Travel Essentials for Fall 2013
Hitting the Road? These new travel accessories will make the journey sweeter
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Scrubba Wash Bag
Smell sweeter with Scrubba’s Wash Bag. A modern take on the old washboard, Scrubba claims “machine quality wash” and lightyears better than washing your underwear out in the bathroom sink. You still use Scrubba in the privacy of your hotel or campground: fill the ribbed drybag with soap, water and clothes, roll it shut, squeeze the air out, rub it around, rinse and dry. Whether you’re a business traveler or backpacker, it’s worth its four ounce weight in gold.
Available now, $65, thescrubba.com.
Innate Respite Commuter Pillow
Sleep sweeter on the plane, train or bus with the first inflatable travel neck pillow to use organic cotton not sweaty synthetic or greasy velour against your face. The organic topside is welded to a low-impact durable, woven recycled polyester on the back. Deflated, it packs down to the size of an orange. A high-volume air valve makes inflating the Respite quick and easy. Innate’s rectangular, inflatable Respite Terra Firma Pillow has the same organic cotton face. Patterned indentations and a baffled midsection make it stable but not rigid, and ideal for back and side sleepers.
Available January 2014, 3.2 and 2.9 oz., $32, innate-gear.com.
Cascade Designs PackTowl RobeTowl
Whether you’re on a road trip or a hut trip, drying off with a cozy towel after a dip in the hot springs or a soak in the hot tub is nice. Wrapping yourself in a cozy, absorbent bathrobe is better. But who travels with a bathrobe? You, now that Cascade Designs makes out of packtowels. Lounge sweeter in Cascade’s RobeTowl. It’s made from Cascade’s velvety Personal PackTowel material. A robe and towel in one, it’ll soak up four times its weight in water, and it’s thick enough to afford a modicum of privacy when you’re sneaking to the hotel lobby for pre-dawn coffee or changing out of your wet suit next to your car. Calf-length, full-sleeved, lightweight, antimicrobial, and machine washable it has a hood, waist tie and deep front pockets large enough to hold a liter bottle each. And, you can wring it nearly dry. We tested it on a private island last weekend in Maine where the main activities were post-swimming lounging, drinking beer on the dock and eating lobsters shore side. It excelled in all pursuits.
Available Fall 2013, $75, Cascadedesigns.com.
