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What's New, What's Hot is Travel Weekly's look at useful and fun travel gadgets, edited by Joe Rosen. Click on the image to open a slideshow of all of the featured products for April.
Alegria Shoes: Few things are more important to a traveler than comfortable, practical shoes, and this line of footwear more than fills the bill with an expansive selection of products for women and men. Designed to promote wellness and comfort while maintaining a sense of style, Alegria shoes feature a simple slip-on configuration, well-padded foot beds, rocker bottoms (to promote a natural walking motion and proper posture) and leather uppers. Take the Aaron model for men, for example. Available in a variety of colorful suede uppers, this shoe has an outsole engineered to reduce heel and central metatarsal pressure, a removable sole of latex, foam and cork, and arch support. Alegria shoes meet both ASTM and Satra standards for slip resistance. $129.95; www.alegriashoes.com.
Ogio Roller 7800: Another great product from Ogio, a company known for its sports bags. This two-wheel roller is a heavy-duty carryall that boasts easy access to its large main compartment, which measures 15 by 17 by 32 inches and has a capacity of 10,000 cubic inches, as well as a capacious end pocket for stowing extra gear. A reinforced bottom adds stability and heft (the bag weighs seven pounds). Heavy-duty shoulder straps with adjustable closure, convenient end handles for easy transport, a telescoping pull handle and five color themes to choose from complete the picture. $94.99; www.ogio.com.
Passport Holders. No traveler's accessories are complete without a passport holder, a handy wallet that often has compartments for boarding passes and other essential documents. What sets the following two apart from a host of standard passport holders is their built-in ability to protect a traveler from remote credit card and/or ID theft:
- Stewart/Stand Passport Sleeve: This wallet is made of a woven fabric of stainless steel and a semi-reflective, abrasion-resistant ballistic nylon, and while that might imply needless heft, the reality is this product is a sleek and stylish, lightweight alternative to a traditional leather model. In addition to its good looks, the Stewart/Stand, which measures 4 by 5.94 by 0.19 inches, offers Radio Frequency ID-blocking protection to keep you safe from identity thieves. (RFID tags are now being added to passports, credit cards and other forms of ID.) $49.50; www.stewartstand.com.
- Royce RFID Blocking Passport Ticket Holder: Sporting a soft, top grain leather cover, this case has pockets for easily retrievable airline documents, business cards and currency. Of course, as its product name proclaims, this wallet, too, features RFID blocking ability. The Royce case, which measures 8.5 by 4.12 by 0.5 inches, comes in black and tan. $57; www.royceleathergifts.com.
Ponchos. For those hardy souls who prefer to vacation in the great outdoors, survival gear to consider:
- Sea to Summit Ultra-Sil Tarp-Poncho: Lightweight (only 12 ounces) and remarkably expansive from corner to corner (55 by 102 inches), this all-purpose raincoat, tarp and ground cover would be a godsend on "Survivor." Designed to cover you and your backpack, this waterproof poncho features taped seams, a three-panel hood, a large brim, side snaps, draw cord and even guy attachment points on the corners to convert it into a shelter. Available in gray or green. $89.95; www.seatosummit.com.
- Coghlan's Emergency Survival Poncho: More modest in intention and price than the above product, this high-visibility poncho is made of a composite layering of polyethylene and a reflecting metalized aluminum to help reduce heat loss in an emergency where hypothermia is a risk. The one-size-fits-all poncho, which measures 1 by 4 by 6 inches in its pouch package and weighs 3.8 ounces, comes with a hood and reinforced seams. $5.99; www.coghlans.com.
Laptop Carriers. Just the thing for business travelers (and vacationers, too, for that matter). Here are two excellent examples:
- STM Velo 2: A practical organizer for short trips and long, the Velo 2, which can accommodate a small laptop or tablet, offers a front fleece-lined drop pocket, top grab handle, a messenger bag-style flap secured with two quick-release buckles, two zippered side pockets, a slip pocket for paperwork, a slip-over for securing the Velo 2 to a luggage handle and a padded and adjustable shoulder strap. A side-entry compartment lined with corduroy and high-density foam protects your laptop, while pockets for chargers, cords, memory devices, keys, wallet and travel docs complete the picture. The Velo 2 comes in small (fits most 13-inch screens) or medium (for 15-inchers). $100; www.stmbags.com.
- Hex Cabana Laptop Duffel: This striking-looking carrier, which is wax-coated for protection, features a navy blue pinstripe canvas exterior with black custom Hex logo lining as well as leather zipper pulls and leatherette trim. The duffel coddles your laptop (up to 15 inches in screen size) in a padded, microfleece compartment. Three exterior pockets, including a padded pocket designed to hold a cellphone or tablet, provide ample storage room for necessities. A removable shoulder strap is bar-tacked at the seams for durability. $99.95; www.shophex.com.
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