By Andrew Liszewski

I can’t say I’ve ever found myself in a situation where I had to drop everything and run to the bathroom for an emergency shave. But then again my face also regrows stubble just 10 minutes after I’m done with a razor. So I’ve pretty much given up on the whole ‘clean shaven’ look. If having a face that’s always as smooth as a baby’s butt is of the utmost importance to you though, this compact travel razor comes with its own mirror, and when packed away is small enough to stash in your wallet.

The blades come off and are stowed on the backside of the mirror when not in use, so you don’t accidentally cut yourself. And it comes with a set of ‘scent strips’ you can adhere just below the blades, like sandal, ocean or lemon, to freshen you up while you shave. It doesn’t seem to address the whole issue of shaving cream, but I guess in a real emergency that would be more of a luxury than a necessity. $17 from Infmetry.

[ Carzor-Card Shaped Razor & Mirror ] VIA [ Fancy ]

By Andrew Liszewski

I’ve given up the hope of ever being able to comfortably sleep on a plane years ago. It’s a combination of being too tall, and never wanting to look like these people. Now I’ll acknowledge that those inflatable neck pillows do help some people sleep on flights, and are a decent compromise since they can be easily stashed away. These Evolution neck pillows, however, do not. They’re made with memory foam so they’re always going to be as big as a carry-on bag. Not to mention that wearing one makes you look like you’re recovering from a severe neck trauma. And the slot on the side that awkwardly holds your phone or MP3 player? Let’s just say while wearing this you have a good chance of being thrown off the flight by an air marshall for looking ridiculous. $34.99 available from Cabeau.

[ Evolution Neck Pillow ] VIA [ 7Gadgets ]

By Andrew Liszewski

When forced to travel for the sake of others (i.e. visiting family, weddings, international court appearances) you can’t seriously be expected to simply walk away from the various quests and missions you’ve undertaken on your gaming console. So instead of carefully wrapping your hardware in shirts and underwear, stashing them in your suitcase and hoping they survive the rigor of luggage handlers; you might want to splurge, and we mean really splurge, on this TSA-approved and carry-on friendly mobile gaming briefcase.

The G155 has a rugged hard plastic shell so it can survive being tossed around in a plane’s luggage hold. And the interior is sufficiently padded with foam to protect what’s inside. Various velcro straps also serve to keep your hardware secure, while a couple of matching bags provide a place to keep cables and controllers wrangled. You’ll still need to find a power source once you get to where you’re going, but otherwise a 15.5-inch LED hi-def display (with an HDMI input) built into the lid ensures the G155 also serves as an all-in-one portable gaming solution. The only catch is that it runs almost $500 (£299.99) which is more than any well-equipped console will cost you these days.

[ G155 Mobile Gaming Environment ] VIA [ 7Gadgets ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Even though it snap pics with a measly 1.3MP resolution, is completely lacking in any kind of usable zoom and forces you to squint at a 1.4-inch LCD display, there are some very good reasons why you should consider this Underwater Digi Cam available from Photojojo.

1) It’s cheap. Like $35 cheap. If you’ve ever thought about doing underwater photography and have bothered to price a waterproof housing for your DSLR or even your P&S, you’ll appreciate how affordable this is.
2) You’re not going to be doing as much underwater shooting as you think you are. If you’re a professional sealife photographer, then you won’t bat an eye at spending thousands of dollars on waterproof cases since you’ll probably be in the water every day. But if you really think you’ll be in your backyard pool day in and day out capturing priceless underwater moments of your kids, you’re kidding yourself. For the occasional vacation to the tropics though, it’s perfect.
3) It’s cheap. Sorry to keep mentioning this, but even if it manages to grab one decent set of photos before succumbing to the pressure of being 100 feet underwater (its promised depth) you’ve more than gotten your money’s worth out of it.

[ Photojojo - Underwater Digi Cam ] VIA [ Wired Gadget Lab ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Part of Nixon’s 2011 collection, the Synapse watch will certainly appeal to the jet-set crowd, and anyone who can’t get enough of touchscreen UIs. It’s retro-riffic display uses a dot-matrix font to display the time in four different timezones at once, though presumably there’s some way to differentiate which one corresponds to which part of the world. I’m just not seeing it. And the black bar you’ll notice to the left of the display is actually a touch-sensitive strip allowing you to navigate the watch’s UI without getting the screen covered in fingerprints. Also it was probably cheaper to integrate than a full-screen touch panel.

