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7 Heavy Duty Backpacks You Can Trust

1 week ago

Get Out And Explore With These 7 Durable Backpacks

The last time I was in Portugal, the weather couldn’t decide what it wanted to do. One minute the sun was shining, birds singing their songs, and people walking like it was Sunday. Then, in a flash, the rain would come, first dribbles, then soon a free shower for everyone. Minutes later, it would become sunny again. While I was navigating through the cobblestone streets, picking up items from shop to shop, and collecting interesting things as I went along, I stopped and realized just how important a durable, strong, and my solid backpack really is. Through the rain and sunshine, continually putting things away and taking them out again, and making sure my day was taken care of because I could carry what I needed, I found that sometimes you need more than just an average backpack. For the do’ers, the explorer’s, and the ones willing to rough it out, here are seven of the best bags that simply won’t let you down through the thick and the thin.

Durability isn’t as high as it should be when looking for a backpack. While style, comfort and a place to fit your smartphone are heavily requested criteria requests when shopping for a travel backpack, most true travelers what something that can take a beating and withstand the abuse. Heavy Duty backpacks that are suitable for long-distance hiking, military deployment, and other high-activity ventures aren’t available at Wallmart.

Laptop Backpack For Women: 10 Practical and Stylish Options

2 months ago

Julie Buckingham

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Stylish Laptop Backpack Options

As technology gets smaller and more lightweight so do the cases, bags, and backpacks we use to carry around our trusted devices. In just the last few years, laptops have made a significant change towards being sleeker with less wasted space, and have indeed become as convenient as carrying around a thin book. Of course, all that being said, you still need to keep your laptop safe from theft and getting damaged. While there are a lot of options on the market, a laptop backpack for women with some style to it isn’t as easy to find as you would think. It seems that most companies are still pushing the briefcase concept.

When I think of a briefcase, I think of a hard shell case like the one you would see in a spy movie where someone is transporting millions of dollars. The hero later uses the briefcase as a shield in a gunfight, or at some point throws the briefcase across the room knocking someone unconscious. I’m joking; of course, there are a lot of successful women who still use and carry around a briefcase, I just know that’s not the look I’m after.

Actually, now that I think of it, it wasn’t a look that my mother was after either. When I was a kid, my mom had this well-respected position where she managed and oversaw the success of twenty-plus stores at the airport. You know all those stores you pass on the way to your flight, or shop in while waiting for your trip? They’re usually all owned by one or two companies.

One Christmas, my brother and I went in on a leather briefcase. Laptops weren’t around back then, but I remember thinking I wanted to get something for my mom, who was a strong businesswoman. About a week after the holidays she confessed that she returned it as it just wasn’t her thing. She preferred carrying all her news and notes on her blackberry, or simply remembered info by memory.

What I’m Looking For

Living in the North West, which is typically raining most of the year, requires a different type of criteria when buying day to day travel accessories. I need a backpack that is waterproof and can hold a 15-inch laptop. I’m also tired of lugging around both my purse and a bag to hold my laptop, so I’m looking to merge the two. Ideally, I want something stylish enough that I can take this bag out to lunch and it doesn’t look like it has a laptop in it, yet professional enough for the office.

6 Reliable Electric Cooling Blanket Options To Get A Perfect Night Sleep

2 months ago

Julie Buckingham

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Electric Cooling Blanket: Sleep Better

Even in the winter when I have blankets on to stay warm there are times I wake up too hot and need to cool down. I hate sweating when I sleep so I’ve learned over the years to stick my feet out from the covers to get my body temperature just right. Obviously, this doesn’t allow for too many comfortable sleeping positions; that was until I got myself an electronic cooling blanket, and life has been so much better.

I used to travel a lot for business and hated hotel beds. I could never get adjusted to the heat of the room or the thickness of the blankets. My boyfriend would always tell me to just kick the blankets off, but that didn’t work either as I prefer the comfort of having covers on my body as I sleep. I’ll admit, I’m just a picking sleeper that needs the temperature to be just right.

Temperature is easily one of the biggest obstacles to getting quality sleep. Studies have found that the optimal temperature for the best quality sleep is cooler than you may think, around 60 to 67 degrees Fahrenheit (15-20°C). Temperatures that fall too far below or above this range can lead to restlessness. Temperatures in this ideal sleeping range help facilitate the decrease in core body temperature that in turn initiates sleepiness. Getting into that perfect sleeping temperature zone can be difficult due to warmer climates, the heating of your home or simply laying next to someone who naturally sleeps hot and warms the bed.

There is a wide range of sleeping products that market themselves as solutions for staying cool in bed. I started with a Cooling Pillow, which actually worked pretty good at first, but as I mentioned, do a lot of traveling. Packing a pillow is a waste of space in your luggage.

My goal was to find a quality electric cooling blanket that would keep my whole body at the right temperature. I quickly realized, though, you get what you paid for. I tried a few affordable cooler blanket suggestions before overpaying for a portable air conditioner. The air conditioner wasn’t worth the money and my partner didn’t like freezing every night. He asked me to return it and continue to search for a blanket that would keep me cold, not the entire room.

