A Review of Trip-Tried Travel Products

March 3, 2013 / 21 Comments

NUFOOT TRAVEL SLIPPERS

I have been known to drink the water where I should not, and go out alone when I should not, but there is one travel precaution I always heed; don’t go barefoot.  For me, this is easy advice to follow, I simply don’t like walking around without something on my feet. So as I explained in an earlier post, no matter how light I pack, I always include a pair of travel slippers.

So how could I say “no” when Nufoot offered to send a pair of neoprene sock/shoes for me to try? Grant Landis, the company PR guy described them as offering the “stability of walking barefoot, the comfort of walking in socks and the protection of walking in shoes.”

Okay, I liked the way they looked right away. Thin, light, and brightly colored – they spoke to my Puerto Rican side. I could stash them in the smallest spot in my suitcase or even in my purse if I wanted to use them in flight. What I didn’t like was the way they made my feet feel hot after about an hour or so of wearing.  I was on a trip with my sister, Lee, and ready to say, “Thanks, but no thanks” when she asked to give them a try. Boy, we must not be sisters. Here’s her review.

Sneakers or Nufoot? You decide.

“I love them, my feet felt protected and cozy, but not hot. I love the way they stretch to fit and they are easy to wash in the machine.  You can even take them to work and change into them while sitting at your desk! They look decent on, not like you’re wearing socks at all. You wouldn’t want to go out in them but in an emergency they’re a nice foot protector.”  Asked what she thought of the price, $9.99, she called them “a great buy” and suggests they be sold in mixed color multiples for home, office and travel.

Nufoot slipper/shoes can be found at stores and online.

SKYROLL ON WHEELS

Lee was not with me in Turkey when I test drove the SkyRoll On Wheels, the creative idea of Don Chernoff. The idea really is brilliant and I just wish it had been around when I worked for CBS News and needed to travel with a lot of business attire. Don’s idea with the SkyRoll, is that you pack your foldable items inside a conventionally-sized and shaped rolling suitcase, and then wrap the things you’d want to carry in a garment bag around the outside. Voila, wrinkle free suits in a roll aboard case. See what I mean? Brilliant.

The problem with the SkyRoll is that once you wrap your garment bag around it, you can’t go back in for that last minute swap. Same thing when you arrive at your destination. To get to the contents of the bag, you’ll need to remove the garment pack.  I need quick and easy access to the case to stash last minute items or grab the sweater I packed but decided I want for the plane. Do not try that with the SkyRoll.

Zip top/Flip top photo courtesy SkyRoll

Once I ditched the garment bag, however, I loved the rolling case. It’s deceptively capacious for a carry-on, with a separate zip-top/flip-top for stowing its own toiletry kit and other small items. That I liked a lot.

The compromise for the SkyRoll? I use it sans suit bag, but it is up there in the attic for those times I’ll need to pack a garment whose care is worth fussing over. SkyRoll starts at $129 available at Men’s Warehouse or online.

Tina Lassen and Peter Sacco in Florida

LET’S EAT OUT & ALLERGY FREE PASSPORT

Readers you may remember reading about Peter Sacco, a travel writer with whom I toured Florida’s Nature Coast last year. Peter found himself in the company of half a dozen women old enough to be his mother and we fussed over his adorable self for a full week.

We were really on guard on Peter’s behalf at mealtimes because Peter has an allergy to eggs. We’d plunk ourselves down at the table and start to review the items on the menu. Monte Cristo sandwiches? Nope. Meatloaf? Nope. It was surprising how many things included eggs.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized how challenging food allergies can be to people who suffer with them but love to travel, especially visiting in countries  where they don’t speak the language.

The Let’s Eat Out reference book for people with special diets by Kim Koeller and Robert La France, focuses on wheat and other sensitivities and it is written from the perspective of a wheat-allergy sufferer, (Kim) and a restaurant industry veteran, (Robert).

Eating out can be fun, even with food allergies.

The overview is a sit-down and spend some time volume and the pocket sized phrase passport is a four-language guide suitable for bringing to restaurants to quickly and easily say “nyet” to a variety of culinary no-nos from aspartame to yeast. The book is $17.95 and the multi lingual passport is $9.95. Both are available online here.

 

Categories: Go How Know How, Music, Food, Art and Culture, Travel by Air, Travel Products


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