1. Stake
and Bake Beach Towel.
Just add sun, sand and surf, and
youve got a perfect beach day. No more will you have to place
coolers, empty beer cans or fat cousin Louie on your blanket to
keep it from being blown away. Plastic stakes anchor the
35-by-60-inch blanket to the ground through triple-stitched holes
in the corners. The blanket, stakes and Velcro straps (to drape the
blanket over the back of a chair) are self-contained in an
accompanying beach bag. $19.95; www.stakeandbake.com.
2. Rimowa Salsa 26-inch
Trolley. From Rimowa, the German luggage manufacturer,
comes the Salsa line, which features lightweight polycarbonate bags
so flexible and sturdy, they are all but impossible to break. Take
the 26-inch trolley. It weighs a mere 7.2 pounds, and the frameless
shell, if compressed, will return to its original shape
automatically when pressure is relieved. All luggage in the Salsa
line comes in four colors (red, azure, silver and black), and the
larger bags feature either two-wheeled or four-wheeled styles.
$319; www.luggagepros.com.
3. Garmin
Nuvi 350 Personal Travel Assistant.
As much as I liked the TomTom Go 500
navigation system for cars (featured in the April 17 issue), the
Nuvi is my flavor of the month, if only because its text-to-speech
audio feature indicates itinerary turns by speaking the street name
instead of simply instructing a driver to turn left in 300 yards.
As with most portable GPS units, the Nuvi has unerring street
smarts. Also, the Nuvi has a carload of travel tools such as an MP3
player, audio book player, JPEG picture viewer, world travel clock,
trip computer and currency and metric converters. The specs:
3.5-inch color screen, 5.1 ounces, touch screen, four- to
eight-hour battery life; 12-volt car adapter. $899; www.garmin.com.
4. Or
Eclipse Sun Hat.
When it comes to protection from the sun,
this solar bowler is the next best thing to staying indoors.
Featuring an extended, foam-stiffened bill and a low-profile neck
skirt, this hat will always put you on the shady side of the
street. Made of a fabric called Solarshield, which offers a UPF
protection rating of over 30, the Eclipse has a security chin cord
for breezy afternoons. Comes in four colors (alpenglow, lichen,
khaki and sand). Medium, large and XL. $24; www.orgear.com
5. Thump 2
Self-Contained Digital Audio Player. Seems unlikely that
these electronic shades spell doom for iPods, 
but perhaps there are those who
want to combine a premium personal sound system with a pair of
stylish sunglasses. Heres the way it works: Two mini-speakers,
which are attached to the sunglass frame with adjustable booms,
play digital files such as MP3s that wearers have downloaded from
their computer. The product is available in a range of memory
capacities and comes in a several frame/lens and color
combinations. $349; www.oakley.com.