[keanej6]

hey all. my brother leaves again, and i won't be seeing him for good while. He's going to montreal for a few months then going to europe to travel/work/explore. I kind of want to get him something but i'm having trouble coming up with something good. initially i was going to give him money but i think it'd be cooler if i can give him something more meaningful. so i'm turning to you wayfarers for some suggestions. do any of you own something unconventional that you find to be incredibly handy/useful/awesome? he'll just be traversing around with his backpack so it'd have to be something light and small. my budget is around $100. thanks!

 

[J W]

headphones!

 

[keanej6]

heh as obvious of an answer that may be, he's the one who introduced me to this site. so needless to say he's ok in the phone department

 

[Uncle Erik]

How about a dopp kit? There are nice travel kits that will hold a toothbrush, razor, comb, and other grooming items. If he doesn't already have something like this, he'd be sure to get a lot of use from it.

 

[guyx1992]

leatherman

 

[Happy Camper]

Music.

 

[baka1969]

What about a GPS with maps for Canada and Europe?

 

[earthpeople]

Maybe a nice swiss army knife?

 

[etiolate]

Isn't there some kind of all you can ride train ticket? Maybe it's on a country per country basis, but check it out for the region he's goin to. (I could be wrong but I think this exists)

 

[keanej6]

thank you for your suggestions so far, but can people with maybe more experience traveling suggest things that they've personally found to be really handy to have. something that the average person wouldn't think of owning/having.... something unconventional.

for instance, my brother was thinking about buying a tent to have with him but was hesitant because he didn't want to lug it around and wasn't sure how much use it would get. so i suggested to get a hammock and then he stumbled on the hennessy hammock which is an enclosed hammock so he could use it like a tent. i was going to buy it for him, but i found out that he had already bought it! i had never known that a product like this existed. i guess i'm also asking for suggestions that i'd never heard or know about.

 

[keanej6]

^ rail passes are definitely out of my budget

 

[Landis]

If these are long trips that he brings a laptop on, you could always get him movies or TV shows to slap in there.

 

[baka1969]

Proper shoes/sneakers/sandals. I personally have Tevas that are extremely comfortable for long periods of time. Maybe he'll need a light hiking boot or even the Tevas I can't be sure, but the right pair(s) will be a very wise investment.

EDIT: Don't forget the adage 'Take care of your feet and they'll take care of you'.

 

[keanej6]

baka,you're absolutely right, but today he went out on a hike to try out his new hiking boots

as you can see my brother's a pain to shop for. please keep the suggestions coming!

 

[mark2410]

SOS emergency cell phone charger. Hand crank cellular phone charger.

or something of a similar nature