Maybe yes, maybe no. When the virus hit in China, all flights between China and the US were suspended. I was lucky and flew out of Wuhan two weeks before things shut down. Once they did, there were...

There is one big difference between staying at home and traveling. Sure, maybe the odds of getting sick could be the same, but the consequences are entirely different. What if a lockdown gets...

Wow!! Usually it's a new bag or pouch that gets me excited, but today it's COLORS! Sitka, Coyote, Ursa, and Wilderness all speak to me...

(Well, actually, Wilderness and Ursa are more shouting...

One or two final comments from me on this topic. (I promise, this time I mean it!) First off, the reviews from consumers that you find on the comparison websites are pretty useless. Very few buyers...

It's important to figure out first, what insurance do you actually need? Trip cancellation insurance for air/hotel expenses? Medical coverage for emergency care? Medivac to get you back home for...

As you were typing this, I was in the process of clearing out two closets to find shoes to take to Goodwill. I'm no Imelda Marcos, but it was still shocking how many pairs of shoes I'd accumulated...

Lush makes several shampoo bars, with varying scents. Soak and Float is for itchy and/or dandruffy scalps, and has a wood-smoke kind of scent which fades after a few uses. There is also an avocado...

This is a real "it depends" question. Am I doing professional stuff as well as touristing? Am I going to be seen by the same people repeatedly in a professional context? Is my fun-time going to be...

I'd definitely add a sunhat and sunscreen to your list. The sun in Phoenix is a lot stronger than that in Alberta. I've made the mistake of skipping them, thinking it's winter, I'll be fine. I wasn't.

I decant gel deodorant into a little flip-top jar. It's round, about the size of a fifty cent piece, and about a half inch in height. Filled it'll hold enough for a week. I used to get these at...

1. What bag/accessories are you carrying (items + colors, pics always welcome)?

I alternate my EDC depending on whether I'm carrying a computer. If yes, then it's my aubergine Imago, if no, then...

Here's the peer reviewed article on pets and carbon footprint: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0181301

Another choice we can make is regarding pets. Our dogs and cats are responsible for 30% of the carbon footprint of meat production. If American dogs and cats were a country, they would be the...

By the way, while you are in Japan, you might think about picking up a three-way extension plug made by Panasonic. They're small--a bit larger than a credit card and about a half inch thick--the plug...

This question for me is hard. Turkey, as has been mentioned a lot, is a terrific 'food' country for having high quality, delicious food nearly everywhere and reasonably priced. Hong Kong has more...

Why not both? The small travel tray would be great to corral smallish stuff, like memory sticks, paper clips and clamps, chapstick, cough drops, etc. Plus, you know you need a small travel tray for...

Yup, busted! Bespoke was a 'mis-spoke'; I really meant something like 'artisanal.' What I liked about the shop was that it is a great way to introduce travelers to products made in the Seattle area...

I want to second the recommendation given earlier of Deborah Madison's cookbook, Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. It's amazingly comprehensive, but her primary point is that you shouldn't try to...

Yup, if you want a vacuum that your kids will inherit and will work forever, I'd get a Kirby. We bought a used one (1981 vintage) in about 1987 and it's done yeoman's duty ever since. It's solidly...

There's a new shop at Seatac that sells a variety of bespoke Seattle-made stuff. It would be amazing to see, say Travel Trays or keystraps there...

In the interests of full disclosure, I loved the small shop bags, and found the large shop bags were simply too big for me (at 5 foot nothing) to carry without dragging on the ground. So, when they...

I've been a TB fan for years, but I'm reluctantly coming to the conclusion that I'm not the kind of customer that fits anymore. I'm 4'10" and, well, eligible for Medicare. No way a large shop bag...

i've been away from the forum for a while--partly because I count 15 TB bags around our house, so I'm not obsessing about buying more just now (not counting travel trays, pouches, wallets, shop bags,...

If this isn't hijacking the thread too much, I also like using the WF as a footrest when put under the seat in front of me. I actually have a nice blowup footrest, but it tends to move out from under...

I hate to say this, but you probably should seriously consider investing in a cane for travel. The thing is, TSA can be maddeningly inconsistent--what you've gotten aboard just fine twenty times in a...