10 Obnoxious Travel Gadgets You Should Never, Ever Use
By Heidi Davis, Popular Mechanics, 8 September 2014.
By Heidi Davis, Popular Mechanics, 8 September 2014.
There is no privacy, no hot towels, and no special treatment when you fly coach. And awful airplane gadgets only make it worse. Ditching these 10 annoying travel devices will go a long way to help us all get along at 35,000 feet. Sorry, Skymall.
1. Knee Defender
The recent run of throw-downs at 30,000 feet started with the Knee Defender. After a man used the device to prevent the passenger in front of him from reclining her seat, a fight broke out that led the pilots to divert the Newark to Denver flight to Chicago.
Knee Defender is the airplane equivalent of putting a boot on your neighbour's car. The device comes with a "courtesy card" explaining to the passenger in front of you why you felt the need to lock their seat into a permanently upright and locked position. How diplomatic. The things might as well come with a pair of brass knuckles. (Price: US$22)
2. Create-A-Space
Create-A-Space addresses the age-old issue of who gets the arm rest by providing a dividing line right down the middle. In theory, now that each half is clearly defined, everyone should be happy. In reality, when you create a space, you're also creating an enemy. (Price: US$40)
3. EZ Sleep Travel Pillow
The EZ Sleep Travel Pillow is for those passengers that like to sleep and who don't mind doing so at the detriment of others. Because, really, who wouldn't want to sit in a confined space with a miniature swimming pool float stuck in their face? You might not be sleeping for long. (Price: US$20)
4. Banana Bunker
I'm guessing the name "Banana Hammock" was already taken? The Banana Bunker is a contraption that protects your banana from getting smushed while in your carry-on. Which raises the question: Do you really need a banana so badly that you'll carry around an extra weird gadget for it? Opt for a heartier fruit. Apples don't need carrying cases. Oranges come with their own. (Price: US$7)
5. Ostrich Pillow
Is it a hat? A pillow? The fine folks at Studio Banana have combined the two to create the unique and unbelievably ugly Ostrich Pillow. You would look less like an idiot if you just buried your head in the sand. (Price: US$99)
6. Travel Bidet
This is by far the most discreet gadget on our list. Still, if you're so high maintenance you've got to travel with one of these things, then I can't believe you would ever step foot inside a filthy airplane bathroom in the first place. (Price: US$35)
7. Flatulence Filter
Though the GasBGon Flatulence Filter Seat Cushion was invented as a courtesy to others, though one wonders just how much a carbon filter stuffed inside a pillow can take - especially on longer flights - frequent travellers should memorize these fabric patterns and be forewarned: If the passenger next to you has one of these tucked under his arm, you're in for a bumpy ride. (Price: US$25)
8. Rufus Roo The BIG POCKET Travel Jacket
Let Grandma think she's getting one over on the FAA by wearing this ever-expanding jacket-vest. That is, until she realizes she needs to squeeze her sumo wrestler circumference into an 18-inch economy seat. Bad Idea, Nana. (Price: US$49 to US$59)
9. Personal Air Purifier
Nowadays, air purifiers are a must for your home. But when you consider that the human sneeze can fire particulates at speeds upwards of 200 mph and contain 200 million virus particles, it's hard to imagine the personal air purifier offering anything other than moral support in the cabin of a plane. You also look like a dork, though that's the price you pay for the placebo effect. (Price: US$80)
10. Solar Visor
Whether you're a vacationing celebrity trying to defeat the paparazzi or planning to dress as a welder for Halloween, the Solar Face Shield UV Protection Visor has got you covered…literally. All the sun protection with none of the greasy sunblock. As much fun as it is to walk around looking like Dark Helmet, maybe just stick with a nice pair of dark sunglasses instead? (Price: US$16 to US$29)
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