{"id":44298,"date":"2025-06-01T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-01T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/?p=44298"},"modified":"2025-05-30T09:37:58","modified_gmt":"2025-05-30T16:37:58","slug":"retro-recomendo-travel-gear","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/retro-recomendo-travel-gear\/","title":{"rendered":"Retro\u00a0Recomendo: Travel Gear"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Our subscriber base has grown so much since we first started eight years ago, that most of you have missed all our earliest recommendations. The best of these are still valid and useful, so we\u2019re trying out something new \u2014\u00a0Retro Recomendo<\/strong>. Once every 6 weeks, we\u2019ll send out a throwback issue of evergreen recommendations focused on one theme from the past 9 years.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Travel tip:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The cheapest bargain of any overseas vacation is the $25 you might pay for a good travel guidebook, so I always get the latest version. It is better organized and often better researched than online forums. And I have no qualms about cutting it up. I get the large country-scale guide, and then with a razor blade knife I excise only the portions I could possibly use. Then I staple and bind with clear packing tape for very durable, and lightweight, thin booklets. \u2014 KK<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Best bicycle tour bags<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The best way to tour somewhere, IMHO, is via bicycle. E-bikes make that even easier these days. For overnight touring, you\u2019ll need some bags (panniers). The blueribbon panniers are classic Ortlieb dry bags<\/a>. Each is a roomy, rubberized single bag (no dividers or pockets) that seals off at the top to provide an absolutely waterproof container. Not cheap, but because of their simplicity they will last a lifetime. After 2,000 miles of use, I am very attached to mine, in bright yellow. \u2014 KK<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Women\u2019s travel kit<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I recently visited my grandmother in Mexico, and the first thing I packed was my pStyle<\/a>, which helps women pee while standing. It was the perfect travel tool for Mexico, where most public bathrooms have no toilet seat and you have to pay for toilet paper. There was no mess, it was easy to use, and I just attached it to my purse in one of these discreet carrying cases<\/a>. \u2014 CD<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Collapsible water bottle<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

You aren\u2019t allowed to bring a bottle of water past airport security, and the bottled water sold at airport convenience stores is expensive. But many airports now have filtered water dispensers. I keep a collapsible water bottle<\/a> in my travel bag. It rolls up to a tiny size and weighs nothing. Free water, what a concept! \u2014 MF<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Water bottle sling<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

For walks and short hikes, I\u2019ve been leaving my daypack behind in favor of this ChicoBag water bottle sling<\/a>. It\u2019s convenient and comfortable to wear, and it even has a large pocket for my phone and keys. It folds up and takes up no space, so I just carry it with me at all times. \u2014 CD<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maximum baggage for basic economy<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBasic economy\u201d is the cheapest way to fly on United. You don\u2019t get to select your seat and you can\u2019t check any bags or even bring a standard carry-on bag without paying extra. You are allowed one personal item, measuring 17x10x9″ or less. That\u2019s smaller than most backpacks and is an unusual size. Here\u2019s a small duffel<\/a> with those exact measurements. It\u2019s big enough for a couple of changes of clothes, toiletries, electronics, and a laptop. (Here is a similar bag for Spirit<\/a>) \u2014 MF<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Recomendo – issue #464<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[2323],"tags":[2324],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44298"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44298"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44298\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44299,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44298\/revisions\/44299"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44298"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44298"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44298"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}