Get some smooth in your move

THE OUTDOOR sports gear and apparel from American brand North Face have been a hit with Thais for a decade. Now Thai Outdoor Sport has expanded the line with ideal companion items for travellers. It’s opened a shop called Smart Travel, a sister to Action Perfect, on the third floor of Siam Discovery, next door to the North Face goodies. 

The range of well-designed travel gear is astonishing – duffel bags and backpacks, lightweight sleeping bags and travel sheets, no-drip travel tubes for holding your shampoo and liquid soap, survival necessities and even parachute-cord bracelets.

“People these days travel a lot to gain a greater understanding of the world and they need travel gear that’s lightweight but also comfortable,” says assistant product manager Thanakorn Anantachaorensuk. “So we import the brands whose products make travel easy.”

For innovative and durable luggage and other kinds of travel bags, American brand Eagle Creek lets you maximise your packing space. The ultra-light, wheeled Morphus suitcase is two full-size bags in one. Zip the front gear bag off the shell and you have a second carry-on-size bag complete with compartments and built-in security.

There’s also four-wheel luggage, lightweight duffel bags and totes that are useful when you need extra space for all the souvenirs you pick up along the way. “Eagle Creek’s best-seller is the packing folder – it’s always out of stock quickly,” says Thanakorn. “It’s perfect for business trips. It keeps your clothes neat and wrinkle-free. The 18-inch size holds eight to 12 shirts or pairs of trousers and fits inside most carry-on bags.”

To ensure a decent sleep while on the road, Cocoon’s travel sheets, liners, sleeping bags, blankets and towels of various material and functions are great. The 290-gram micro-fibre travel sheet dries fast and, while thin, guarantees another three degrees of warmth. The micro-fibre towels are available in three sizes and soak up four times their weight in water. They’re packed in tiny mesh sacks.

Approved as airline carry-on bags, Humangear’s GoToob can hold all the liquids you need while travelling, like shampoos and body washes. It’s made of durable silicone that’s still pliable enough so you can squeeze out the contents, and has a no-drip valve. 

For your medicinal pills, Humangear’s GoCup is a collapsible cup with a pillbox built in. The silicon cup expands and collapses with a quick pull. Volume markings on the cup help you keep track of any fluid content by measure.

In the event of emergencies – and you never know – the paracord survival kit from another US brand, Chums, takes the form of bracelets and key rings made from parachute cord. The Rainier paracord bracelet is a flexible, comfortable braid of nearly three metres of parachute cord. The side-release buckle detaches safely in an emergency but otherwise stays firmly in place. Chums also has a cotton T-shirts, bags and hats that were designed in Japan. 

Smart Travel also stocks waterproof bags and other accessories from Stream Trail, a wide range of water bottles by Sigg and Camelbak, and Klean Kanteen’s stainless steel insulated bottles that claim to keep liquids hot for six hours or iced for 24 hours.

 

 

STOP HERE, THEN GET GOING

>>Smart Travel is on the third floor of Siam Discovery.

>>It’s open daily from 10 to 10. 

>>Call (02) 658 0322.