The Yak Pak Chinook is my current trusty travel carry-on (as documented in this National Geographic blog article). It’s a nice day purse at your destination, too—not touristy-looking, yet big enough to house a map, a book, bottled water, even a sweatshirt, plus any small souvenirs and such you pick up along the way. There’s a little zipper pocket to corral small items, plus side tabs that snap open to create a titch more space. And? It’s washable. Love.

They must be phasing out the Chinook, as it’s hard to track down online. Thank goodness I got my hands on two for you guys. (The purple skull one on the far left and the green viney one on the far right—do specify your preference, if you have one.) Throwing in zippered toiletry pouches containing a few carry-on friendly goodies.

To enter: Leave a comment (see the comments tab up at the top of the post there) before 6 PM CST next Tuesday, December 2nd. Anonymous comments and those without a valid email address will be disqualified. The winner will be chosen at random, then announced and contacted via email by or on Wednesday, December 3rd. If I don’t hear from the winner within 5 days, a new one will be chosen. Please enter/comment only once per giveaway. Regular postings resume next week. I’ll be focusing on budget-friendly gifts for travelers. To my fellow Americans: Happy Thanksgiving!

P.S. Yak Pak has a web special going on, where you get three random Yak Pak bags for just $15. Not a bad deal since their least expensive items cost about that much.

Oh, it’s all about organization these days. Makes you feel smooth as a superhero, extracting the perfect item or bit of info without all that pedestrian rummaging, doesn’t it? I love Poketo’s journal, which helps you plan and organize your trip with a preparation checklist and day-by-day itinerary. It helps you keep track of thoughts and mementos on the road, too. Page through it post-trip to stir vacation memories. Comes with a protective Velcro pouch.

In addition to the journal, I’m including a lug buddy, a retractable clip-on ticket tote to keep your boarding passes at hand, an expandable roller bag for last-minute gifts and souvenirs, and a few other organizational travel items.

To enter: Leave a comment (see the comments tab up at the top of the post there) before 6 PM CST next Monday, December 1st. Anonymous comments and those without a valid email address will be disqualified. The winner will be chosen at random, then announced and contacted via email by or on Tuesday, December 2nd. If I don’t hear from the winner within 5 days, a new one will be chosen. Please enter/comment only once per giveaway. Check back tomorrow to enter to win the final giveaway item!

Easier to clean and transport than your full-sized extension fork. Also slimmer than a stick, so you can take on two marshmallows at a time while remaining fairly confident you’ll not lose them to the fire. I’m also throwing in a super cool Guyot Squishy Bowl and Cup Set, biodegradable shampoo and conditioner sheets, a funky-looking microfiber bandanna that soaks up nearly a cup of water and some hydraulically compressed tissues.

To enter: Leave a comment (see the comments tab up at the top of the post there) before 6 PM CST next Sunday, November 30th. Anonymous comments and those without a valid email address will be disqualified. The winner will be chosen at random, then announced and contacted via email by or on Monday, December 1st. If I don’t hear from the winner within 5 days, a new one will be chosen. Please enter/comment only once per giveaway. Check back to enter to win other items. Two more to go!

Grommeted corners accept stakes to keep this over six-foot-square blanket in place. The backing is smooth, to resist picking up sand, and the whole thing folds into its own tidy drawstring pouch for easy transportation—or storage until beach season.

To enter: Leave a comment (see the comments tab up at the top of the post there) before 6 PM CST next Thursday, November 27th. Anonymous comments and those without a valid email address will be disqualified. The winner will be chosen at random, then announced and contacted via email by or on Monday, December 1st. If I don’t hear from the winner within 5 days, a new one will be chosen. Please enter/comment only once per giveaway. Check back next week to enter to win other items. TrustyPony’s eight days of freebies runs through Wednesday!

With padded, easy-access compartments in all the right places, plus a decent amount of room for other travel necessities, this is a fantastic pack for photographers—or anyone who travels with an arsenal of gadgets that should be babied. Nice that it doesn’t scream “I contain expensive equipment,” either. As previously documented, I dig the handy organizational features, including memory card slots, a key clip and an exterior water bottle pouch. I’m a total geek for the handy organizational feature.

