Cool Bag Tags….

I figured I’d add this to the short list of bag tags.  The Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics Store has all kinds of luggage tags, and they are very cool.

Since I’m on a bit of a bag kick lately, here is the Ivan from Chrome.  Here are the pros of Chrome and this particular bag.  Chrome makes very industrial style bags for the urban environment.  What I mean is that they are designed to hold up to people who are rough on their equipment…myself included.  They remind me of Crumpler bags in the way they are constructed with tough materials…not so much design-wise though.  More pros are the ability to throw really about anything you can think of into this bag and it will handle it.  (note picture of ice!)  The roll top design is good for times when you have something that sticks out the top.  Where the regular backpack can’t be closed with large objects, here you have the option.

Just discovered an excellent post (and good design) from Carryology.  They compare backpacks and messenger bags to determine who needs which.  It’s slightyly humorous while making good arguments for each.  I agree with much of what they say, and while I own both, for day to day activities, I prefer the messenger for the simply pure reason that it’s more stylish.  But for backpacking, I’ve never found a use for one.  Maybe I’ll try it on my next trip to appear more local and not so touristy.

Sea To Summit has some of my favorite options for keeping your backpack dry while traveling.  Depending on where you travel, the season you travel, and what activity your doing, you may very well have a need for staying dry when it rains.  And backpack covers or liners are a great option for not having to worry about the elements.  The picture above is Sea To Summit’s line of lightweight dry bags.  The are designed to fit inside your backpack or really anything your need to squish it in.  They make a heavier dry bag, however this is good for tight spots.  Imagine your camera and railpass getting wet, and you will see why this is a necessity for backpackers and travelers.

1.  Chess – Yes it requires a travel partner, but the positive is games can last a long time….almost as long as that train from San Sebastian to Paris.  If you do travel with a chess set, make sure it has a magnetic board and the colors aren’t bright white and black.  Cream’s and woods are easier on the eyes, which you will need since the pieces are so small.  Also, if it has backgammon and checker pieces even better, because you know you are going to lose a pawn sometime during the trip, and checker pieces are good backups.

2.  Battleship – A classic game.  I have yet to figure out a way to play this by myself tho.  Be sure to make the opponent do the sinking ship sound effect when their battleship goes belly up.

3.  Trouble – Good for a small group or even to play by yourself, as there is no strategy involved, but cons would be this game makes some noise to roll the dice, and there are just a lot of plastic pieces to lose.

4.  Connect Four – Good for quick games that all different cultures know how to play, bad because you are going to lose a lot of pieces.

A while back, I’d say late last year, everyone was talking about how bottles that had BPA were no longer accepted when it came to water bottles.  At the time Nalgene had to take a hit over that, as most all of their bottles contained what nobody wanted.  From there, Sigg was selling out and you most of their bottles were not available.  But that is not the case now.  Sigg has a decent selection out now, and even though they start around $18, I think it’s well worth it if you are going to be traveling and dislike trashing plastic every day.

From FlipAndTumble.com comes the 24/7 reusable eco bag.  It’s developed for groceries as a way to carry a big bag in a very small space, then transform it into a shopping bag to not waste plastic bags. I think this bag has very cool travel potential as well.  Pack it up and fit it into a shoe or some tight space, then when travelling, it can be used as a laundry bag, grocery bag, day bag, or just about anything.  I would encourage you to check out their site and watch the video of this being folded up…sort of like a sock.

BinHog brings us luggage wraps to identify your terminal bag.  Personally, I think the website is outdated and it feels very old lady-like (embroidery is just out), but the bag tags are priced right, and most importantly effective when you’re standing at the carousel.  I’m thinking they should just add some plain solid colours as opposed to corny clipart, then I’d be more interested.

Very cool luggage tags from UncommonGoods.com.  I’m always interested in how people mark their luggage for it’s journey on the carousel.  Because if you don’t have something to identify your black square luggage, then you become that old man who has to stop every black square bag on the carousel to see if it’s his.  Don’t be that guy…come up with a creative way like this.