At roughly $110, Tenba’s large engravable messenger bag might seem a bit steep. Until you compare it to other pro gear bags on the market. There are a number of reasons why I dished out the dough for this particular Tenba bag. What follows is my complete Tenba messenger bag review, along with the several ways I use this product on the road.

The large Tenba laptop messenger bag can actually accommodate my 17-inch monster of a machine.

Yes, yes. I know. Why don’t I bump down to a smaller laptop size and make my life easier? Believe me, I wish I could. Lugging this beast around through airport terminals along with all of my other gear is absolutely brutal. But the truth is, with what my husband and I do for a living the only machines strong enough to do what we need are the juiced up gaming computers. And they’re not cheap. So having a piece of professional luggage that can keep a computer that size buffered while still being easy to remove for airport security was critical. And as I discussed in my travel bags for digital nomads article on Wise Bread, the search to find such a bag was not an easy one. So I was thrilled to find the Tenba large messenger.

These Tenba bags come with one of the better padded shoulder straps I’ve seen on the market.

If you’re not sure why this is a huge perk, then try loading a boatload of pro gear into your average duffel and carry it across your body for even a half mile. Crippling will be the word that comes to mind. Mind you, even with fantastic shoulder padding a loaded gear bag will still be heavy and a bit cumbersome. But at least these Tenba bags will distribute the weight more appropriately and keep your equipment organized in an efficient manner.

Another feature that immediately caught my attention was the Tenba messenger bag insert.

For those that need to carry around even a moderate amount of camera gear, the Tenba messenger bag insert is a Godsend. With padded sections that meet professional protective standards for your lenses and camera bodies, you can confidently carry your gear in the same bag as your laptop and other tech equipment such as cables, extra batteries and additional memory chips. Since the insert is removable, you can also store other items in the bag on days when you don’t need your full photography arsenal.

Note: Photographers who normally take several wheeled cases of various lenses and giant tripods will likely not be able to use this bag to carry their full range of equipment. The people I’m referring to here are those who make their living across multiple platforms and need to carry pro cameras along with screaming laptops, smaller video cameras and other writing supplies. That being said, if you have a multipurpose work day on your horizon and need only a lense or two along with a way to send the photos in to meet a deadline, then you can likely put the large Tenba messenger to use and justify its purchase.

The Tenba laptop messenger bag has a discreet access point for crowded areas.

This is pretty critical when you don’t want the entire coffee shop or group of surrounding tourists to see what you have for gear inside your bag. While this isn’t a good idea for anyone, it’s an especially bad idea for someone carrying their entire livelihood along for the day. A livelihood that would cost a small fortune to replace. The top zipper allows you to access your camera and other items without opening up the entire bag, and is one of my favorite features on Tenba bags in general.

The fact that the large Tenba messenger doesn’t look like a designer piece is a good thing.

It certainly looks like a nice piece of gear, don’t get me wrong. What I’m saying is the fact that it’s made of something that looks like ballistic nylon makes it stand out less. At most, the average person on the street might assume you do indeed have a laptop inside, but they would certainly never guess about your camera equipment. It’s the sort of messenger bag that looks like you’d have files, a few clothes and perhaps a few toiletries.

Where and when do I use my Tenba bag?

Well, for starters it comes along with me to any media event. Typically, those types of professional situations require anything from live tweeting and Facebook updates to photography, email access and the ability to meet outside editorial deadlines from the road. In short, I need access to all of my gear, all of the time.

Second, I typically pack up the Tenba bag whenever I head anywhere to work outside of the house for the day. This could be anywhere from my favorite coffee shop down the road, to an area bloggers’ meeting or lunch with a PR contact when I’m searching for story ideas.

Also, whenever we travel anywhere for the weekend or even to stay overnight with friends, the Tenba large messenger comes with me. When your professional and personal lives are as integrated as ours are, being able to crank out a quick article during a half hour of downtime or snag an unexpected yet iconic photo op with no prior warning is pretty critical to maintaining a location independent lifestyle successfully.

Sure, we’re still downsizing and figuring out where to go next from our Tampa Bay location. It’s been a crazy few years with flood recovery, bulldozing the lake house that got destroyed, finishing up my husband’s degree and transitioning into the second career stage of early retirement. But our work requires we hit the road quite often, and we’re also getting itchy international feet again. So equipment such as this messenger bag that allows things to flow seamlessly between travel and traditional home life is pretty critical to our long-term lifestyle mission.

