Forbes story on "High-Tech Travel Gear"

International travelers can bank on comfort, safety and connectedness to the world back home with the 12 product picks from my story this week on ForbesTraveler, “High-Tech Travel Gear.” This piece covers a subgenre of gear that’s emerged from the outdoors, technology and travel-goods industries to serve globetrotters who go deep into new cultures on their own.

Take the Marine 3000 first-aid kit as one example. This $795 package made by Adventure Medical Kits is designed for trips where adventurers might be several days from medical help. It comes stocked with dozens of tools and components to treat almost any malady — suture syringe and urinary catheter included.

Other over-the-top items are made less for emergencies, more for comfort. The iWear AV920 is a futuristic “video eyewear” product from Vuzix Corp. that positions a virtual 62-inch display screen on the bridge of your nose. Plug it to your iPod for instant, private eyelevel video.

Somewhat more practical is Research in Motion’s upcoming BlackBerry Bold, a satin-chrome smartphone that comes with integrated GPS to support location-based applications and services — no matter your location on the globe. A built-in two-megapixel camera gives your handheld photography a resolution boost.

Click here for the list of 12 high- and low-tech items that make international endeavors simpler, safer —and, yes, even more comfortable. . .

http://www.forbestraveler.com/gadgets-gear/high-tech-traveler-gear-story.html