Frequent Miler on the Air - Favorite travel gear from the Giant Mailbag | Coffee Break Ep72 | 9-30-25

Starting point is 00:00:00 This is a Voyescape podcast. You can find all of our travel podcasts from around the world at voyescape.com. Welcome to Freakimilar's Coffee Break, where we focus on a single topic related to miles and points. And each coffee break is limited to 20 minutes or less or your money back. Favorite travel gear from the giant mailbag. We recently did a whole show. listing, Nick and I's favorite travel gear, everything we take with us in our backpacks, in our suitcases, and information about our backpacks and suitcases themselves as

Starting point is 00:00:40 well. And people love the show that was called Our Favorite Travel Gear, Episode 323. So check that out if you haven't already listened to it. But lots of people wrote in with their own great suggestions. So we took not all suggestions, but, but a, a pretty big handful of them to read off and share everybody's collective wisdom with our listeners. Yeah, you know, I think it's pretty cool because obviously many of our readers travel a lot. So many of them had readers and listeners, I should say, podcast listeners, have traveled quite a bit and had quite a few really good suggestions. And in fact, I've already bought at least one suggestion and I love it.

Starting point is 00:01:26 So I've been very happy. So let's start out with Jack. Oh, and don't forget, wherever you're listening or watching, don't forget to give this a like, a thumbs up, leave us a review. We always appreciate that, as well as your comments on the podcast or the YouTube video wherever you're watching. All right, let's hop into these now. Jack said, for portable backpacks, Matador makes ultralight, water-resistant, packable packs.

Starting point is 00:01:48 They're pricey, but the build quality is excellent. They can usually be found on sale during Black Friday. So that's a great tip because sometimes my favorite things to shop for at Black Friday nowadays are the things that are just rarely ever discounted. So, you know, rather than the things that get discounted, you know, just about every month and maybe get discounted a little bit more on Black Friday, I like to look for those companies that just never offer a discount because that's your opportunity to catch something for a better price. So that's a good tip that they offer them around Black Friday. I have not yet looked into these, but I am happy to look into a better quality

Starting point is 00:02:22 low-cost packable bag because mine, like I said, the inside, the waterproof lining is kind of peeling off. So I was ready for another one. Sounds good. And again, this is for where we pack little tiny backpacks inside our main backpacks. And so this is a suggestion for another type from Matador. And it comes in handy for us all the time. Just this weekend, we went to a balloon festival and wanted to be able to carry around water and everything, but I didn't need my whole backpack with all my stuff in it. So it was great. Use mine all the time. Nice and convenient. All right, Allison gives us another one.

Starting point is 00:02:58 She mentions, I think it's the Sinsha Travel Belt. Said this can seriously attach any backpack to your suitcase. Securely, rather. Attach any backpack to your suitcase. Now, this is probably in response to the fact that I mentioned the frustration with bags that don't attach to your carry-on bag, right? Like, I have a backpack, Greg has a backpack that has a little sleeve for that bar. But if you've got a bag that doesn't, this is your solution, a central travel belt, which, you know, I've seen these things before, but never thought to actually look one up and get one. But now that we've mentioned that, that's a terrific solution, especially for my kids' backpacks, because they're just kid backpacks that don't have that sleeve. This would be awesome. So great, great tip there. Also, Allison said, a tied stain remover pen. This allows me to worry less when my kids messily eat something while traveling. Their clothes can still be salvaged. And I'll tell you what, Alison, And that is a terrific suggestion as well, because there have certainly been some times where we've just tossed clothes while traveling that we knew were ruined and we weren't going to get the stain out of them because we didn't have the chance to wash them in time or whatever, we don't regularly toss clothes.

Starting point is 00:04:05 But we have before that could have probably been saved with this tip. So I'm going to toss one of those in my back. And kids aren't required to get stains on your clothes. So having this is, I think that is a great tip. And that's something I definitely want to add to my backpack as well. All right. Now I'm going to move on to Jenna, who had several suggestions. Our first was cheap plastic flip-flops. She says, hotel carpets are dark for a reason. They're breeding ground for all kinds of yuck. So she brings flip-flops wherever she goes for lots of reasons, also in airplanes and whatnot.

