Sherman's Travel

It’s that time of year! And by “time of year,” we’re talking about standing in endless lines, catching untold illnesses, and wondering where all of those spare vacation days went. But it doesn’t have to be that way. If you’re on the hunt for the perfect gift for that special someone, you can save yourself tons of time and stress by deciding on a product ahead of time. For the busy business traveler in your life, we’ve got a list of gifts just waiting to be wrapped.

ECBC: Lance Daypack ($150): Most business travelers will tell you that they prefer to carry all of their essentials in as few bags as possible. To that end, having a suitable backpack is paramount. The ECBC: Lance Daypack is a multifaceted pack that should be useful in a variety of situations. It’s roomier than the exterior leads you to believe, it’s understated so as not draw attention to itself, and it’s constructed from water-repelling ballistic nylon. It’s also got a breathable back padding design, and the TSA-compliant FastPass laptop compartment makes getting through airport security that much easier. Read more

I hate rolling luggage. I understand that millions of people swear by it. I get that some people don’t want to lift and carry heavy bags when traveling. But I’ve also waited impatiently as people with no spacial relations attempt to shove their over-sized wheelie bags into cramped overhead compartments. I’ve also had my ankles clipped by people toting their bags behind them as they race through airports. Ultimately, I’ve always preferred to throw a bag over my shoulder, thus avoiding becoming a human tractor-trailer. However, I was willing to keep an open mind and see if I could be convinced that maybe not all rolling luggage is cumbersome, clumsy, and contradictory to the way that I prefer to travel (while obviously maintaining my prejudices).

The Osprey Ozone might just be the piece of luggage that sways me. I tried out the 22″ model (small enough to carry on) and was pretty astounded by one thing immediately. It’s light. Four pounds and seven ounces light. Rolling behind me, it was barely noticeable even when packed full with a weekend’s worth of clothing and electronics. If you’re one of those people who struggles to lift her luggage off the ground let alone to the height of the overhead compartment, you’ll appreciate just how light this bag is. Read more

Several years ago my family was about ten minutes into a bus ride through New Jersey when my younger daughter puked. The cause was likely a bad meal choice beforehand, not the Garden State.

The point is, it was only luck that led me to pack a gallon Ziploc bag in my knapsack earlier that morning. While my daughter caught the first second of puke in her hands, I was able to reach over her seat in time so that most of the vomit ended up in the bag.

Thanks to kind strangers handing over paper napkins, my wife and I were able to contain the damage. And thanks to the Ziploc bag, I was able to largely contain the smell and mess for the duration of the ride. My daughter, of course, felt much better after throwing up.

Every parent has a vomit travel story, and from ours we learned that we must always deliberately pack that empty gallon Ziploc bag (along with a few paper towels for good measure). Another thing I’ve figured out from years on the road is that empty bags are good for more than puke. Here are a few more ideas.

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Chances are you haven’t had to bear the entire weight of your suitcase since the early 1970s. Although we tend to take wheeled luggage for granted nowadays, Briggs and Riley (a division of US Luggage) fondly remembers a time 40 years ago when Bernard Sadow, former proprietor of US Luggage, designed the first wheeled suitcase. Sadow’s original prototype had four steel trunk casters set underneath the suitcase and a pull strap attached to the front end. The product premiered at Macy’s in October 1970, advertised with the phrase “The Luggage that Glides,” and its instant success soon spread the product to other department stores.

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