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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 September.
The Genie Compact Umbrella: No world-traveling, proud New Yorker should be without this 6.25-inch umbrella featuring a colorful map of the New York City subway system printed on a polyester-pongee fabric. The umbrella is stylish and practical for a foggy day in London town or the perfect accessory when you want to tell a snooty Parisian where to get off (or on, for that matter). The Genie, which is small enough to fit inside of a purse or briefcase, opens manually, has a pinch-proof closure to protect fingers, a plastic handle and a wind-resistant steel frame. $30; www.leightonumbrellas.com.
Victorinox Spectra 32 Hardside Spinner: Going on a long trip? This is the bag for you. Made of a durable, scratch-resistant polycarbonate, this 32-inch suitcase can handle all your travel gear and then some yet weighs only 9 pounds, 7 ounces. The interior is divided into two large compartments separated by a zippered mesh. Other features include eight wheels (two paired wheels at all four corners) for easy transport on terra firma, a top carry handle, corner guards and zipper bumpers and a dual-pole telescoping handle that locks into three positions. Comes in bronze, red, white and black. One caveat: Because of its hard-body construction, the Spectra 32 is short on storage pockets. $399; www.victorinox.com.
MyID Wristband: Better safe than sorry could be the watchwords for this product, a medical ID bracelet that stores a wearer's vital info for first-responders and medical professionals so they can help in an emergency. Stored data include name, birth date, weight, height, blood type, organ donor info, blood type, physician contacts and allergies. Once spotted on an injured person, a QR code on the inside of the band and a printed phone number and PIN code make the info accessible. Wearers can easily update their medical info through a free MyID app available at the Apple App store. $40; www.endevr.com.
Niko Camera Backpack: This weatherproof backpack -- a 1,000-denier nylon shell and a military-grade tarpaulin liner -- is a great utility bag for the pro photographer or videographer as well as wannabes. Its essential attributes number a fully customizable interior for lenses and flashes; multiple pockets for equipment storage; a quick-access, top-loading camera compartment; and room for a 15-inch laptop protected by a padded sleeve. Externals include a side-access U-lock holster, sternum strap and Velcro straps for securing a tripod. Dimensions: 11 inches by 17.75 by 8; weight: 3.4 pounds. $180; www.chromeindustries.com.
Eye-Hole: This simple but stylish fashion accessory, perfect for around the house, at the gym and while traveling, is the solution for those of us who take their distance glasses off to snap photos, read maps, check email on their smartphones and then have no place to store them temporarily other than our foreheads, for fear of scratching the lenses or losing them altogether. In addition, they are just the thing to keep sunglasses at the ready. Basically they comprise an adjustable necklace made of materials such as braided leather, suede or coated cotton secured by a bead to a metal hardware ring, through which the wearer slips an earpiece of his or her eyeglasses to secure them. Eye-Holes are available in several styles, from the delicate Orchard (chocolate suede, a plastic tortoiseshell ring and a glass bead) to the more masculine Hudson (black braided leather, a nut as the bead and a bow shackle). $25; www.eye-hole.com.
Got something for What's New, What's Hot? Email Joe Rosen at [email protected].