Powered by water, not batteries, making it greener, cheaper and easier to run than your typical travel alarm.

Warm white wine? Puh-leeze. Deflates to pack flat.

An affordable case that sanitizes your toothbrush during storage. Because who knows what bacteria lurks on hostel sinks and hotel countertops? Ew.

That’s a dishwasher-safe ceramic cup with silicon lid disguised as a disposable fancy-coffee-shop cup. If only the warm glow that comes from being environmentally friendly somehow made hotel coffee taste better.

Also: Congratulations to Anna and Jen P. who won the Yak Pak Chinooks. And please, don’t despair if you didn’t win anything this round of giveaways. I’ll be doing them more often in 2009, so check back.

Carryon-friendly toothpastes that come in 18 flavors including Vanilla, Bitter Chocolate and Monkey Banana. All end in a menthol finish. Kits, such as the one pictured above, group the pastes in themes (sweets, fruit) and then pair them with flavored one-use, alcohol-free mouthwashes, letting you brush with, say, pumpkin pudding, and then swish with sweet potato.

(via funfindsformom)

I’d gift this containing a shared-vacation photo and scrawled with a personalized note. Because I’m sweet that way.

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.

A swim mask with integrated waterproof digital camera, for hands-free snorkeling plus a hard copy of the experience. Makes stills or video.

If you’re an avid reader, you know I’m a fan of double-duty goods. (Also: Hello! Thanks for being avid!) This flashlight/water bottle combo wins a special place in my heart since it’s a solar solution. A built-in panel in the bottle’s cap stores sunpower enough to illuminate your tent for six hours. Use the bottle as an airtight floating storage container if you’d rather.

Via MatadorGoods’ solar gear roundup (featuring other products you saw here first).

Touted as a tent replacement. Good for the cheapos, and the car campers ready to call a spade a spade.

Via The Gear Junkie, which just launched a cool choose-your-adventure sweepstakes, where the winner (plus lucky travel companion) selects one of five professionally guided REI trips, such as a Yosemite snowshoe trek or Mount Washington winter climb. Includes all gear and some extras, like a post-adventure party. (Woo-hoo!) The contest runs through December 17, but you might as well enter now. While you’re thinking about it.