Best tiny Bluetooth speaker yet

I've tried several Bluetooth speakers and I'm always looking for the perfect combination of great sound and tiny size. When you are packing just one bag, can't afford the heft and weight of a really big high-quality speaker.

This little guy is consistently blowing me away. I sync it to my phone for better quality music in the room, and clear and loud news or podcasts while I shower and shave.

Here's a pic with hotel room key for size comparison. 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00OEPCHL2/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

1 Ticket, 1 Backpack, Zero Pre-Planning: Adventure Roulette

Joel Runyon at ImpossibleHQ offers this: 

1. Put away $500.
2. Go to the airport.
3. Find an awesome agent. You can tell that some are stressed, and that some are friendly. Talk to the friendly ones if you can – they’re much more fun.
4. Give them your $500, and tell them, “I’d like you to book me a trip somewhere – anywhere -, preferably a cool place, but it can be anywhere you like for under $500. Can you do that for me?”

He calls it "Adventure Roulette" and here are the criteria:

• Any ticket under $500
• Any destination at least 500 miles away
• One backpack
• No input at all from me on the final destination
• No looking at the ticket until I’m through security (and, ideally, as long as possible)
• Departure: any time during the day that I show up
• Return: any time before midnight the following night

GoBag

Here's a good-looking bag. Showed up in my Facebook feed today.  It's the GoBag, can't tell whether it's a crowdfunding project or if it's on sale yet....anyway check it out...it looks a lot like the eBags Weekender that I talk about in my minimal travel book. A cool feature (see the gif below) is the vacuum compression system. Might not be practical for my current travel style, which involves packing/repacking every day, different hotel every day.

Shares a lot of features with the Weekender -- backstraps, heavy duty zipper, looks more like luggage than a student backpack.

Anybody have one of these?

Baubax travel jacket

I just jumped on this Kickstarter campaign for the Baubax jacket....advertised as "the world's best travel jacket." I'm inclined to believe it...there are actually 4 different jackets, all with multiple functional features for air travel.

In my book I describe the Columbia Silver Ridge vest - essentially a cheaper version of the popular Scottevest travel vest.

I still travel with the Columbia vest from Autumn through Spring - lots of pockets and zippered hideaways for everything I want (or might want) on the plane.  But this Baubax jacket looks incredible. Check it out.

Collapsible coat hanger

I'm using this thing way more than I thought I would. I bought these collapsible clothes hangers basically because I thought it was a cool design. Turns out these things are really functional, too.

Pet peeve - hotels with non-standard clothes hangers. The ones that slip in/out of a little circular metal thing and you can't actually use the hangers around the hotel room, over a vent or shower curtain or whatever.

These collapsible hangers aren't super sturdy so I wouldn't hang a wet sweater or anything heavy. But for typical hotel room laundry like I describe in the book, these guys are perfect.

This goes with me everywhere now...

Obviously designed for lovers of gadgets by a true lover of gadgets. Super portable tool for charging almost any device - Android stuff that uses microUSB, iPhone 5 and 6 and the older iPhone 4 type charger. You can be that guy at the airport, when someone says "does anybody have a charger for a..." Yes, I do. I have that.

Portugal and Spain: 10 Days, 1 Bag, and 1 Tip

Just spent 10 days traveling  and hiking in Portugal and Spain. So many times I was glad to have my bag on my back and not rolling a noisy suitcase down cobbled streets and up and down stairs. Dodged lots of slow-as-heck escalators and used stairs....really love my E-bag.

Here's my one tip from this journey..and it's really important if you've got a sensitive nose. If you've read the book, you know I travel with very little extra clothing, so I do frequent in-room laundry using a dry sack and real detergent (not shampoo). I grabbed Gain brand powder on my way out of town, packed it in a zip bag and man that stuff smells strong. Really don't want that smell infiltrating my coffee or dry milk. So my take-away: next time purchase some scent-free detergent.

Pics from my trip!