When I travel I am often on my own so compact is best,especially since my Lenovo laptop and assorted techie accoutrement is oneentire (albeit small) backpack unto itself. So I was delighted to find that theportable, lightweight travel clothes washing machine sent to me by The Scrubba Wash Bag worked asbilled. This product gets a free ride in my suitcase and startingposition in my latest wrap up of travel products for the aviation crowd.
World's First Packable Washing Machine
The secret to packing spare is wearing things multipletimes which means hand-washing, a manicure-wrecking,floor-soaking experience that I frankly don't like. The Scrubba Wash Bag is a thermoplastic polyurethane knapsack that the company claims can"rub out a machine quality wash in minutes."
One week intoa Mexico vacation, I gave it a try and chucked my Royal Robbins shorts, a knitdress, Polo shirt, tee shirt, socks and unmentionables into the bag, added alittle soap, filled it with water and rolled down the top. I sloshed everythingaround, dumped the wash water, added fresh water and two or three rinses later,I was done.
I've often found hand-washed clothes to be stiff when dry,probably because it is so hard to get all the soap out in a tiny sink. TheScrubba gives a much more thorough rinse. That, plus it's foldable andlightweight. And if that isn't enough, the bag doubles as a waterproof carry-all I can use while kayaking.
Scrubba is produced by Calibre8 an Australiancompany and is sold online.
Shorts for the Long Haul
It goes without saying, (okay, so it doesn't) that no article ofclothing goes in the suitcase if it can't be laundered easily on the road. So Igravitate to the pants and shorts made by Royal Robbins, anAmerican outdoor clothier. Made of ultra-light weight Supplex nylon it doesn'tmatter how tightly these pants are rolled or folded, they emerge from the suitcasewrinkle-free. I especially like the many large zip and Velcro-close pockets thatby some engineering miracle do not add bulk in the hip. Add the belt loops and button adjustable waistbands and the fact that they are stain-resistant andeasy to wash on the road and that explains why these are the go-to travel pants. Now, you won't be wearing these to a business meeting but for casual and sporting activities, they're great.
Bothmen and women's garments are sold in their online store.
Clear-sighting on Wings or Wheels
When flying often my pilot friends will try to give mecontrol of the airplane, but I'm quick to remind them, I'm a professionalpassenger. So when Dual Eyewear asked me to test-fly their aviation sunglasses,I thought it best to let a real live pilot take over. Below, pilotand plane builder David Paqua's pirep on Dual's shades.
"Having flown for the past 10 years using various sunglassesI had the opportunity to try the Dual Eyewear - AV2 glasses recentlyand I have to say I'm very impressed with them. The frames fit well and arevery light when compared to my trusty Ray ban Aviators. They also fit wellbeneath my headset so I still get a good tight fit that prevents sound from coming in.
The frames feel strong and stood up to somefumbling and stretching when I put them on single-handed while flying. Theydefinitely are not delicate. The bifocal lenses took a little getting used to; however Isoon found them helpful in reading the tiny frequency notations on theav-charts. Doing light aerobatics was not a problem and the glasses stayedin place under the G's.
All in all I liked these glasses very much!"
David Paqua - Norwalk, Connecticut
While I ought to give David the last word, I can't resist chimingin since I received a pair too, for wearing while riding my bike. Like David Ifind them extremely light and comfortable with no sliding even when sweatingand no glare. The magnification in the lower lens is great. I didn't notice it untilI needed it and then I was glad to have it. No drama, just performance; that's the mark of all greattravel products.