The Lightload Towels experience

by Annie Scott on

So, years ago we told you about the wonder of Lightload Towels, which are big towels compressed so small that they fit in your pocket. We recently saw this gimmick again on ThinkGeek with their pocket hot hand towels. We decided it was time to see this magic compressed towel business for ourselves.

Having a beach towel in your back pocket sounds pretty handy for a day at the beach, right? And having small hand towel pellets could be wondrous for backpacking and hostels, and would certainly keep your suitcase lighter.

Lightload Towels was kind enough to provide us with one large beach towel and several small hand towels for our experimental purposes (above). In this gallery, we’ll show you exactly how they worked, looked, and felt as we hydrated the towels and then tried to roll them back up.
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Smart packing tips for business travelers

by Abha Malpani on

“Why do you have so much luggage?” I asked my father recently when he had packed two suitcases for a 3-day conference in Nice. “Business attire darling: suits, shoes, something smart-casual for the evenings and I can’t repeat clothes”, he said in an annoyed but resigned tone. Such a pain to pack for business.

You want to be comfortable and not look like a loser at the same time. But the more stylishly you dress — although you may look great — you may not feel that great at security check when you beep and are asked to strip, or on the flight when your big earrings keep poking you as you try to sleep.

Here are some pointers from a piece that tells you how to edit your wardrobe to a minimum when traveling for business in order to avoid hassles at security and make it for a week maintaining a token of style:

  • So that you don’t ding: change your suit buttons to plastic so you won’t beep, get a plastic watch — for e.g. Swatch — plastic yet stylish and acceptable; don’t wear a belt; put all your jewelery in your handbag until you pass security.
  • So that you won’t have to strip: wear slip on shoes — no boots or laces! Don’t wear many layers, or a hat.
  • So that you can look stylish without having too much luggage: Limit your color palette so that everything matches with everything. Take dark colors — they don’t get dirty quickly and you can wear them twice. For women: carry multifunctional accessories and shoes! And remember, your hotel will have same day laundry facilities — plan to use them!

Unfortunately, there is no way to shed laptop gear unless you buy a BlackBerry or an iPhone.