| 2010 GO Gift Guide |
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Give Gifts That Travel
One of the greatest Christmas gifts I ever received was underwear. It wasn't just any underwear. It was two sets of boxer briefs and tee shirts made from a super light weight, absorbent, self-wicking combination of silk and man-made fibers. It was a gift from a high school journalism class I'd been mentoring and they'd found it in a store specializing in travel. For someone who travels weeks on end in the Third World, it was great to have gear I could wash in the bathroom sink and two hours later it would be dry…even in the tropics. They also made great tropical weather sleepwear. OSPREY MERIDIAN 22" DELUXE WHEELED CONVERTIBLE PACK $199  I was a bit skeptical when I took the Meridian on a recent trip to Guatemala. Luggage that claims to 'do it all' and fit in your overhead compartment is usually a little too good to be true. However, I was incredibly impressed with the Meridian. It's exceptionally well designed, so that you can access the main compartment without unzipping the day pack and you can get the day pack on and off in seconds. Plus, true to its word, it fits in all overhead compartments and through security systems by just removing the day pack. All this 'compactness' doesn't mean you have to skimp when you pack. I was on an eight day trip and all my stuff fit easily into the 2500 cubic inch main pack and 1200 daypack…. I even had room for a couple trinkets picked up along the way. It wheels easily and the conversion to a pack (though it sounds extraneous) turned out to be a blessing when I was trekking around Antigua's cobbled (and unwheelable) streets looking for a hotel. Ospreypacks.com CARHARTT MEN‘S CANVAS KHAKI RELAXED FIT PANT $40  You know the sure sign of an inexperienced traveler? They pack their denim. Maybe it's fine if you're going to Paris in the spring, but for most active, adventurous travel, they're worse than useless: heavy, uncomfortable on hikes, and they never dry in the tropics after they get wet. On the other hand, I loathe those silly microfiber trousers with the zippered legs that allow them to convert to shorts. For kooks only. My preferred travel trousers are Carhartts. Yep, the work clothes maker. Their khaki relaxed fit canvas pants can take the most rugged conditions, but also can be paired with a blazer for a night out on the town. Best of all, they are tough as denim and feel like half the weight…especially when wet, they dry in nothing flat. Carhartt.com EL NATURALISTA YUGEN $250 For most travel to warm weather climates, you really only need two pair of shoes….and one of them's a pair of flip-flops. For my second pair that I can hike in, tour around and wear to a restaurant at night with my Carhartts, I choose the Yugen N625 from El Naturalista. They look great (like a ultra stylish pair of Blundstones) with their hand stitched leather uppers and have recycled rubber outsoles, breathable leather insoles and a 'Frog' anti-shock system for maximum comfort. And no laces to mess with when all you want to do is kick off your shoes and dive in the water.  NIKON D5000 $699 
A good digital SLR travel camera should be lightweight, tough and, above all, simple. It should have at least 8 megapixel quality and come with a good enough range on the zoom so that you can get tight close ups and big landscapes without having to change lenses. The Nikon D5000 has all this and more: 12.3 megpixel quality, an 18-55 lens, move mode with sound, an 11 point autofocus system, auto-exposure scene modes and tons more. The D5000 took such great photos on my Guatemala trip that I actually spent a day walking around shooting everything and everybody…..even occasionally getting what I was aiming at in the frame. The latter, alas, is not a technology anybody—even venerable Nikon—is ever likely to perfect. Nikonusa.com SMITH BACKDROPS $179 Sunglasses are tricky thing when traveling---you want them high quality for everything you're doing, but at the same time, most of us lose our sunglasses when we travel, so perhaps it's wiser to settle on a cheaper pair. Actually, I have a bit of advice: Go for high quality and DON'T LOSE YOUR &%$#*^ SUNGLASSES! The Smith Backdrop's rectangular lenses and tortoise shell frames are stylish enough to compliment a suit and practical enough to compliment any outdoor adventure. Especially impressive are the castor-based eco-alternative Rislar clear material used in the frames and the stainless steel Italina hinges. These are the kind of sunglasses you can yank on and off a thousand times and never be concerned about fragility. The Techlite polarized glass lenses are ground to 1/1000 mm surface tolerance and thus are 20% lighter than other glass lenses while still delivering extraordinary optical clarity. Smithoptics.com  Comments (0)
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