OHSO Presto: Read JS Review | Buy It ($7-$9)
The world’s sexiest toothbrush gets a colorful remake in bright, see-through colors. It’s a good idea to give it to a girlfriend or regular couch-crasher who gets creeped out by your slimy toothpaste tube. The OHSO Presto comes out after the holidays, but their other equally brilliant brushes are on sale now.

Tom Bihn Checkpoint Flyer Briefcase: Read JS Review | Buy It ($220)
This Checkpoint Flyer Briefcase might possibly be the perfect laptop bag. It makes the airport security process a bit less painful with a removable, clear pocket for a laptop and a separate compartment for everything else.

Total Sao Paulo: A Guide to the Unexpected ($27)
From what you’ve read from my reports on JoshSpear.com about Sao Paulo, this fascinating city is becoming a hot South American destination. Total Sao Paulo: A Guide to the Unexpected (Unhinged Jaw Press) is a guidebook written by yours truly and presents the metropolis’ best gems, from hidden bars to a church full of wax skulls. It comes out April 2009 — a perfect raincheck present.

Modofly Moleskines: Read JS Review | Buy It ($36)
A Moleskine is a necessary part of any traveler’s tool kit. Modofly ups the ante with their neat, laser-etched Moleskine notebooks in multiple sizes with hot new cover art.

Urbane Nomads: Read JS Review | Buy It
For those who’ve traveled to every corner of the earth, Urbane Nomads promises to put together an itinerary that will blow away minds — from a safari in Burma to tasting cheesecake in a bakery owned by a Malaysian ex-premier. Hands down, there is no better gift than one of adventure … if you can afford it, that is.

Muji To Go @ JFK: Read JS Review | Buy It
So you just flew in on the international red eye and realized it’s Christmas Eve day. First, it’s probably time for a vacation. Second, there’s Japan’s favorite minimalist necessity store in Terminal 5 of JFK in New York. Now you can fill your son/daughter/nephew’s stocking without them being the wiser. But be prepared to answer questions about Japanese Santa.

If you’re looking for a practical bag for your laptop that doesn’t skimp on style, there’s a good chance you can find something in Tom Bihn’s vast array of potent portables. His latest creation, the Checkpoint Flyer Laptop Briefcase, is the fruit of five months of some serious design labor in response to the Transit Security Authority’s challenge to create a “checkpoint friendly” case to transport your precious wares. These suave satchels remove the hassle for both you and the security guard by allowing them to get a clean shot at the contents of your carry-on by keeping your laptop in a separate protective compartment and leaving the rest of your gear undisturbed as it passes through their x-ray machine. The bag is available in sizes accommodating most Apple laptops and also many PCs.

Josh has been a big fan of the Tom Bihn line of bags for some time now, and I recently was blessed with the opportunity to add one to my collection. I opted for the mid-sized ‘Ego‘ and it’s shaping up to be the perfect commuter bag– Josh has been using the larger and more travel savvy ‘Super Ego‘ since 05, and he’s in love with it. My Ego has less cargo room than, but all the amenities of its big brother. As a bonus– a little piece of mind that my Black Book is safe and sound– I added a protective ‘Brain Cell’ to my kit for my laptop. The Brain Cell cradles your ‘baby’ in soft foam padding, and when inserted into your bag, sits suspended in a hard corrugated plastic insert that protects from all sides, remaining minimalist and lightweight . Finally, Tom has made the new Ego individualistic by offering plethora of interchangeable colored strips (’cork’ is shown above)– they also have some limited edition patterns that early birds can get their hands on. I’m going to have to echo Josh’s sentiment about the Super Ego and give the Ego + Brain Cell a “special JS nod of approval.”

By now you all know the drill– my picks ‘From the Vaults’ of our travel goodies! Should be something here for everyone on your list. Bon Voyage!

• Inside Out Guidebooks: The Inside Out Guide Book series from Rand McNally is pretty much the Swiss Army knife of travel guides…Continue Reading

• Tumi: Ultra Slim Power Adaptors: We love our Tumi Adaptors– when we travel you're hard pressed to find us leave home without them. They just introduced an ‘ultra-slim' design, even more compact than before… Continue Reading

• Tom Bihn: The Arechtype: When the MacBook Pro's came out, our friends over at Tom Bihn were the first to the scene with a stylish, functional and properly-sized laptop case… Continue Reading

• OHSO Travel Toothbrush:The OHSO travel tooth brushes made quite the rumble when I posted them back in May– but unfortunately they weren't even out yet… Continue Reading

• Tom Bihn: Super Ego Bag: I've been heavily testing a bag I received from Tom Bihn a few months ago– they call it the Super Ego… Continue Reading

• Chrome Bags: If you are in the market for a serious, hard-core messenger bag, then look no further than Chrome Bags… Continue Reading

When the MacBook Pro’s came out, our friends over at Tom Bihn were the first to the scene with a stylish, functional and properly-sized laptop case. The larger size and additional .2 inches of the MacBook Pro’s width quickly turned my entire laptop case collection from my previous Power Book’ completely obsolete. This case, The Arechtype, is uniquely fitted with ‘Genuine Cork Fabric’ (it’s much more believable than you can see in any photograph) still remains one of our favorites. I’m often stopped with it asking if it’s real wood. Splash proof zippers, molded plastic handles and 8mm of dense, closed-cell foam keeps your Macbook protected to the max. Made in Seattle, Tom Bihn continues to impress us with awesome bags, superior customer service and fabulous attention to detail.

This beautiful masterpiece is a part of the original Jack Spade Warren Street collection. In my never ending search for the perfect messenger bag, I think I have determined just having one wont do the trick. I recently added this classy bag, The Field Bag in waxwear to my esteemed messenger bag collection. It has a few separate interior pockets, exterior pocket and adjustable shoulder strap. It’s extremely basic but the craftsmanship is top notch. It’s available in a few other colors materials, my second favorite being the chocolate suede.

More Messenger Bags I Love: Tom Bihn’s Super Ego, Tumi Flow Messenger Bag

I’ve been heavily testing a bag I received from Tom Bihn a few months ago– they call it the Super Ego. I’d definitely use the word ‘Super’ to describe this bag– it’s the most versatile, rugged, and usable bag I’ve ever tried. It has splash proof zippered pockets, an enormous front pocket packed with compartments for organizing every accessory I could think of. It has places for water bottles on the sides, and secure zipper pockets inside for valuables. The real kicker with this bag is that it has a back zippered compartment large enough to hold a laptop, four books, a dozen magazines, your pillow, a few LP’s and lunch. I tried several times, unsuccessfully, to fill this bag up. I’m probably making it sounds enormous, but I assure you it fits ‘underneath the seat in front of you’. It has a nice padded shoulder strap as well as a waist buckle to take some weight off your shoulders. The Super Ego isn’t a ’school bag’ or a small messenger bag for a few papers– it’s truly built for travel. It’s also really customizable with lots of color and feature options. This is an all around excellent bag, I give it a special JS nod of approval!