Starting point is 00:04:41 I tend to throw a pair of like hotel slippers into my luggage, so I always have that around for that kind of purpose. but, you know, flip-flops make sense because you could use it more broadly for going outside as well. She also suggests a small washcloth. Hers is actually a Japanese small towel that is smaller than a traditional American washcloth, closer to a handkerchief. It's primarily used to dry your hands when there are no towels, but it comes in handy for lots of random uses. Yeah, that sounds awesome. And then one final tip, replenish your toiletry bag when you get home from a trip. not before the next trip.

Starting point is 00:05:22 So on the show, I said I always replenish mine right before each trip. And she's saying, no, no, do it when you get home. And you know what? I know that's a better practice, but I also know that I'm not going to do that. I'm not disciplined enough. Anyway, she goes on to say, that way, it's always ready to go. And if I have to remove something from the kit, I leave myself a note to remind myself when packing. So she'll see that note, but whatever it is back in there, that makes a lot of sense.

Starting point is 00:05:53 Yeah, you know, I actually thought that you had previously talked about replenishing it when you get home from a trip. So I thought you did that. I don't, and I should. I used to try. I just not disciplined enough to do it all the time. One main thing I do try hard to do is remember if I like ran out of like portable, like a small shaving cream or whatever it is that I, that is. I need to actually shop for, try to remember to replenish that before the next, you know, as soon as possible. Yeah. Yeah, that's a great tip. In fact, as soon as we're done recording this,

Starting point is 00:06:29 I am going to replenish mine because, of course, we are each traveling soon, you know, in proximity to when we're publishing this, this time around. And we'll, again, I'm sure at some point soon. So I'm going to make sure I do that before, before long goes by here. All right, Viv is up next. Viv says something that I always bring that I've not noticed. mentioned yet is a camping set of a plastic bowl and cup and utensils bought in an outdoor store. Another thing I carry is several tea bags of caffeinated and decaffeinated tea each. I can't drink coffee and sometimes places do not have any tea, especially decaf and a cup of tea on arrival to a new place, helps me settle in better. So great tips there. The plastic bowl

Starting point is 00:07:10 and cup, to me, that seems like it would take up too much space in my bag, but I guess depending on the size of it and the location and the layout of your bag, That certainly could make sense. There are times when I have wanted those things. We order takeout or something, and I want to be able to split something amongst the kids, and it doesn't come with the utensils. I actually have a set of metal utensils that I carried throughout, like, the COVID years when we were only road-tripping.

Starting point is 00:07:34 And so I have like a little personal set of metal utensils, and that came in handy in the car so many times when we traveled around. Just never thought to do it with plastic utensils for travel. Really smart. Right, right. I used to carry utensils, not the bowl and cup. And you know what? I think the last time I saw those was in Santiago.

Starting point is 00:07:54 And I never remember to replenish those. But that can really, no doubt, no question come in handy. You know, as far as the plastic bowl and cup, I mean, they do make these collapsible ones so that don't take up much space. So that's totally a reasonable thing to do as well. Okay. Now from some YouTube comments, Gem Meg. two wrote, I use $3 drugstore rain ponchos. They last for a while and can even keep you warm, also super light and space saving. So, you know, I had talked a lot about how I had shop

Starting point is 00:08:30 until I found a small enough raincoat that I could always keep in my backpack. And certainly those little tiny $3 ponchos would be a lot easier to fit in a backpack, and they do keep rain off you. So that's a smart tip. I still like mine. It acts as like a jacket with zippers and everything that it's more full, you know,

Starting point is 00:08:54 full functional, but I think that if you're not going to do the full raincoat like I do, having that just in case poncho isn't going to take up any serious room. So I think that's a great idea. Yep. Next up, let's see,

