I carry a mini moleskin everywhere I go.  I use it to jot down different ideas as I have them.  It’s not a full moleskin it’s the slimmer 50 page kind that fits better in the back pocket.   The one problem you run into right away is what do you write with?  You can just use any old pen and keep in your back pocket.  But for me I just know that sooner or later the pen is going to pop and make a mess probably at the worst possible time.  That’s the kind of luck I have.
 
There are pens out there that are made for moleskins.  Some are shorter click type pall points and some are flat that are designed to be pocketed with a moleskin.  Personally I don’t really care for flat pens, it just doesn’t feel right.  The shorter plastic pens work well, but thankfully I caught them when they cracked and before the outright broke in my pocket.
What I’ve found is a cool little pen by Zebra.  The pen is made of metal so it is less likely to break.  This is exactly what I was looking for.  Instead of a normal clicker or a turn the barrel to get the ball point out, this one you pull. The retractable pen tip is hidden by the metal tip guard when not in use. The best thing is the same size, it’s half the length of a normal pen when it’s stored. In use it’s the size, weight and feel on a normal pen.  Both the moleskin and the pen are small enough to take with you anywhere, without feeling like your whipping out a reporters pan when you want to write a note.

I found the Zebra at Office Max and they are sold in packs of two for around $5.

Airlines aren’t the only travel companies that have apps! Many hotels now allow you to book rooms, browse the amenities and check your points directly from an app too! Here is a list of the big chains that have apps that are for all of their locations. There is a list at the bottom of chains that have an app but are only for specific locations.

You’ll notice that Hilton has an app for nearly every brand of hotel they run.

All links are affiliate free. Icons link to hotels website where available, iTunes otherwise.

	Hotel Brands
	4 Seasons Hotels and Resorts
	Omni Hotels
	Starwood Sharaton. Four Points, Aloft, W Hotels, Le Meridian, Element, Westin, St Regis
	Hampton Inn
	Hilton Hotels
	Best Western
	Embassy Suites
	Doubletree Hotels
	Conrad Hotels and Resorts
	Choice Hotels Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites, Quality, Sleep Inn, Clarion, Cambria Suites, MainStay Suites, Suburban, Econolodge, Rodeway Inn, Ascend Collection
	Accor Sofitel, Pullman, M Gallery, Grand Mercure, Mercure, Novatel, Adagio, Ibis, All Seasons, Etap, Forule 1, Motel 6, Studio 6
	Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group
	Waldorf Astoria Hotels and Resorts

Most notably missing form the list are some major names in the hospitality industry.  I mean come on – even Motel 6 has an app.

Apps available for select locations only:
Marriott
Holiday Inn
Hyatt
Radisson
Wynn

Has only a golf app (???):
Wyndahm

No apps at all:
Ramada

Pandora is the most familiar service, at least in the US.  More people use Pandora on their phone then on their computer.  What does that tell you?  People want their music, quick and easy without having to make their own mix tape.  After a while though you notice that even Pandora starts repeating the same songs.  On my stations for whatever reason it’ll throw in some random song from a different station (why is Johny Cash playing on my Audioslave station?)

If you would like to mix it up a bit or merely need another alternative once you’ve hit your 40 hour limit on Pandora,  try one of the other streaming music services.

Although not free, they do have a 7 day free trial,  Slacker Radio is very similar to Pandora.  Slacker is available on nearly everything from your computer to your mobile devices to you living room.

Last.fm has recently announced their plans to start charging $3 a month for subscriptions on mobile devices but will remain free through their website for users in the US, UK and Germany.  Not to fret though it’s still free on the xBox.

For some countries in Europe Spotify is the player of choice. I haven’t had a chance to use it as it’s not available on this side of the pond.

All of these players have some sort of free component but your better off paying for the one of their premium services which are commercial free.  You also have more flexibility to skip songs.  Make sure your device is supported if you haven’t made the jump to a smart phone yet.  Features do vary a bit, I wished I had Spotiy’s offline mode on Pandora last summer while riding NYC subways.

