The Travel & Adventure Gift Guide: Carry On Edition

I travel often enough that over the years and by process of trial and error, I've accumulated some very reliable and efficient travel gear. So for your someone special who could hardly sit still for too long in one place, here are some holiday gift suggestions for gear they can travel with - and think of you as they do! This collection have been field tested so whoever you're gifting them to don't have to - and so you don't have to hear it. The beauty of this list is that they are carry-on friendly (i.e. does not pack unnecessary bulk or weight), because we all know how the airlines have made minimalists out of all of us.

And while you're at it, feel free to slip in a plane ticket in there, would ya?

Carry on!

1 The Madewell Zip Transport Tote (in English saddle) works great as a travel bag since it fits an SLR easy and has a top zipper to prevent unwanted hands from helping themselves to your valuables, especially in the crush of people, say in the metro. The tote is $188, but get 30% today with code SPLURGE here. Personalize it and order it monogrammed for an extra $10.

2 Long-haul flights are one of those rare chances anymore to just sit offline and binge on movies and books. A decent set of headphones is a worthy investment and the Bose SoundLink On-Ear Headphones produce stunning sound quality. If you can afford it, go for the noise-cancelling version, but I find that the one without suits me just fine (and it's $100 less). It folds into its own carry pouch and it links to bluetooth devices wirelessly so like me, you too can be that dork walking around the airport with these on, Wham crooning "Last Christmas" full volume and on repeat. Buy it for $250 here or get it from Best Buy Open Box if it is available.

3 Disposable plastic water bottles are so yesterday. Do Mother Earth a favor and gift the gift of green with a water bottle. I always take one and refill it past security so I am never again at the mercy of the snarky flight attendant who will come around only once on a six-hour flight for a mere shotglass of water. This Camelbak Eddy .75L is BPA-free and dishwasher-safe. REI has them for $11-$15 here.

4 This Eagle Creek Pack-It Specter Wallaby toilet bag is genius. Packing pros know that packing odd shapes in a suitcase wastes space. This cube-shaped toilet bag is so effecient at packing many things without adding unnecessary bulk or weight to your luggage. It's lined with foam to keep your breakables like perfume bottles safe. It also has a hanger that comes in pretty handy, especially when taken to rugged trips like camps and such. On sale, it costs about $20. REI has a few remaining stock here, but I've also seen them at Sierra Trading Post here and Nordstrom Rack.

5 Who else has given up on the worthless piece of you-know-what neck pillows? Memory foam, inflatable, straight up cushion - they are a scam. I tried them all and despised each one. Then I came across this Muji neck pillow at JFK. It still won't make you feel like you win the lottery and got upgraded to a first-class cabin on a long-haul to Asia, but it is good enough. What makes it great is that it isn't confined to a U-shape. It is actually an elongated pillow that you could fold and mold and squish (against the airplane wall, if that's your preference) to conform to your sleeping comfort. If you like the U-shape, it has straps that lock it into a U. By far, it is the most comfortable travel pillow I've tested. They go for $25 at one of the Muji stores listed here.

6 Blanket scarf, which is more blanket than scarf. Trendy, but more importantly, doubles as a blanket when the airplane one falls short. Old Navy has them on sale for *ehem* $6 here.

7 It has become essential, especially for travelers, to carry a battery pack to charge your iPad on the plane as you're killing it on Candy Crush (am I the only one who still plays that anymore?) or your phone as you GPS your way around the cobblestone steets of Europe. This myCharge Portable Power Bank is one year old and has worked great. And still does! Snag the red one on clearance at Best Buy for $9.99 here.

8 Anyone come to mind who is trigger-happy with the shutter button? High resolution photos will suck up computer disk space like no other and a slim, portable external hard drive might be in order. I use this Toshiba 1 terrabyte hard drive on sale at Best Buy for $50.99 here.

9 I like these custom luggage tags from Shutterfly and have gifted them before. You can even use your own photos with your travel memories imprinted on them. Or snoop in their Facebook and pick out your favorite photos of them to have printed on hyper-personalized bag tags. They're $7.99 each here but use a coupon (the site always has them) and you got a bargain.

10 For the international travelers in your life - or perhaps those about to go on their first big international travel - get them a very practical gift such as a universal & worldwide travel adapter. I like this Coach one that zips into it's own leather pouch so they're easy for me to locate inside a bag, but I guess they don't make them anymore, but Amazon has this one.

11 I often say that airlines have successfully made minimalist travelers out of some of us with how they have started charging an arm and a leg for checked bags. For short trips, I've learned to travel with just a pack and a purse and I've been on many of those with the Eddie Bauer First Ascent Bacon Backpack. But of course I wear it in the mountains, too (which is what it is built for, actually). That's how versatile it is. Gift it and that person and is getting two presents in one! It is sturdy and lightweight, and is able to swallow more things you imagined could fit in a backpack. It's on sale right now for $69 (from $99) on the website here.

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