Starting point is 00:09:10 G. Maza too from YouTube. It says, love my Osprey travel backpack. Lifetime warranty and YKK zippers, super comfortable to wear. YKK zippers are great. And I totally think that that's a feature you should look for in a bag that you get if you can get the YKK zippers. And lots of readers have recommended Osprey backpacks. I can't tell you how many times this has come up, like almost any time I've mentioned backpack in a post or I think, you know, carrying a backpack or my bag, whatever it is. I can't tell you how many times I've heard from readers about Osprey backpacks. I have not yet tried one

Starting point is 00:09:40 myself, but plenty of other readers also wrote in to share their love of Osprey backpacks. So, yeah, there you go. Good suggestion, I suppose. Yep. Next up, Pierre says, for any men looking for great ways to use their Lulu Lemon credits. So that's Amex Platinum cards now have Lulu Lemon credits. Lulu Lemon actually has fantastic, lightweight travel clothing. All my athletic shorts, regular shorts, joggers, pants that I travel with are Lulu Lemon.

Starting point is 00:10:09 They're pretty good quality, very easy to pack, and are lightweight, and they look good as well. The ABC line is my personal favorite, but you might find something else fits you personally better. Yeah. Good tip. Yeah, when those new credits launched, I took a look at the men section and found some stuff like that that looked good. So now I'm really glad to hear that it actually is good. A reader tip that says, yeah, this is worth it. Totally.

Starting point is 00:10:32 I have to consider that. All right, Josh says, I keep a cheap lock in my backpack for when I'm at the gym or waterpark. I need to use lockers. A few readers actually wrote in with that tip that they carry a lock. Also, I have a bottle opener and a SIM card tool in the same keychain with the lock key. That's smart. I long had a SIM card tool in my bag that I carried everywhere. In fact, it might even still be in my backpack.

Starting point is 00:10:52 I haven't used it in a long time because I tend to use ESMs now or use my home cell phone plan. But that's certainly something that forever had been in my pack for when I switch SIM cards when I travel. So smart one there. Finally, Josh says, I can't believe you guys did. mentioned the biggest side benefit of UK wall chargers. On a recent trip to Mexico, my friends and I booked a slightly sketchy Airbnb. Since the patio door didn't have a bar, we scattered the UK charges we had left over from our Cyprus trip as in, I don't even know how you pronounce this. Do you know how to pronounce that? As a, all right, so basically a little booby trap underneath the door and slept soundly,

Starting point is 00:11:33 knowing any intruders would face crippling entry if they dared to break in. So, That's a great idea as a little security thing, I suppose, if you think you need it, you would place these in front of the doorway so that if anybody stepped on them, it would hurt, although I don't know. Would it hurt through your shoes, Greg? I don't know. I'm not sure. Yeah, maybe not, but those things are deadly if you step on them barefoot. Oh, boy. You'd certainly slip. You'd certainly slip and fall. Yeah. Okay. Next up from Colin. Colin says, I put air tags or find my compatible luggage tags on all my bags.

Starting point is 00:12:07 I also have a fine-my-enabled passport wallet and glasses case from Satechi. Hopefully, I won't ever end up in a situation like Greg when he got his backpack stolen in Chile, but even just being able to track things that are easily misplaced can be a total game changer. Yeah, I like that. Smart idea there. Jimmy writes in and says, One thing I realize nobody mentioned is a travel router. I've been carrying a tiny router for several years, and it's been a real lifesaver on occasion. When I get somewhere that has spotty Wi-Fi reception, I try to find a spot where I can get at least a little reception, plug in the router there, and then I have reception in the whole room.

Starting point is 00:12:43 One time I had it perched on top of an ice machine down the hall when Wi-Fi was out on the whole floor, and it's also handy for sharing one among everybody. And I've heard this tip from people before that carry a travel router. It's not something that I've ever found the need to have, but plenty of other people have told me that they carry one that I know lots of people find it useful. Yeah. Years ago, I used to carry one, but I haven't, it was so long since I've needed one that I stopped carrying it, and it's way out of date. But, you know, if you find it helps you. I mean, they're so tiny anyway. It's not going to hurt to carry one along.