The Smart Traveler’s Passport: 399 Tips from Seasoned Travelers

Budget Travel magazine isn’t just about the best travel experience at the lowest price it’s also about traveling “the right way.” Their philosophy, “Vacations for real people,” has led them to their readership for guidance, and this collection of their readers’ best 399 travel tips is an essential addition to any traveler’s library. In The Smart Traveler’s Passport, you’ll learn:

• 13 different uses for Ziploc bags
• How dental floss can double as a tape measure
• Where to find the best street food in cities worldwide
• How a digital camera can help you find your rental car
• Why clearing your Web browser’s cache will lead to lower prices on airfare and hotel reservations
• How to avoid long lines at the world’s most popular attractions

Rating: (out of 24 reviews)

List Price: $ 14.95

Price: $ 5.65

Related Travel 399 Tips Travelers Products

Sennheiser PXC 250 Active Noise Canceling Headphones

• Active noise canceling for cutting out up to 25 dB of ambient noise
• Fold-and-flip design allows for compact storage
• Padded, closed earcups and adjustable headband
• 6-foot, Kevlar-reinforced cord
• Frequency response of 10 Hz – 21 kHz

With all the latest advances in digital music and sound fidelity, should you be using those headphones that came with your portable MP3 or CD player? Here’s a way to get the best possible sound – The Sennheiser Way. The Sennheiser PXC 250 is a closed, dynamic, supra-aural mini stereo headphone with NoiseGard active noise compensation (requires 2 AAA batteries). Due to their active and passive attenuation of ambient noise, they let you enjoy music even in noisy environments. The headphones are foldable and come with a convenient belt pouch, making them an ideal travel companion.

Rating: (out of 566 reviews)

List Price: $ 139.95

Price: $ 159.98

Apple MB974ZM/A World Travel Adapter Kit

• World Travel Adapter Kit
• The Kit is designed to work with iPod, iPhone, Apple MagSafe Power Adapters, Portable Power Adapters, and AirPort Express.
• The AC plugs included in the World Travel Adapter Kit directly support outlets in North America, Japan, China, United Kingdom, Continental Europe, Korea, Australia, and Hong Kong.

The World Travel Adapter Kit includes a USB power adapter, a USB cable, and a set of six AC plugs with prongs that fit different electrical outlets around the world. For world travelers, this is the perfect kit to ensure power connectivity in most countries you may travel to.

The Kit is designed to work with iPod, iPhone, Apple MagSafe Power Adapters, Portable Power Adapters, and AirPort Express.

The AC plugs included in the World Travel Adapter Kit directly support outlets in North America, Japan, China, United Kingdom, Continental Europe, Korea, Australia, and Hong Kong.

Rating: (out of 5 reviews)

List Price: $ 39.00

Price: $ 35.00

Apple M8794G/B World Travel Adapter Kit

• With the addition of this kit, iPod goes anywhere in the world
• Includes six AC plugs with prongs that fit different electrical outlets around the world

For the traveler, charge your iPod or connect to your AirPort Express Base Station from most electrical outlets around the world with a set of six power adapter AC plugs designed to fit your portable power adapter. Supports all iPods.

The World Travel Adapter Kit includes a set of six AC plugs with prongs that fit different electrical outlets around the world. For world travelers, this is the perfect kit to ensure power connectivity in most countries you may travel to. The Kit is designed to work with (and requires) the white portable power adapter that ships with iPod, iBook, or PowerBook G4. The AC plugs included in the World Travel Adapter Kit directly support outlets in North America, Japan, China, United Kingdom, Continental Europe, Korea, Australia, and Hong Kong.

Rating: (out of 12 reviews)

List Price: $ 39.00

Price: $ 37.00

Eee Pc 1001P

Netbooks – With the new Pine Trail class of Intel processors battery life has nearly doubled while keeping the processing speed roughly the same.  What you’ll see in the next 6 months are netbooks that are similar to what is out today only with up to 14 hour batteries.

