Even more of my favorite travel gear

Some of my favorite travel gear (in no particular order). 

Fozzils:  Foldable plate, cup, and bowl origami-style.  Weighs around four ounces and folds flat.  You can use the plate as a cutting board when unfolded.  My wife thinks I’m silly to have this but it has utility if you decide to buy some things at the grocery while traveling and want to prepare it on something other than a paper towel .  It will definitely be a conversation starter.   

Sheet soap:  Dry sheets of soap.  Container with fifty sheets weighs under four ounces.  I use a few sheets for laundering clothes in the sink at travel lodging at the end of the day.  Hint:  remove the dry sheets to be used before your fingers get damp.    I’ve used ‘em for bigger loads in a washing machine as well.  Just put ‘em in on top of the clothes before water is added to the machine.

Scottevest:  My day bag alternative.  First time buyers get a discount.  This is an expensive clothing item but well worth it in utility and quality.  Mine has 22 pockets including hidden pockets.  Put items you would typically pack in a day bag or second carry-on bag and your pockets at the airport and just send your vest through the X-ray.   Some museums and other venues in Europe (most likely elsewhere nowadays because of bombers) won’t allow you to carry a day bag into the area and you have to place it in a locker before entry.  No problem with this vest.  Just put your stuff in it instead—it even has room for a bottle of water or your favorite beverage.  The one I have is black and I believe that could be a bit uncomfortable in warm/hot weather.  Just so happens I have a travel vest with far fewer pockets I purchased a couple years ago in Germany that is sand colored so it reflects heat away from me much better than a black vest would.  But I have been spoiled by the number of pockets in the Scottevest.  I also had a sand colored mesh fishing vest I purchased in Korea decades ago.  I turned the mesh vest inside out and my wife sewed it into the German vest as a liner.  Now I have double the pockets but not as many as the Scottevest.  The utility of a travel vest is well worth getting one.  Zipped up, this vest is a pickpocket's nightmare or serious challenge.

Recon Wrap:  A Recon Wrap is a tube of special wicking material that can be easily folded to make a multitude of head coverings like a beanie, helmet liner, etc.  It only weighs one ounce  and comes in black, olive drab, and beige.  I have two—a black one and the olive drab.  I really like it and have given them as gifts.  

Security Flashlight:  This Streamlight flashlight only weighs three ounces with two AA Engergizer lithium batteries installed.  It has three settings:  intense bright (and it’s really, really bright), strobe, and regular.   I carry this flashlight as a nonlethal weapon.  The strobe disorients during a confrontation and the flashlight can be used as a kubotan if your adversary gets more aggressive.  It’s just the right size to carry in pocket or hand and serves all the duties of any standard flashlight as well.