

Sea to Summit Ultra Sil Day Pack
[Short of time? Read the Haiku review instead] I never carry a day pack when I travel long-term; I wear cargo trousers with capacious pockets. They must be big enough to accommodate a Lonely Planet Shoestring Guide, my notebook & pen, camera, sunglasses, small-denomination currency and a can of hawker-repellent. An unwieldy day pack is just another thing to carry, lose or be relieved of during a moment’s inattention buying bus tickets. Plus, with a full pack on your back the


Snow Peak Titanium Spork
[Short of time? Read the Haiku review instead] Anyone who was travelling in the autumn of 2001 has a 9/11 story. It’s the ‘where-were-you-when-JFK-was-shot’ quiz of the 21st century. I imagine for most travellers the slow filtration of information hours, or even days after the incident, was a rude burst of real life interrupting their unreal on-the-road existence, although I met one guy who had just arrived in Afghanistan when it happened, and left very shortly afterwards. Fo