There are several other companies dying to put their graphics cards in netbooks.  Intel is simply wrong telling customers that they don’t need to do graphics with netbooks.  Going forward keep an eye on netbooks that have switchable graphics.  The addition of a third party graphics card will allow better HD playback, photo editing and possibly video transfers.  However the small size will always make full video editing difficult.  Via Slashgear

Pixel Qi

Pixel Qi (pronounced pixel Chee)  This is the epaper display that laptop and netbooks will be introducing later this year.  It’s two major innovations are that the display is viewable in direct sunlight and that it uses a fraction of the power a normal display does when in epaper mode. When in normal mode the display uses 2.5 watts and when in epaper mode it uses 0.5 watts.  This will have a significant (positive) impact on battery life.  Put this in a netbook that already has a 14 hour battery life and a travel may only need to charge the laptop once every 3-4 days (if you only used the epaper mode for 8 hours a day).  Going forward look for these to be in a wide array of products and take note the comparison in battery life to non Pixel Qi devices.  Photo via Pixel Qi’s blog Also check out jkkmobles hands on video at CES.

Panasonic 64GB SDXC card

SDXC cards Although horribly expensive right now, Panasonic announced its 64GB cards at CES.  Engadget is also reporting that there may be 1TB cards possibly by the end of the year! 1TB?  That’s just crazy talk.  The SDXC standard supports up to 2TB but this is the first word that it may only be a couple years out.

That would give virtually every laptop, netbook and camera unlimited storage (that would also fit in the change pocket of your jeans).  via Engadget

After reading all of the press releases from CES this week one stands out more then others.  The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX5V/B.  It has pretty much everything that you want to look for in a great travel camera. Here are the interesting highlights:

It takes SD card!  Not the Sony horrible Memory Sticks.  Well it actually takes both, but if it takes an SD card why would you use the more expensive Memory Stick?

It does full HD video (1920 x 1080 60i) with HDMI out.  As well as MP4 video for uploading directly to YouTube.

GPS for geotagging photos, and a compass.  You didn’t know you wanted a compass did you?  It might come in handy.

Panorama shot stitcher that automatically combines several photos into one panorama in camera, automatically.

Plus the image stabilization that is standard on most cameras now.  Although the Sony website does state that it has a couple low light image enhancements for twilight and image blur correction that would be helpful.

The only thing it’s missing is an Eye-Fi N wireless card, that you can actually use now that it takes SD cards!

Image from Sony Cyber-Shot

via Engadget

One of my favorite things to take with me may seem silly but the more I use it the more I like it.  It’s a tiny cable.  The cable came with a Sansa music player that I got so I could listen to audio books from the library since iPods weren’t supported.  You can find them anywhere now.  The cable allows me to not bring a separate power brick for my cell phone.  When using an external drive it’s always right next to me anyway, so there’s no need to bring a 6 ft cord.  There’s no tangling to worry about like with those retractable ones, which sooner or later are going to fail to retract and rats-nest on you.  If you don’t have a memory card slot and need to transfer your photos, the tiny cable works as well as the needlessly longer cable.  Another cable to add would be a 7cm or 20 cm iPod sync cable which you can find at Amazon.  If you bring a laptop or netbook with you everywhere you go anyway you can cut down on clutter with tiny cables.

For those of us that can never get enough videos of what, why and how people pack for traveling, here are 5 videos plus an after your done packing bonus. In no particular order…

Do make sure to click the links to each site directly for the expanded stories on each!

Gregory Packs  What’s in your pack for the next two years

Matadortv has Nick Vivions video for CurrentTv

Scott and Krystin Dean from Redwinehelpsyousleepontrains has videos for mens and womens packs.

For the photographers out there, Chase Jarvis packs a photographers backpack.

Amber Zuckert from Twobackpacks.com

Nomad Packing Tips from Amber Zuckswert on Vimeo.

The honorable mention goes to Two Backpackers Leaving Hoboken.