It’s still listed as ‘out of stock’ on the Nixon website which means it’s not available just yet. But when it is you’ll be able to order it in one of four different finishes including black, silver, gunmetal gray and gold for $200-$250.

[ Nixon Synapse ] VIA [ LuxuryFiend ]

By Andrew Liszewski

There’s nothing stopping you from using it in your tiny new Fiat 500, but you’ll probably appreciate Rand McNally’s new TripMaker RVND 5510 GPS navigation device even more if you’re behind the wheel of a hefty recreational vehicle. When it comes to mapping out your route, the RVND 5510 will actually take into consideration the type, size and length of the RV you’re driving and will direct you to routes that are safe for travel with a large vehicle, even so far as to prioritize right-hand turns.

The RVND is also considerably larger than your standard GPS device, including a bigger screen (480×272 resolution), larger on-screen buttons and a speaker with a bit more kick. And judging by the product shot, it also includes a pop-out stylus. On the software side you have access to 14 million points of interest (in the U.S. I assume) including 13,000+ RV parks and campgrounds with necessary RV-friendly amenities. There’s even listings for 24,000+ pet-friendly locations like animal hospitals since you’re probably not going to leave any pets at home during a long vacation. Available starting in June for $349.99.

[ Rand McNally TripMaker RVND ]

By Andrew Liszewski

So maybe there are worse things in life than your ears not popping before or after a flight, but that doesn’t make the feeling of the pressure difference any less uncomfortable. A few years ago we brought you a small pump that could be used to equalize the pressure inside your ear canal after a flight, but to be honest these EarPlanes look like a far safer solution to the problem. As far as I can tell they’re designed to be worn during take off and landing, and feature a ‘pressure regulator’ on the inside that ensures the air pressure inside your ears and the plane’s cabin are always comfortably in balance.

EarPlanes consist of two elements: a hypoallergenic silicone ear plug and a ceramic pressure regulator. The silicone earplug has four circumferential rings which provide an airtight seal between the product and ear canal. The ceramic element is a controlled porosity filter, one end of which is exposed to the external cabin pressure, with the opposite end exposed to the sealed chamber formed when the ear plug is inserted in the ear. Thus, as the cabin air pressure changes, a pressure differential is created across the ceramic filter, thereby causing air to flow through the filter. The filter acts as an impedance to the flow of air into and out of the ear canal.

Since the filters will get clogged over time the EarPlanes need to be replaced every so often, so a set of 4 will cost you $24.50.

[ EarPlanes ] VIA [ RFJ ]

By Andrew Liszewski

During my university years I relied heavily on the services of Greyhound for getting home. Not because they were convenient or comfortable, but because they were cheap. As a result I have a certain image of bus travel (not that positive) that has just been shattered by Japan’s Willer Express. Their Cocoon bus, meant for business types traveling between Osaka and Tokyo, looks like something out of a first-class airline cabin.

Instead of maximizing occupancy by almost stacking riders on top of each other, the Cocoon bus features luxurious single person pods, just 12 in total per bus, that run along the sides ensuring every rider has a ridiculously comfortable window seat. There’s an entertainment center with a touch-screen LCD display at every seat providing video-on-demand content, free wifi and the seats recline 140 degrees if you just want to zonk out. A one-way trip will set you back about $115-$140, which isn’t too shabby given it’s a long 6 or 7 hour ride. (Though I’m not sure why you wouldn’t just take a high-speed train instead.)

[ Willer Express Cocoon ] VIA [ Inventor Spot ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Postcards have always been the souvenir of choice for travelers who don’t trust their own photography skills. But they tend to feel overly manufactured and unnatural. So I really like this idea of sending up-and-coming artists around oft-visited cities, in this case Athens, Greece (even though the label on the camera in the product shot clearly says Paris) armed with nothing more than a disposable camera and their talents.

Once all 27 photos have been snapped the cameras are left undeveloped and put up for sale, allowing tourists, or even those wanting photos of a city they’ve never visited, to have the chance to pick up a truly original souvenir. And since there’s no setlist as to what the photographers should shoot, the photos on every camera are different making them each a unique piece of art in their own right. $45 for the ‘Athens’ version of the camera, available from UptoyouToronto.

[ Camera From Athens ] VIA [ bookofjoe ]