Is the weight of the world on your shoulders? Ease the burden with Osprey’s aluminium-framed 58-litre Exos pack (€200, www.ospreypacks.com), which weighs 1.14kg – a featherweight for a decent-sized load-bearer. It has side-compression straps – which should squeeze it up nice and tight – reflective backing and loads of pockets, including one under the lid. A ventilated back harness lets air circulate between the pack and your back.
The collapsible travel cot from Phil Teds (€149, www.cleverclogs.ie), which is suitable for children aged up to three years old, folds up small enough to fit into an aircraft’s overhead luggage compartment. At two and a half kilos it’s lighter than many newborns. Includes a self-inflating mattress.
The Tom Tom XL IQ Route Europe edition (€230, www.tomtom.com) plots journeys based on the time of day and week, to avoid peak-hour traffic traps, with the spot-on ETAs determined by the journey times of other Tom Tom users over the years (with luck not the ones that stopped for coffee en route). The touchscreen is easy to use, and it’s simple to start over or go back should you accidentally double-tap while giving it an instruction. It’s also useful out of the car, as a walking-route function finds the quickest way to a destination on two feet.
aharvey@irishtimes.com