Don’t leave home without it
You’ve dug out your passport, changed some currency, booked the tickets and packed your toothbrush – now make your travels that little bit easier with James Fryer’s travel gadget guide.
Freeze-dried ice cream
www.luvyduvy.com
With summer on its way you’ll run into all sorts of melting ice cream disasters. But not if you opt for the freeze-dried variety – it’s made from the real thing and comes in a combination of chocolate, vanilla and strawberry flavours. Apparently devised for the early Apollo missions, this space treat is frozen to -40º Fahrenheit then vacuum-dried and placed in a polyfoil pouch. It’s ready to eat and doesn’t need to be refrigerated, but sadly doesn’t include a chocolate flake. You might not want to stray from your usual brand unless creamy cardboard takes your fancy though. But if you are going to space any time soon, take a look at the company’s website– you’ll find other freeze-dried delights including spaghetti, strawberries and rice & chicken. Begs the question, did NASA coax early astronauts in to space with ice cream? The big babies.
Zip-R-Lok
www.compid.com
The UAE is probably the last place on earth you’d come across a Fagin-esque band of light-fingered scallywags, but as your grandmother would say, you can never be too careful. This lock technically isn’t a lock, it’s a `time delay deterrent’, which means that it can be opened by anyone in under a minute (there are only 12 possible positions to try before the device will come apart), but hopefully in that time you’re likely to notice someone fumbling around trying to get your bag open. The idea is that as it’s so simple there’s a chance you might actually use it, unlike that combination lock with the code you can never remember.
Swiss Army MP3 Player
www.iwantoneofthose.com
Ray Mears, eat your heart out. This jungle survival and campsite classic has been updated with a nifty one-gigabyte USB memory stick and MP3 player. Not only can you now carve a canoe, build a bench and fasten a hammock, but also carry around all-important documents and pictures of friends, and store comprehensive maps of the Amazon jungle. More importantly though, is your collection of Robbie Williams MP3s (he’ll be so handy if you’re shipwrecked) – you can store up to 250 songs. The MP3 player is detachable, so if you’re travelling by air you can store the knife in your main luggage. Oh, and there’s a nail file and tweezers, of course.
Arm Pillow
www.glenfield.co.jp
If ever there was a time when the phrase `only in Japan’ was relevant, this is it. This stuffed, headless torso-and-arm is designed to hug you in your sleep, thus tricking you into thinking your loved-one is snuggled-up beside you, not out at a shady karaoke bar. Your new bed buddy is made of polyester, it’s very easy to clean, it won’t snore and it’ll never steal the sheets – the perfect travelling companion. Don’t expect a kiss good night though.
Wrinkle Free
The `military double crease’, the `upside flat iron’ or the `reverse steamer’; it doesn’t matter which ironing technique you employ (we made all those up, by the way) to press your clothes, they’ll always come out the other end looking like they’re straight from the bottom of the wardrobe where they’ve spent the last six weeks screwed up in a tight ball. But forget taking the travel iron – this spray can `relaxant’ apparently does the hard work so you don’t have to, and `sprays away wrinkles!’. Our tests proved that if you’re lucky, you might get away with a quick spray, shake and smoothing, so long as you’re not meeting up with a trained eye (your mum).
Griffin iTrip Auto
What’s the point in having an iPod playlist as long as your arm if you’re the only one enjoying your prized Barry White back catalogue on a cross-country road trip? Share the love and plug this FM transmitter into your iPod and broadcast your very own radio show. Okay, so you’ll only be going out over a couple of metres of airwaves, but it’s enough to tune in on your car stereo and fill the car with the smooth sounds of My First, My Last, My Everything. The iTrip will even charge your iPod at the same time, so you don’t need to worry about running out of steam before you reach your destination.
Sony VAIO
This copper-coloured laptop is an imaginative move away from the black and charcoal varieties, and packs a host of features into its colourful shell. It weighs in at just 1.26 kilograms (all the more room for duty free, then), gives up to an amazing nine hours of battery time on a single charge (to keep you going all the way from the UAE to Brunei) and is made from sturdy carbon fiber (so should take any of the knocks and bumps when fastened securely in the overhead compartment or under the seat in front of you). It’s ultra-slim thanks to a 4.5mm screen, and a one-touch button allows you to watch DVDs, look at digital photos and listen to music, all without even booting up the Windows operating system. If you’re considering a laptop upgrade, or you’re just frivolous, look no further.
Survival Kit-In-A-Can
If you’ve ever watched the trials Tom Hanks goes through catching a fish in Castaway or you’ve asked yourself the `what if I was there...’ type question when watching the weekly installment of Lost, you’ll be all too aware how the smallest of things can improve your chances of survival when stranded on a desert island. Even Mary Poppins would be impressed with how much gadgetry this pocket-sized tin packs. Pop it open like a can of sardines and you’ll reveal 38 wonders (from Dubble Bubble chewing gum to fishing line and fire starters) to keep you warm, provide shelter and give you energy. It’s compact, lightweight and water-tight, and can be used to help you deal with life-threatening situations everywhere from the desert to the Arctic Circle. We’re still not sure about the bouillon soup though. Maybe a bit more pepper might do the trick.