have the perfect environment to put the Sol Cool to the test. So far this year, we’ve had nearly 90 days of triple-digit heat, and anything that helps you stay cool and comfortable while outside is greatly appreciated. Fortunately, the Sol Cool more than lived up to its billing and soon became one of my “go to” articles of clothing when I knew I was going to be spending time out in the sun. The soft smooth fabrics not only make this shirt comfortable to wear, their wicking properties were much appreciated as well. Staying cool and dry allowed me to be more active in the hot weather, and enjoy time outdoors, even when the mercury was routinely climbing above 100ºF/38ºC.

True to their ExOfficio legacy, these shirts are also perfect for travel. Lightweight and packable, the Sol Cool is wrinkle free and comes out of your pack looking the same way that it did when went in. Its cut and fit are designed to not restrict motion while hiking, climbing, or paddling, and yet still looks good while kicking around town as well. The shirt has also been treated with an odor resistant finish, which comes in handy on longer trips when you may be wearing your clothing on multiple occasions.

Available in a variety of colors and in both long and short sleeve designs, the Sol Cool is an excellent addition to your travel wardrobe. Perfect for active, warm weather pursuits, it is never the less, just as useful in town as it is in the mountains.