The following are 6 different options for staying cool when sleeping. Some are electric cooling blanket options, others are cooling pads.

Sensadream Cooling Weighted Blanket

Size: 15 lbs, 60×80, Queen Size

– 144 Reviews

I have updated this article a number of times after friends and family have learned that I tend to sleep hot. The same questions often come up about the type of mattress I use or pillow, but I respond every time the same way by telling them I have tried everything. However, every once in a while a new product will come out on the market that I’ll have to test out. And oddly enough, despite the name of this article being for best electric cooling blankets, more and more new products are using things like bamboo to keep you cool.

The Sensadream cooling blanket is a weighted quilt made with 100% cotton and filled with non-toxic hypoallergenic glass beads. The outer cover is made with 100% Bamboo on one side and soft Minky fabric on the other side. The dual-sided cover is designed to help you maintain the right temperature throughout the seasons. When cold use the Minky side for warmth and when hot simply flip the blanket over to the bamboo side to cool down.

Before I bought this blanket, I read over the 100+ positive reviews on Amazon for more info on the Cooling effects. Naturally, I get that this is a high-quality weighted blanket, but my interests are staying at a normal temperature and not waking up from being too hot. I had read that bamboo can help with this problem and that most people think when they’re hot, they need cold air to cool down. Yet, if you can keep your body temperature and a normal rate, you shouldn’t wake up.

Please keep in mind: If you live in a very warm climate, these blankets aren’t going to solve your problem with the heat. The goal here is not waking up cause you tend to sweat in your sleep.

My Verdict: I was impressed. While this product is a little on the pricing side, it’s a great blanket. Very true to the many reviews on Amazon. I think this is a good all-around blanket that will help people who have trouble sleeping in different temperatures.

Rockland Luggage Review: Quality Meets Affordability

October 31, 2018

Liane Corbin

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Rockland Melbourne Luggage 3 Piece Set

Have you ever had your luggage stolen or lost before? Well, my 67-year-old Mother has. My mom took a two-week vacation to Hawaii and when she returned home, her luggage didn’t come with her. It was misplaced. Weeks later the airlines found her lost bag, but when it was delivered to her, the suitcase looked like it had gone through a wood chipper. Most of her belongings were fine, a few things broke, but one thing was for sure, she was going to need new luggage

My mother is a sweet old lady that doesn’t like to spend much on things. Most of the prices of the luggage sets she looked at seemed too expensive for her, despite being a regular traveler now retired. I helped her look for a quality luggage set and what we decided on was the Rockland Melbourne Luggage 3 Piece Set.

After much research on what is the best luggage set for traveling, we liked the features and price point for this Luggage 3 piece set. It was this combination of value and features that made her choose the Rockland Melbourne Luggage set. Since then, it’s made its way through several airports and she is happy with my selection.

Here’s a closer look at the Rockland Melbourne Luggage set and why it’s a great option for travelers.

Rockland Melbourne Luggage Set Review

– 1047 Amazon Reviews

Initially, a luggage set wasn’t something she considered when we first started looking, but I convinced her on buying the three-piece as it gave options for each trip she would take.

The three bags are 28” (71cm), 24” (61cm) and 20” (51cm) tall respectively, with two larger bags suitable for checked baggage and one cabin bag. As an individual traveler, I appreciate having the choice between the two sizes depending on the length of my trip, and using the three also works very well for holidays with my husband as well. In fact, we’ve found that for shorter trips, just one bag can fit both of our belongings.

Hauptstadtkoffer Luggage Review

October 26, 2018

Charles Balbuena

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Hauptstadtkoffer Review

Having carried around my plain old soft-case suitcase for years, I finally had to admit defeat on a recent multi-week trip to New York. Not only was my suitcase starting to look a little rough around the edges, but the frustration of trying to drag it with its faulty wheels and hold it upright to stop it from tipping over became too much. Clearly, suitcases had come a long way since I’d purchased my first bag several years ago, and my outdated option no longer did the trick.

I accepted it was time to upgrade my luggage and set about doing some research to find the best suitcase for traveling. I wanted to invest in something that was good quality but wasn’t going to require a small personal loan to pay for. It soon became apparent that a luggage set was going to be the best value option – plus, there’s a certain appeal of having a cohesive, stylish luggage set as you make your way to your destination.

When I finally decided to trade in my old bag and upgrade, it left me wondering why I hadn’t done it so much earlier. It certainly made navigating the airport much more pleasant and I love the look of my new case! I also decided to opt for a hard-shell case, which has given me a lot of peace of mind about carrying my beloved camera equipment through the airport and leaving it in the care of the airline staff.

Gone are the days of just throwing all my belongings into my case and hoping for the best. My new suitcase is much better organized, which means everything is easier to find, and I can fit more in (perfect for when I can’t choose between two pairs of shoes). Finally, it’s great to have a suitcase that’s up to date with modern TSA standards so I no longer have to choose between leaving my bag unsecured, or risking damage if it is opened by baggage handlers or security.

So, what bag did I settle on?