Gadling Gear: Burton’s Sleeper Hoodie v2.0

by Grant Martin on

One of my favorite ways to pass time on my regular 6AM flights out of New York City is by boarding early, cashing out and sleeping until touchdown in Detroit. I’ve even got a favorite hoodie for the occasion, this brown zipup I bought in Sweden that I can stuff my hands into, pull up the hood and promptly start snoring in. What a waste of a first class seat.

Looks like the folks at Burton smell what I’m cooking and have designed a sweatshirt specifically for this task. We covered last year’s model with all of it’s nifty features, including a built-in inflatable pillow, ear plug and passport pockets and light shield over the hood. This year, they’ve also integrated a travel toothbrush into the mix. It looks like the total package for anyone wanting to integrate comfort and efficiency into one piece of drool-friendly apparel.

Good lucking finding one of these gems on the white market though. Burton and all of their distributors have sold out completely and they’re going on Ebay for upwards of 200$.

Meantime you can check out specs and some images of the hoodie directly from Burton.com.

Tapping into the wind to charge your portable electronics

by Neil Woodburn on

There seems to be a whole industry dedicated to novel ways of powering up small electronic devices these days. Because God only knows that today’s modern travelers get a little nervous when venturing to places where their juice might peter out.

And so we bring you yet another way to charge up that iPod when your battery dies in Mongolia.

The Hymini is a small, handheld windmill that generates power when, you guessed it, the wind blows. Of course, most users aren’t going to stand around for an hour in a windstorm waiting for the unit to charge, but they will strap it to their bikes and even their cars where a 40 mile per hour journey will generate enough go-juice to operate a cell phone for 40 minutes. Or simply strap the Hymini to any of the blowhard politicians running for the American presidency and you’ll be able to power up a small city for the next decade. Don’t you just love election season?

Germ-eliminating wand: an addition to your travel-kit

by Abha Malpani on

Remember the last time you woke up all scratchy from your hotel/bed? Or when the hotel’s carpet smelt like cat poo? Or when there was a layer of grime on the kitchen table-top of the apartment you rented out on your trip?

Well, now instead of taking a long shower with your eyes closed and trying to keep away nightmares of waking up with hives, you can be the wizard of cleanliness by owning a Hammacher Schlemmer germ-eliminating wand.

The device uses UV-C (a shortwave ultraviolet light that has disinfectant properties) to eliminate 99% of bacteria, viruses, mold, and dust mites in the bathroom, in the kitchen, or on your bedding.

All you have to do is move around the wand’s 6-inch long light bulb over all the surfaces you want ”purified” and it will rapidly disinfect everything. By holding the wand over the contaminated surface for 20 seconds, the UV light will kill all the E.coli, salmonella and staphylococcus that cause the common cold and the flu.

The wand can be programmed for up to an hour and has an automatic shut-off option. However, be careful as overexposure to UV-C can lead to skin-redness and eye irritation.

It costs about $100; perhaps not a bad investment eh?

One-stop travel shop

by Neil Woodburn on

If you’ve ever had to run around to half a dozen stores to pick up your travels supplies, you know exactly the angst which motivated two entrepreneurs to create a travel store that has it all.

Flight 001 specializes in all things travel. And, with the recent restrictions on liquids, they have also become the one-stop-shop for those tiny bottles of toiletries that I can never seem to find no matter how many different stores I visit.

Flight 001 also carries travel gadgets, electronics, books, luggage, wallets, luggage tags, packing aids, and tons more cool items for the active traveler. And guess what; the stores are designed in the shape of an airplane just to get you in the mood. But don’t worry. If none of the seven stores are near you (New York, Chicago, LA, London, Dubai, & San Francisco) you can always check out their website.

Wrist-strap your cash when you travel

by Abha Malpani on


As pick-pockets get smarter and quicker, it’s hard to avoid getting robbed when you travel unless your money is stashed in your underwear. It’s especially difficult for women as we always seem to want a purse/bag when we head out and don’t want to wear jeans — mostly just to keep money.

Which is why I was thrilled to find this wristband-wallet combo where you can hide your bills in funky punky bracelet form.

Newly introduced by Amsterdam-based accessories store – RoB – that specializes in leather and rubber products, the wallet is available in all sizes and a variety of colors and stripes.

CAUTION: The store is otherwise totally skewed towards male erotic and S&M products (so don’t freak out when you explore the homepage), but it does have some neat and offbeat items like this one. And, you can order and buy on line, so you don’t have to visit the store!