PREPARE
Smile for Security
It’s tempting to toss a cheap travel toothbrush into your luggage. Be kinder to your gums and your aesthetic sensibilities with the Violight Slim Sonic. It’s stylish (available in 16 designs), and packs a serious plaquebusting punch thanks to its 22,000 brushstrokes per minute. A bit bigger than a standard fountain pen, the brush has a vented cap that allows bristles to air out so they’re always dry and clean. In true grab-and-go fashion,
the Slim Sonic comes with an AAA battery and an extra brush head for $15. violight.com
Help Wanted
You never know what will ail you on the road. How can you be prepared without packing every bottle and blister pack your own? The Help I Need a Lot of Help kit contains 10 different remedies for issues such as headaches, cuts and blisters, stuffy noses, chest congestion, allergies and insomnia. Each treatment comes in a minimalist case that can slip easily into hand luggage or a toiletry bag. So while you’ll be stocked with everything from bandages to decongestants, you won’t look or feel like you’re hauling around your entire medicine cabinet. US$45. 3floz.com
CARRY
Perfect Packing
Are you the sort of traveller who throws everything you need (and then some) into your suitcase and then has to sit on it to get the zipper closed? Eagle Creek’s Pack-It Folder will transform how you pack for trips and help make checked luggage a thing of the past. Fit up to 12 items — eight button-down shirts and four pairs of pants, for instance — in the 18-inch folder, which comes with folding board to guard against wrinkles and minimize wasted space. The Pack-It, which comes with a lifetime warranty, is available in five colours and three sizes; the mid-sized 18-inch is $30. eaglecreek.com
Secret Stash
Sometimes you have a lot of stuff to carry and sometimes you don’t — that’s what makes the foldable Smart Trolley so appealing. Designed by Hideo Wakamatsu and available online at Flight 001, the water-resistant nylon twill case folds down to three inches (from 10) when not in use. Perfect for weekend getaways, it’s still compact enough to tuck into a
bigger suitcase on long trips (in case you need that extra carry-on for souvenirs). When in operational mode, the aluminum handle and polyurethane wheels make toting the bag a breeze. Several pockets allow for easy organization and the front pocket has a sleeve to house a 17-inch laptop. US$189. flight001.com
PLAY
Quiet Please
When you’re globetrotting, sometimes you want to block out the sound of chatterboxes and the airplane engine. Sennheiser’s MM 550-X headphones provide high-quality sound and a noise-cancelling function that reduces outside racket without affecting its audio. A unique function is TalkThrough, an external mic that enables you to hear a flight attendant without removing the headset. Bluetooth capabilities mean they can be used wirelessly, although they do come with an airline adaptor so you can tap into the in-flight entertainment too. Another travel bonus: They’re extremely light, weighing in at less than 200 grams. $650. sennheiser.ca
Shooting Star
If you’re an all-adventure-all-the-time jetsetter, you want equipment that can keep up with you, plus help you keep track of where you’ve been. Olympus’s newest “Tough” camera is just that: freeze-, crush-, shock- and dust-proof. The compact TG-2 iHS is even waterproof up to 50 feet deep (without additional housing), has a highspeed f2.0 lens for use in low-light situations and shoots 1080p high-definition video under the most demanding of conditions. Photo buffs will love the multiple underwater and manual modes and the ability to use telephoto or fisheye converter lenses. Plus, the GPS and e.compass software records location data on the image file so that you can focus on having fun. $380. olympuscanada.com