Frommer's' Travel Gift Guide 2016
Polk BOOM

Frommer's Travel Gift Guide: Presents Mostly Under $100

Have a wanderer in your life? No matter your budget, we've got the travel gift for you—everything on our 2016 list will make their trips smarter, cheaper, easier, or more fun.
SanDisk Connect Wireless Stick
SanDisk
SanDisk Connect Wireless Stick
Imagine this: Saving files externally without having to plug anything into your computer. Because this little stick transmits its own short-range Wi-Fi signal, you can transfer vacation photos without cords and schedule automatic backups of your travel memories to it using its free app. But that's not the end of the SanDisk Connect Wireless Stick's tricks: Load movies or music and it'll stream them to up to three devices, turning a car or plane ride into a group movie screening. Charge it up by plugging it into any USB port. These ingenious little things are available in sizes ranging 16 GB to 128 GB.  The medium-level choice, the 64GB, costs about $50. 

www.sandisk.com
Drifter Energy 15" Laptop Backpack
STM Drifter Energy
Drifter Energy 15" Laptop Backpack, $240
Everyone travels with a bevy of devices these days, so for that modern traveler, there's now a backpack with a built-in battery pack. As seen in this cutaway illustration, the top-load main compartment of the Drifter Energy opens to reveal a fleece-lined laptop cell (which will hold 13" to 16” laptops) that suspends and conceals the electronics you're carrying. The battery pocket is sewn off to the side to avoid taking up precious storage space, but a plug can easily snake inside to keep it topped up with an extra 10–15 hours' worth of backup juice. Like a standard backpack, this 18-liter, 2.3-pound pack comes with a detachable rain cover and a reflective loop for safer nighttime walking. 
Melitta Coffee 1-Cup Pour Over coffee set, $9
Melitta
Melitta Coffee 1-Cup Pour Over coffee set, $9
Let's all admit it: Hotel room coffee is weak and terrible. Make your own strong cup with the elegant Melitta Coffee 1-Cup Pour Over set, which brews a pour-over serving straight into its included travel mug. A cut-out allows you to peek inside the mug and avoid over-filling.

https://shoponline.melitta.com
Umbra Foldaway Hangers, $15.00 for set of 3
Umbra
Umbra Foldaway Hangers, $15.00 for set of 3
The Umbra Foldaway Hanger takes shape when gravity does the work and spares your luggage the clutter of wires. The simple foldaway design is a new wrinkle in keeping your clothes looking good, no matter how bare your hotel closet may be.

www.umbra.com
eShave 5 Blades Travel Razor, $115
eShave
eShave 5 Blades Travel Razor, $115
Slicing your fingers is far too easy when you're probing your bag for your razor, and the constant movement of your luggage can dull an unprotected blade. The solution: Make the razor collapsible. The nickel-plated eShave 5 Blades Travel Razor, which is compatible with Gillette Fusion blades, screws apart to store in its own four-inch-tall metal canister and comes in blue, lime green, and black.

http://eshave.com
Swimmer Duo, $40–$60
Polk BOOM
Swimmer Duo, $40–$60
The Swimmer Jr. is a splashproof wireless speaker about the size of a racquetball with a suction cup and a flexible tail that enables it to grab onto things (handlebars, boat rails—you name it) or curl into a stand—so handy!. For surround sound, graduate to the Swimmer Duo, which will allow you to pair multiple speakers for party-worthy sound no matter where you go with them. 

www.polkboom.com
Jet Setter SuperME Cape-N-Nap collection, $40
SuperMEHero
Jet Setter SuperME Cape-N-Nap collection, $40
The SuperME Cape-N-Nap is a hilariously adorable kids' traveling ensemble that includes a superhero cape attached to a backpack. And of course there's a mask—because even a traveling hero must conceal their secret identity. The fleece cape folds into a pocket to double as a travel pillow. (You can also get a cape-and-mask ensemble without the pack for $30 and a matching rolling bag set for $80.) It may be just the thing to coax your kid into being excited about what can sometimes be the hard labor of traveling.

Kids Travel Inflatable Bed Set air mattress, $70
Intex
Intex Roll N Go air mattress, $70
Your kid can now sleep anywhere and not roll out of bed. For travelers, the chief virtue of the Kids Travel Inflatable Bed Set mobile mattress is its weight—just around 9 pounds—so it can be smooshed into luggage. Some people also use it for dogs, but clip those nails first. The hand pump can be a pain to use (swap it for an electric one if you can), but that's a big reason the price is right.
Stojo Pocket Cup, $15
Stojo
Stojo Pocket Cup, $15
Rumor has it that some hotel housekeeping staff clean in-room water cups by simply rinsing them with water in the sink. Control your cleanliness with these 12-ounce collapsible rubber cups. They're 5 inches tall when expanded but only 1.75 inches tall when collapsed. They also come with a heat sleeve made of hard plastic—that tucks neatly inside the base of the collapsed cup so you won't lose it.

Velcro Press-Lok Bags, $7–$13
Velcro Companies
Press-Lok Bags, $7–$18
Have you ever stopped to think about how difficult Ziploc bags can be? Frustration, thy name is lining up a seal on a wet, crumbly, or old zip bag. The company that makes Velcro recently came out with an improvement on the concept with its Press-Lok bags. They're not furry like the standard Velcro you know, but ribbed vertically with plastic so they're easier to line up and seal. After selling Press-Lok as packaging for existing products, now it's being sold directly to consumers as a stand-alone travel product. Four sizes ranging from a 7" x 5.7" to a 12" x 10.1" inch bag are currently on sale—including the all-important TSA-approved mini variety.

www.velcro.com
Discovery Trekking towel, $60
Ultrafast Dry Towel
Discovery Trekking towel, $60
These ultra-fast-dry towels have been around for a few years, but this year, 58"x34" prints were added to the lineup (plain, non-printed versions are $13–$35). We've tried them, and although they're deceptively cool and smooth, like a fabric you might wear, they suck up water and dry remarkably quickly—which makes beach days and camp bathing smarter. They're also antimicrobial, lightweight, come in generously large sizes, and protect from UV rays. In short, they're more civilized than those old-fashioned travel towels that look and feel like a felt shammy you'd use to buff your car fender.

www.discoverytrekking.com
Kinsa Smart Thermometer, $20
Kinsa
Kinsa Smart Thermometer, $20
Ideal for travel with children, you simply plug the durable Kinsa Smart Thermometer into your smartphone's headphone jack (with or without the provided extension cord, pictured) and the Thermometer takes about 10 seconds to get a temperature reading and track changes on its app. It's durable, tiny, and doesn't require batteries—drawing power from your smartphone instead. The free app includes a bubble-popping game to keep small kids amused while you obtain a reading.

www.kinsahealth.com
The Frommer guidebooks
Howard Grossman
The Frommer Guides
And we would be remiss if we didn't mention that our guidebooks make wonderful holiday gifts. They're a perfect way to say "Honey, I love you and I'm taking you on an exciting adventure this year." Along with our best-selling New York, Italy, Ireland London and New Orleans guides (among many others), we have new titles coming out to England and Scotland, the Amalfi Coast of Italy, Sicily, Andalucia and, perhaps most exciting, Arthur Frommer's Europe. Written by our founder and a team of hand-picked experts, it presents his top picks for your next visit to Europe, along with the sensible advice and culturally rich information that have made the Frommer guides a "must-carry" for travelers since Arthur founded the line in 1957. How good is this book? The New York Times picked it for its annual guide to the best travel gifts of the year, cheering "Arthur Frommer is back"!
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