Tech for the Road

Photographs by John B. Carnett Photographs by John B. Carnett

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Half the fun is getting there? Please. If you fly frequently, you know all about long security lines, delayed flights, and no room in the overhead bin. Driving isn't any better, especially this time of year (you know it as summer; most states know it as construction season). We wish we could say this special section will cure all your travel ills. It won't. But we do promise this: The products and services you see here will make your travels more convenient, more productive, and more fun.


SMART BAGS FOR SMART TRAVELERS
Leave your baggage behind: One of these high-tech carryalls will better suit your lifestyle.


1. Your Personality: Wet and Wired
Your Bag: The Lowepro DryZone 200 ($334)
Wet electronics don't work very well. The solution: a waterproof backpack that floats. With welded seams and a watertight zipper, DryZone is unsinkable-even with 85 pounds of gear inside. It's designed for camera equipment but accommodates laptops, MP3 players, and more. www.lowepro.com


2. Your Personality: Backcountry Survivor
Your Bag: The Vortex SmartStay ($79 to $435)
When you're hauling around a lot of gear, a backpack with a "second spine" can transfer weight from
your back to your hips. Unlike other backpacks-which have metal bars bent to fit your spine-the SmartStay's
internal structure varies in strength, flexibility, and
thickness, like your spine, to better distribute the
weight. www.vortexbackpacks.com

3. Your Personality: AV Junkie
Your Bag: Eagle Creek Matrix Symphonium ($225)
With a speaker tucked into each side pocket, your bag becomes your boom box when hooked up to a CD or MP3 player. Jacks are stored inside a Velcro sleeve so they won't be unintentionally disconnected. www.eaglecreek.com


4. Your Personality: Business Elite
Your Bag: Samsonite 625 Series Hardlite ICT ($140)
This 4.5-pound briefcase is as smart
as it looks. Place it upside down, and gravity pulls a small lever down to
prevent you from opening it. When upright, a switch limits its opening to 30 degrees. Available this month. www.samsonite.com/hardlite


5. Your Personality: Frequent Flier
Your Bag: Samsonite Ultra 3000 SideRoller Carry-On ($300)
Wheeled bags are great, but all but the slimmest get bogged down in the airplane aisle. The SideRoller's six-wheel design adds four side-rolling wheels for tight spaces. www.samsonite.com
MOBILE TECH TO THE RESCUE
Cold beer in a hot spot, dry kid in a sticky clime, clean water in a pinch.


1. Yuma, Arizona: Quick Cold One in the Hottest U.S. City
The Amazin' Beer Chiller cools beverages to 44