More Gift Ideas for Your Globetrotter

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Don't know what to get the jetsetter in your life for the holidays? We've got some tips!


For the Documentarian: camera gear

DSLRs have come a long way. Now, on top of taking still photos, they shoot video footage, as well. One of our favorite new products to hit the market is the Canon T1 model, that does both but is still quite affordable. Though we recommend forgoing the lens that comes on the model, purchasing just the body, and upgrading to a more universal lens like the 17-85mm, which incorporates a wide angle with a decent zoom. For gently used models, check out local purveyor Adolph Gassers in the Financial District.

If you’re looking for a more compact model that combines elements of a DSLR, you can't go wrong with the Canon PowerShot G11 (you can even set the ISO on this one). Or if the receiver already has enough camera equipment to stock a small factory, consider a bag for toting his or her gear around the world, such as LowePro SlingShot 200 or SlingShot 350. If he/she is a big snorkeler or scuba diver, find out his/her camera model and buy the appropriate underwater housing so he/she can snap pretty pictures of all the fishies in the sea.

For the Fashionista: travel-inspired jewelry

This gorgeous silver necklace by Beverly Hills-based desinger Zina resembles two planes taking flight. It’s simple and the perfect piece to encompass a travel passion but also wear on the road, as it will go with any ensemble. The key to traveling with jewelry is it not only needs to be versatile so you don’t have to bring accessories for every outfit, but it also needs to be durable (or something simple enough you can wear on the plane so it isn’t destroyed in your bag en route). Zina’s jewelry is all of the above.

For the Techie: an Ardica charger

If you're like the average traveler and jetset with a minimum of a laptop, cell phone and camera in tow, you know how annoying it can be to try and charge them all on a rotation basis while out of the country and carrying only one adapter.

Enter: Ardica. The San Francisco-based tech company used fuel cell, military technology, to come up with a compact charging device that doesn’t require any outlet—because how many times have you been on the road and fresh out of a place to recharge your phone?—and that you can use to charge from anywhere (airport, on the airplane, in Timbuktu, on a ship in Antarctica). Handy, no? (Though to be clear: Ardica products currently don't have the capability to charge laptops.)

Ardica also makes a Mountain Hardwear jacket that incorporates the same technology and can heat up your body and charge your iPhone at the same time while out in the wild, which is well-suited for the family member who likes high-altitude, high-adrenaline fun.

For the Trekker: cargo clothing with ample pockets

Perfect for the friend who likes to hit the trails in Marin on the weekend, ScottEVest's products  come in quite handy while hiking--not to mention, those times you’re in a crime-ridden city, when you’d rather not have your dangling purse peg you as an open target--as they're well-designed with pockets galore to store your every belonging. Best of all? They’re wrinkle free and quick drying, for those times you need to douse your duds in your hotel sink.

For the Business Traveler: Brenthaven X-Ray-friendly bag

Those who carry Brenthaven laptop bags will assure you that their professional lives have been forever altered by implementing a carrier that does not allow their computers to go banging around on the belt every time they go through security. What makes it different from the run-of-the-mill laptop bag is that it opens, butterfly style, so as to give you the security guy an unobstructed view of your electronics. For those who travel heavy, consider the backpack, so they cram as many books and magazines as humanly possible into the carry-on, or for the gift receiver who's more worried about her appearance, opt for one of the more fashionable alternatives.

For the Student Abroad: trinkets from Flight001

Our favorite travel company, Flight001, has a convenient Hayes Valley outpost where you can go to shop for the student in your life. While pretty much everything in the store would come in handy on one trip or another, we have some basic recommendations: Passport cover, luggage tags. A universal converter. A pictorial translator, where you can point at items in foreign lands in lieu of giving a half-assed attempt at a translation. Space-saving compression bags. Or make him or her your own foolproof traveler’s kit, comprising headphones, ear plugs, Band-Aids, clippers, cotton swabs, pharmaceuticals (travel-size packets of Tylenol, Dramamine, the works), face wipes, an eye mask, plane socks, and anything else you deem appropriate.

For the Frequent Flier: iChill

Not a fan of prescribed sleeping pills? Now you have an alternative. All-natural, relaxation potion iChill has no sugar, no calories, no carbs, but rather combines Vitamin B, melatonin, rose hips and Valerian root--and will put you in a sound sleep, making it the perfect stocking stuffer for the family member who spends more time in the air than he does on the ground.

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