The WT's Top 5 Travel Accessories

Given the length of my trip there were certain items I found particularly helpful. Note - not all these items were required for survival, however they often lent a convenience and flexibility which made them crucial to a lazy-ass like myself. And yes - I am a gadget geek - so bear with me.


1. My phone! I am in love with my phone. I have an emotional attachment to it bordering on obsession. Imagine my dismay earlier this year when I got the screen scratched because I was deliriously mosh-pitting around when UT beat USC earlier this year and my phone was in the same pocket as my unnecessarily-yet-unabashedly-bulked-up key chain. I spent hours on the Internet trying to find a cure to no avail. I went to local cell phoneries (there's a word for you) to try to see if they could do something to cure my baby. I'm now chalking that up to experience now and find the scratches on the screen character forming. Enough nonsense though - the Sony W800 is an MP3/Camera phone that just works. It works as a phone. It works as an MP3 player. It works as a camera. The experience in each of these areas is seamless. I bought it because I wanted a phone which would work internationally and also allow me be able to listen to music on those 12 hour flights (I have around 30 hours of music on there now). The camera takes very good pictures and is a 2MPer, which means I can get very good quality 4X6 or 5X7s from photos I take with it. A good number of pictures on this blog were taken with this phone. And best of all, it has built in auto-stiching panoramic on pictures, something my "camera only" camera does not do. All the compliments I have gotten on my panoramic pics - I owe to my phone (and damn it Sony - you can put auto-stiching on a phone but not on a camera?).


2. My shoes! I can't over emphasize the need for quality hiking boots on a multiday hike.I bought a pair of Asolo Fugitive GTX hiking shoes prior to the trip. They are lightweight, breathable yet water-proof (at least when you don't submerge them) and kept my feet at the optimal temperature at all times. And they've dried quite nicely - you can barely smell the streams anymore (maybe I should send someone reading this blog the inserts as a reminder of home :-) ).





3. My Sleeping Bag! The REI Subkilo served me very well on this trip. It's the perfect size. It compresses to an impressive small volume, features natural goose down insulation, has nifty internal pockets and is rated as a 20F sleeping bag. We had some colder nights in New Zealand and I always felt supremely comfortable in the Subkilo - my only fear was waking up with a possum sleeping on face.... This experience reminds of my first sleeping bag which my dad bought for me in Saudi Arabia. It a blue tube, was around 5 times bigger and significantly heavier than the Subkilo. I remember freezing, unable to sleep when we trekked some snowcapped mountains east of Istanbul. And the internal material was anti-hairy guy - what were they thinking of selling this product in the Middle East? Ah...what a difference 20 years of technology (and a non-cheap purchase) makes.




4. My Rain Jacket! Fortunately I was semi-forced to buy a Zone rain jacket on the first day of the New Zealand hike. It was a beautiful, sunny day and I remember thinking to myself as I rummaged about the last vestige of an outdoor store we were going to see for the next 10 days, about what a waste of money this may end up being. Well - after the second day when I understood why the West Coast is sometimes jokingly referred to as the Wet Coast, I started to appreciate my relatively cheapo Zone rain jacket more and more... It's nothing fancy - no GoreTex or wicking action is included - but it was cheap, had some ventilation built in and kept me dry. You really can't ask for more.


5. My Watch! OK it's also nothing special, i.e. it does not have a compass, altimeter, barometer, doesn't take the temperature...But, it's cheap, small, lightweight, tells me what time it's in Turkey and let's me know exactly how slowly I run 4 miles (you don't want to know). And it's been with me on the shark and dolphin dives. Oh - and it turns itself off after an hour which prompts anyone who looks at it to tell me it's broken. The number of women I've impressed with this energy conserving watch...well....you can't even count on one hand.




Honorable Mention: My OR Sombrero - it would've made my top 5 had I been able to hang on to it. I used to lose so many clothes when I was a kid. This loss brings back "happy" memories of my parents berating me for losing yet another sweater or jacket. Guess what mom and pop? I paid for it - I can lose it just fine - thank you very much!







The WTF Item of the Trip: Swiss Army Travel Gear hybrid backpack. I had such high hopes for this item. I mean it was 2003 Outdoor Product of the Year. Obviously this was not awarded by anyone who actually used the bag. I thought I was growing a third shoulder at times during the hike. I had to get it repaired three times as it broke four times during the trip with straps coming off, the zipper not working (fun accessing your stuff from an opening around a third of the size it should be). And to top it all off, their customer service never answered any of my e-mails. Upon returning to the States I rang them up. They were courteous enough on the phone, offering to fix or replace the bag, while also mentioning that their e-mail was down for 2 months. I mean, seriously, what company does not realize that their e-mail is down for 2 months (that's 60 days people!)? Back to REI this puppy went - thank God for flexible return policies.