Photo Credit: Amazon

This Canadian travel gear company has been making road warrior products for some time now, and all three of the hats I’m reviewing in this piece feature two of the features Tilley is known for: secret security pockets and discreet, tuck away ear warmers. While the secret pockets will be easy to find for those familiar with the product line, others will have to search for a bit. I know I did. And that’s a good thing. Any extra bit of security you have access to while traveling is an asset.

While the pockets won’t protect you against a good wind – that’s the job of the ear warmer flaps – they are a great place to tuck an extra 20 bucks in case you get caught somewhere unprepared. Speaking of the flaps, when you don’t need them, they tuck discreetly away inside the winter caps. When the wind picks up, pull them down for extra warmth.

The Cosmopolitan Hat

This is more an uptown city hat for the daily commuter or urban tourist on a road trip. There’s a slit in the back to allow to accommodation of a winter coat collar, and stylish leather hat band trim with ribbon-width bow in the back. This gives the cosmopolitan hat an extra touch of femininity without being over the top, in my opinion. There’s no hidden size adjuster in this one as far as I could tell, but the ear flaps and secret pocket are included as usual. With the way I travel, I would probably only use this hat on day trips, or vacations where I’m taking my own vehicle. Since it isn’t an easily packable piece as far as daypacks, briefcases and luggage go, you’ll need to make sure you’ll be wearing your hat for most of the day or have room in the back seat of your car for a small hat box. Still, it’s a stylish hat made of wool felt and has a classic style that will take you through the cold weather seasons year to year. Pair it with a cashmere sweater and fun scarf, or perhaps a trench coat.

The Pub Cap

As a travel writer and on-the-go media professional, I give this one props for being the most packable and portable. It easily tucks into a tote or section of my messenger bag to come out when I need it. The pub cap is new to the Tilley winter hat collection, and provides fashion support for a variety of looks, from Bohemian to classic Euro, and even a fun menswear look if that’s what you’re into. In addition to the ear warming flaps and secret pocket, the pub cap also has an easy size adjustment strap stitched to the inside. While it doesn’t show from outside at all, you can easily tweak the firmness of your fit to suit the inclusion of a headscarf, elaborate hair style, etc. I wore this cap to a media outing and paired it with a mid-hip tunic sweater, denim skirt and black leather knee boots. It looked great and packed easily into my gear tote when I needed the brim out of the way for shooting images.

The Tec-Wool Cap

I found this cap particularly interesting because the Tilley site has it listed as a unisex item and pictured on both male and female models. The tec-wool cap has an internal size adjustment tab just like the pub cap and would pair well with standard winter jackets as well as with the military-styled fashion items that seem to be all the rage these days. Wearing a simple tee shirt with cargo pants? You’re good to go. Trench shirt with military styling and waist band? Also a fun pairing.

There are several more hats in the Tilley line obviously, but these three offer classic style options along with flexibility and warmth. Any current Tilley fans out there? How have you enjoyed your gear purchases?

Photo Credits: Tilley

Editor’s Note: In order for me to thoroughly and properly review the products in question, the Tilley corporation forwarded samples of these three hats for my research. The opinions expressed here are my own, and were uninfluenced by the people of the Tilley company.

One option which appeals to many of those who are planning to travel on a long-term basis is to work abroad. This allows you to get an in-depth experience of the country in which you are staying, while also providing you with a means of income while you are there. This can be something which is well worth looking in to before you leave, as you may be required to apply for a work permit before you arrive.

You should also take time to compare the prices of the flights and accommodation in order to ensure that you are able to get the best possible deals. There are a number of websites which will compare prices for you, and can be easily accessed while you check your emails or play online Partypoker.  Try to either book a long time in advance, or be prepared to go at the very last minute.

If you’ve always flown business class or stayed in hotels, then you might want to consider taking a less expensive flight option, and investigating hostel or bed & breakfast accommodation. When planning what you want to do during your time away, keep an eye open for free events, such as local festivals, or galleries and museums.