To enter: Leave a comment (see the comments tab up at the top of the post there) before 6 PM CST next Wednesday, November 26th. Anonymous comments and those without a valid email address will be disqualified. The winner will be chosen at random, then announced and contacted via email by or on Monday, December 1st. If I don’t hear from the winner within 5 days, a new one will be chosen. Please enter/comment only once per giveaway—and check back tomorrow to enter to win another item!

When another traveler almost walked away from baggage claim with Michelle Warford’s ubiquitous black wheelie, the idea for UBrand hit her. She created these heavy-duty labels that stick securely to your luggage, yet remove without damaging the fabric. They come in all sorts of styles—I dig the earth and the retro Hawaii ones. Three winners in this giveaway, and each can choose from either two designs or three monogramming letters. Great stocking stuffers. (In fact, Good Housekeeping just featured them as such.)

Also: Use the code PONYUB11 at checkout for 10% off your order at UBrand. And starting today and running through the holidays, shipping is free on orders over $25.

To enter: Leave a comment (see the comments tab up at the top of the post there) before 6 PM CST next Tuesday, November 25th. Anonymous comments and those without a valid email address will be disqualified. The winners will be chosen at random, then announced and contacted via email next Wednesday, November 26th. If I don’t hear from the winners within 5 days, new ones will be chosen. Please enter/comment only once per giveaway—and check back tomorrow to enter to win another item!

Next up: A selection of magnetic travel games, for kids of all ages. You’ll get the backgammon game pictured above, as well as sudoku, hangman, bingo and dominoes, plus another that features dinosaurs. It’s good to limit screen-time, maybe get some friendly back-seat interaction going on, no?

To enter: Leave a comment (see the comments tab up at the top of the post there) before 6 PM CST next Monday, November 24th. Anonymous comments and those without a valid email address will be disqualified. The winner will be chosen at random, then announced and contacted via email next Tuesday, November 25th. If I don’t hear from the winner within 5 days, a new one will be chosen. Please enter/comment only once per giveaway—and check back tomorrow to enter to win another item!

OK, here goes. The first TrustyPony giveaway: Two Plane Comfort sets. One features the exact blanket-pillow set you see above, plus a few various comfort-inducing travel items. (My favorite: A pair of Spandexy red and blue travel slippers that look like what Wonder Woman would wear if she went coach because, say, the invisible jet cost too much to fly, what with the price of gas and all.) The second set features a chocolate brown blanket plus socks and matching eye shade, and goodies including a little book on Travel Yoga.

To enter: Leave a comment (see the comments tab up at the top of the post there) before 6 PM CST next Sunday, November 23rd. If you have a preference, do mention which set you’d prefer. Anonymous comments and those without a valid email address will be disqualified. The winners will be chosen at random, then announced and contacted via email next Monday, November 24th. If I don’t hear from the winners within 5 days, new winners will be chosen. Please enter/comment only once per giveaway—check back tomorrow to enter to win another item.

Change is unfolding at TrustyPony. Good change. The rotating photo gallery up there in the right-hand corner of the page, for example. Cool, eh? (Shout-out to Sevnthsin, the Chuck Norris of web design agencies, on that and all TrustyPony visual and technical awesomeness.) Very soon, in an effort to better serve the travelers who come here, I’ll start opening up comments, hoping for a little back and forth. Are you ready? To help get you in the mood, the next time I post, it will be to kick off a series of travel-gear giveaways. Your comment posted on any giveaway will work as your entry to win it. In the meantime, please enjoy this photo of my new dining room wall, as inspired by SkyMall. (That’s me, going into the closet to retrieve a board game. Probably backgammon.) This practically guarantees that every dinner party we host from here on out will include discussion of one of my all-time favorite topics: travel.

He’ll love showing off how fast his suitcase is. You’ll love that he’s carrying his own stuff while keeping pace.

From People’s Must-Have Travel Gear (for parents).