Three Stocking Stuffers for Travelers

Here are three small gifts for travelers to keep screens clean, to make carry-on liquids a breeze and to protect electronics from water.  All three products were developed in America to solve a problem.

Toddy Cloth from ToddyGear.com ($9.99)

Go-Go Toddy Smart Cloth

Whether your traveler sports an iPhone or an Android, unless their fingers are oil-free, their smart phone is bound to sport fingerprints or smudges most of the time.  The Toddy Cloth is designed to wipe those smudges off and keep touch screens clean.  The cloth offers double-sided cleaning with a plush anti-microbial coating to clean and a silk side to polish.  It's machine washable too.  I tested a 5x7" Go-Go cloth that sells for $9.99.  The larger 9x9" size costs three to five dollars more.  ToddyGear.com has a holiday 3-for-2 special (buy two cloths and get the third one free).  BestBuy, Amazon and Target also sell the Toddy Cloth.

Brincatti Travel Kit ($9.95)

Brincatti Travel Kit with wide-mouthed refillable bottles

Since I reviewed the Brincatti Travel Kit for the Chicago Tribune in 2010, Los Angeles entrepreneur, Ken Brincatti has improved the plastic bag to make it more flexible and also redesigned the flip top on the refillable bottles.  I typically use two of the bottles supplied then use the extra space to cram foundation, mascara, eyedrops and assorted small liquid containers into the Brincatti Travel Bag.  The improved malleability of the plastic bag let me squeeze in more items without causing the bag to pop open during TSA screening.  And I like having a reusable plastic bag so that I'm not creating plastic waste traveling with disposable baggies all over the world.  If you need to stuff more than a stocking for a traveler, Brincatti has is currently bundling two travel kits and four spray bottles for $29.95 (plus shipping and handling).

LOKSAK SPLASHSAK $19.99

SPLASHSAK (comes with two plastic waterproof bags)

This summer my iPhone 3GS bit the dust on a ferry between Saba and St. Maarten, so I learned the hard way to protect my phone in something waterproof when I'm on the water or out in pouring rain. I just had my phone in the pocket of my slicker.  It was raining and I ended up soaked despite the slicker because I got seasick when I was inside the stuffy ferry cabin.  Pelican and Otterbox make excellent protective cases too, but the LOKSAK allows you to still make a call with your phone or utilize its apps.  Most waterproof cases limit you to listening to music.  If you only want a plastic protective LOKSAK, a three pack aLOKSAK IT may be your best bet (price varies based on size).  LOKSAK products are also available from Amazon and REI.


(Photos courtesy of manufacturers.)