Avoid eating in places which are specifically aimed at tourists, as the prices are likely to be much higher. Instead, looking out for places where the locals eat or, if you have the facilities, simply purchase ingredients and cook for yourself. Work out how much of your overall budget you can afford to spend each day that you are away, and make sure that you do not exceed this amount.

On a recent trip to South America, we needed something that would allow my husband and I to implement cross-packing with ease.

With airline travel being as logistically challenging as it is today (and getting more so all the time), cross-packing is a strategy my husband and I like to use to reduce the risk of either of us being stranded without access to necessary items.  It’s not fool-proof, but it does help. The item we used on this trip was the double-sided packing cube by Eagle Creek.

By strategically using thin, quick dry items as our main wardrobe elements, we were able to get one-two days of outfits each in our smaller-sized cube. We got ours from L.L. Bean, but they are also available on Amazon.

My only concern with these is that if we had been doing the long term travel / living out of one bag gig again instead of a three-week trip based mainly in one location with a couple of two-day road trips worked in (how’s that for a mouthful?), we would have had to try something like stuffing the entire thing in a compression sack, which sort of seems like overkill.

I’m not saying the cube ended up being overly bulky, mind you. In fact, it was more than reasonable size-wise for your average small suitcase on a weekend getaway or business trip. It just seems like we’d be including an extra unnecessary item by using both the cube and a compression sack. Perhaps this means the cube is better suited to short-term adventure travel, weekend getaways and business travel.

What think you, Trek Hound readers? Have any of you used the double-sided packing cube before? Do you see it as suited to a particular type of travel more than others?

Photo Credit: Amazon.com

Whether you’re traveling for business, adventure or both, you need a functional pen for the road. Up until a year ago, I used whatever one I had on hand. While functional, the results were often frustrating. Then I found Zebra’s compact F-301.

I ran across this particular pen when looking for one that would work with my day planner.  (Which is why I picked up the fine point version.) What I found was a great little pen that was suitable for business travel, day packs, travel journal writing on the road and day to day errand running as well.

It’s sleek, stainless steel, (which suits the durability and plastic reduction concerns I had) and refillable. The fine point allows me to write in those teeny little day planner spaces that are otherwise impossible. This pen also comes apart in the middle so the top end you grip and leverage while writing becomes a cover, reducing its size by half. Love that!

The packaging does have a plastic cover, and it’s the same situation on the packaging for their ink refills. However, the pen itself is stainless steel making it more durable than its plastic counterparts. I also feel good about switching to a refillable pen. All in all, I feel this is a relatively green choice that still offers loads of functionality and space efficiency.

For less than ten bucks, I picked up a two-pack. My husband loves it too, and we are each still going strong on our first ink insert. They also make a refillable pencil with a fine point lead. Ours were purchased at Staples.

Photo Credit: Zebra Pen

Photo Credit: Sea to Summit

Looking to pinch some pennies on the road? Doing your own laundry is one way to go.

Bonus? You’ll be able to pack super light. My favorite product to use for this is Sea to Summit’s travel clothesline. Why?

First, it’s hard to beat the size. Minimal square inches are used in your pack, yet a fair amount of drying space is provided.

Second, I really dig the snap-shut storage pouch. It protects the clothesline from tangling, and gives me the option of clipping the whole thing to various attachments on the inside of the pack. Extremely helpful when you’re trying to stay organized and keep track of things on the road. One more thing I enjoy about this particular travel clothesline is the fact I don’t need clothespins. You can twist and turn the ropes to grip your damp laundry and swimsuits.

So that’s it. My top three reasons for loving this product. Got your own success story? Go ahead and share below.

Photo Credit: LL Bean

Call me picky, but I absolutely love these things for travel. So do my parents, my husband, and several other travelers I know. Why?

Well, for starters they take a licking and keep on ticking. Additionally, they are constantly redesigning the pockets and zippered sections to more specifically match the storage needs of today’s traveler.

Multiple sizes are available, from the small size usually  reserved for weekend singles’ retreats, to medium, large and the extra roomy family size for full sized bottles. Bonus? They’re available in a reasonable range of fun colors.

During our post retirement world trip, my husband and I were able to condense down to the small size for both of us. Granted, this took some serious downsizing and a strong commitment to carrying no more than absolutely necessary, but it was accomplished. Most people go with the medium, however.

Whatever size you need, I can honestly recommend this product with an official two-thumbs up.