Travel Products: Worth It?

Let's face it: There are so many travel accessories out there, and all of them are tempting. A neck pillow with a hood? Packing cubes? A suitcase that zips into three pieces? Laser-beam umbrellas that microwave your toast? Well, maybe not. But there's so much stuff that's been invented to help you with your travels. This post will answer which of these things are actually useful, and which you can do without. Or if you can use them, but only in a certain situation.

#1) Packing Cubes
Description: Packing cubes are lightweight zippered mesh or fabric bags that can be used to help you organize your clothes. They can help to separate your suitcase into manageable sections and come in various sizes and colours.

Things you should know about packing cubes: 

Packing cubes come in a variety of sizes and colours,
but you might find that they're not as useful as you think.

• If you really want to be organized on your trip, the packing cubes will help you. Because of their versatility and different sizes, it's easy to put your toiletries in one, shoes in another, and have one for dirty laundry. 
• You'll find yourself having to pack around the cubes since they'll never quite fit the dimensions of your suitcase.
• If you're travelling with someone else, I'd recommend colour-coding your stuff with different packing cubes so it's easier to know whose clothes are whose.
• If you're moving a lot from one hotel to another, you'll only have to pull out one cube instead of having to take apart your whole suitcase.
• Frankly, I don't need to pay $10 for a laundry bag. A pillowcase or a plastic bag can be folded up when not in use and is certainly less expensive. 

Conclusion: Although packing cubes are useful in some certain situations, you'll find that they're not worth the money. 

Buy Packing Cubes: http://www.ebags.com/category/travel-accessories/packing-aids/packing-cubes/dept/accessories

Final Verdict: 4/10. Not worth it. 

#2: Cocoon Grid- It Organizer 
Description: A flat surface with interwoven elastics that hold all your cords, cables, and gadgets in place. This "ultimate organizer" is supposed to keep these items from strangling each other, and comes in a variety of sizes.

Things you should know about the Cocoon Grid-It:

The Cocoon Grid-It offers endless configurations for
organizing gadgets and travel items.

• Because of all the different elastic widths, it's easy to put the Grid-It to good use. It's very versatile and can hold items as big as a camera and as small as earbuds. 
• Everything is visible at the same time, and accessing different items is simple instead of insanely difficult because they're stuck way at the bottom of your bag. 
• The thick, stretchy elastics can easily secure items and actually keep them secure. You won't have to worry about them falling out. Unfortunately, we all know what happens to elastics over time, so don't try to force items that are too big for the elastics or they will stretch out. 
• Carefully organized, the Grid-It could fit many items, conceivably more than the average person could carry around. This is great, but for travel I wouldn't buy any size larger than small because how much stuff am I actually going to bring with me? (See my packing list.)
• Weight can also be a problem. Carrying around a pair of earphones in my pocket, I'd barely notice. The Grid-It is certainly heavier (0.24kg), so only buy one of these if you know you can actually fill it with stuff.  

Conclusion: This awesome organizer can be adapted for use when travelling, but you need to get a smaller size (7"x 5" or 10.3" x 5") or it will become a burden. 

Buy the Grid-It: http://www.cocooninnovations.com/cat_info.php?cat_id=61

Final Verdict: 7/10. Worth it!

#3: Travel Pillows

Description: Travel pillows are soft, colourful, and come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Some are inflatable, and others are made from memory foam. They can help you to sleep and be comfortable when travelling. (Read: a pillow.)

Things you should know about travel pillows:

Although travel pillows are okay for short trips,
they're a waste of space when travelling internationally.

• One of the most popular types of travel pillows are the inflatable ones. These are easy to pack; after all inflatable travel pillows are basically like plastic bags! They're about as comfortable as resting your head on a plastic bag, too. Let's not mind the fact that you paid $20 for it and it still takes three hours to inflate. 
• Some are made from memory foam (it remembers the shape of your head? This thing is a genius!). This type of travel pillow is more comfortable than the inflatable ones but can still be stored without taking up too much space. More or less.
• Sleep collars: More like "neck brace". Do not buy. (If you want, just google it. I'm not putting a picture of it on my blog, it's too embarrassing.)
• Hoodie pillow: Just no. (Google again.)
• Of course, you could always just roll up your hoodie and make it into a pillow. But I guess that's out of the question. More important to waste even more space by getting a travel pillow. 

Conclusion: These are a waste of space and money unless you're bringing the dishwasher with you. In that case, a travel pillow is a GREAT idea! Just remember to get one of the 25kg-life-raft-sized-memory-foam ones that will have to go in the cargo hold because you can't get them through the door of the plane. 

Buy a travel pillow (if you feel you have to get one of these, get this one):  http://www.luglife.com/Nap-Sac-Travel-BlanketPillow-Set?sc=2&category=28416

Final Verdict: 2/10. Not worth it.

Thanks for reading! If you agree or disagree with my product advice, leave a comment below. And if you enjoyed this post or want to request an item for me to review next, let me know :)

Happy travelling (and shopping!)