All the Conveniences of Home on the Road

While travel can be thrilling, there are some surprises I never welcome: hotel rooms with insufficient bedside lighting, rotary dial phones that won’t let me key into my answering machine back home, the unavailability of fresh-brewed coffee when I need a little pick-me-up. I must not be alone because manufacturers have developed some new portable products to solve those quibbles and more. The following items may be available at area stores. Except where noted, prices do not include shipping and handling.

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Touch-tone to go: Several years ago I discovered a solution to a problem I frequently encounter during foreign travel--rotary dial phones that lack the touch tones necessary to access answering machines and other automated systems requiring keyed-in codes. I found the Pocket Tone Dialer, a small battery powered plastic push-button telephone key pad with a microphone in back that is held against the telephone’s handset speaker.

When the numbers (or star or pound sign) are pressed, a tone is emitted that matches the pitch of the corresponding number on a touch-tone phone, and voila, access. Now, the tone dialer has been vastly improved. The new, even smaller version (2 1/2 inches by 2 inches and weighing just 2 ounces) can be pre-programmed to emit the tones of up 16 digits for each of 13 frequently used numbers (telephone credit card, bank account, phone numbers) with the push of a button. Step-by-step directions accompany the tone dialer, which has a protective flip-top cover and key ring. Since the mini-version keypad has tiny numbers, less dexterous individuals may want the original larger version, which has larger numbers.

Programmable Mini Tone Dialer (No. ET311P) is $19.85; original Pocket Tone Dialer (No. ET311) $12.85 from Magellan’s; telephone (800) 962-4943.

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Brewed for the road: I seldom travel without a Thermos for keeping hot coffee handy whenever and wherever I need a caffeine fix. I don’t like instant coffee, however, and don’t always travel with a coffee maker. Now the Thermos company has come up with a solution to the problem. The Coffee Cone is a plastic filter with a wide cap-like base that fits over most Thermos-style insulated drink containers. Just put a standard paper filter in the Coffee Cone, add ground coffee and boiling water, and you’ve brewed yourself a hearty batch of java for the road. I travel with an electric heating coil to get the water boiling hot, but very hot tap water also will work.

Thermos Coffee Cone (item C100C) is about $6 at housewares stores. For a store nearby, call Thermos at (800) 243-0745.

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Tool for all reasons: The SwissGrip multi-tool is a bit too hefty to qualify as a pocketknife (it measures 6 inches by 1 3/4 inches and weighs in at 11 ounces.) Nor does it have any of those froufrou components--the little scissors, toothpick and precious corkscrew--favored by nouveaux backpackers. The SwissGrip is a portable toolbox. Packaged into the sturdy black casing are heavy-gauge steel-cutting pliers, a four-inch clip blade with a safety lock, a metal saw/file, a wood saw, a Phillips screwdriver, a one-quarter-inch high-torque built-in socket adapter, a wire stripper, a cap lifter with locking screwdriver, a can opener and a reamer/awl with a sewing eye. A separate one-quarter-inch socket adapter (included) attaches to the screwdriver to accommodate other socket tools available at hardware stores. Know-how not included.

SwissGrip from Wenger is about $100. For a convenient source, call (800) 447-7422.

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Gotta light? Lumatec, makers of travel lights, has come out with a compact kit that can brighten up your reading in a variety of situations. The NiteOwl Plus Travel Edition is a zippered Leatherette pouch containing a NiteOwl light, a battery pack, a DC adapter with a 10-foot cord that plugs into a car cigarette lighter to conserve battery power, and a replacement bulb. The NiteOwl is a bright light on a retractable plastic neck that slides up from the spine, automatically turning on when extended and off when retracted. When closed, the pouch measures 9 inches by 3 inches by 2 inches deep and weighs 9 ounces. The set makes an attractive gift for anyone who needs a little extra light.

NiteOwl Plus Travel Edition is about $40 at gift shops and travel stores. For a store nearby, call the manufacturer, Lumatec; tel. (800) 586-2832.

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Toothbrush safety: Hotel and motel bathrooms do not have a sanitary place to hang a toothbrush, and I don’t like to put my wet toothbrush in its case right after use. The Brush Buddy is a simple but effective solution. It’s a clear rubber suction cup bracket that sticks to the bathroom mirror or wall and has two slots for holding two brushes. The slots are large enough to accommodate odd-size toothbrush handles. These hang-ups are reusable and come in a small self-sealing plastic bag to keep them clean in transit.

A three-pack of Brush Buddy toothbrush holders is $6.50 including postage. Send check to P. Phillips & Co., P.O. Box 255, Midland Park, NJ 07432.

Gear & Gadgets appears the first week of every month.