Starting point is 00:13:20 Right. Okay. Next up, Andrew says, for luggage, I love the soft-sided platinum elite spinner line from Travel Pro. And just as an aside, I remember recently when looking up like what are the best, you know, travel suitcases, I think it was wirecutter picked Travel Pro. There was one major publication in the Pick Trail, and specifically, I think, the Platinum Elite spinner. Anyway, moving on with what Andrew said. The Platinum Elite line has lots of nice built-in organizers like compression straps, multiple zipper and velvet. paltrow pockets and a zip-in plastic bag for liquids. There's an internal zipper pocket on the walls

Starting point is 00:14:05 that I use as my little travel safe for extra wallets cards. The Platinum Elite luggage also has a sizable amount of handle position adjustments. And the spinner wheels magnetically align, which makes keeping the bag going in straight line simpler and resist rolling down small inclines when perpendicular to them. I held on to cheap suitcases for years, but these were these these meaning the travel flow travel pro were worth the upgrade as we traveled more and we should have done it sooner i think you know that's something that my wife and i recently talked about the bags that roll smoothly and are decent quality is something that we didn't worry about investing in for a long time and then once we did we were like oh man wish we had been a decent

Starting point is 00:14:50 bag sooner why do we wait so long uh because you know if you travel about if you travel once every couple of years, it probably doesn't matter to you very much if you're not wheeling it very much. But if you travel a lot and you're going to be wheeling that thing around a lot, then it really does make a difference. So I can totally see what you're saying there, Andrew. And that's a great tip. Yeah. All right. Next up, Lee says the 19 inch Briggs and Riley baseline spinner will actually fit under the seat. So if carry on space disappears, you're not looking to check a bag that you really don't want to check. I would struggle with that because I would always have two things. So I imagine they'd still make me check something.

Starting point is 00:15:28 But if not, if you can fit into this, that's, I think, an interesting tip. I wouldn't have known that there was a spinner of any sort that would fit underneath the seat in front of you. So that's cool to know. Yep. Yep. And finally, Larry in New York City says, interesting that Greg associated his towel, which he sometimes uses as a scarf, with the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. because Douglas Adams actually took that recommendation from a reader tip in a 1980s edition of the Hitchhiker's Guide to Europe in which the writer said, take a towel or a scarf, but not both, because you'll never need both at the same time.

Starting point is 00:16:08 So, wow. So there was a hitchhiker's guide to certain places before there was a Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Well, I mean, that makes sense, because they just explored Europe and North Americans. South America. Before they got to the galaxy, right? Before they did the whole galaxy. Yeah, it makes sense. It makes sense. Yeah. Who would I know? Thank you for that trivia tidbit. Larry and NYC. We appreciate that. Don't forget. If you've enjoyed this and you'd like to get on our email list, you want to go to frequent miler.com slash subscribe to join our email list. Follow us on all the various social media and check out our frequent mile around the air episodes dropping every

Starting point is 00:16:41 Friday. Hi, I'm David Brody, co-host of the Travelin10 podcast. Together, myself and my co-host, Tim Johnson have traveled to over 150 countries around the world and all seven continents. Now we're sharing our favorite places, some of our best tips and experiences from all around the world in just 10 minutes on travel and 10. Join us at voyagecape.com. I'm Pauline Fromer. I've spent most of my life writing, talking, and thinking about travel, not just where to go, but how to go in a way that's meaningful.

Starting point is 00:17:14 On the Frommers Travel Show, we explore the trends, people, and ideas shaping how we see the world. If you care about the why, as much as the where, I hope you'll join me. You can find new episodes weekly at voyescape.com.

Frequent Miler on the Air - Favorite travel gear from the Giant Mailbag | Coffee Break Ep72 | 9-30-25

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