Our subscriber base has grown so much since we first started eight years ago, that most of you have missed all our earliest recommendations. The best of these are still valid and useful, so we’re trying out something new — Retro Recomendo. Once every 6 weeks, we’ll send out a throwback issue of evergreen recommendations focused on one theme from the past 9 years. Travel tip:The cheapest bargain of any overseas vacation is the $25 you might pay for a good travel guidebook, so I always get the latest version. It is better organized and often better researched than online forums. And I have no qualms about cutting it up. I get the large country-scale guide, and then with a razor blade knife I excise only the portions I could possibly use. Then I staple and bind with clear packing tape for very durable, and lightweight, thin booklets. — KK Best bicycle tour bagsThe best way to tour somewhere, IMHO, is via bicycle. E-bikes make that even easier these days. For overnight touring, you’ll need some bags (panniers). The blueribbon panniers are classic Ortlieb dry bags. Each is a roomy, rubberized single bag (no dividers or pockets) that seals off at the top to provide an absolutely waterproof container. Not cheap, but because of their simplicity they will last a lifetime. After 2,000 miles of use, I am very attached to mine, in bright yellow. — KK Women’s travel kitI recently visited my grandmother in Mexico, and the first thing I packed was my pStyle, which helps women pee while standing. It was the perfect travel tool for Mexico, where most public bathrooms have no toilet seat and you have to pay for toilet paper. There was no mess, it was easy to use, and I just attached it to my purse in one of these discreet carrying cases. — CD Collapsible water bottleYou aren’t allowed to bring a bottle of water past airport security, and the bottled water sold at airport convenience stores is expensive. But many airports now have filtered water dispensers. I keep a collapsible water bottle in my travel bag. It rolls up to a tiny size and weighs nothing. Free water, what a concept! — MF Water bottle slingFor walks and short hikes, I’ve been leaving my daypack behind in favor of this ChicoBag water bottle sling. It’s convenient and comfortable to wear, and it even has a large pocket for my phone and keys. It folds up and takes up no space, so I just carry it with me at all times. — CD Maximum baggage for basic economy“Basic economy” is the cheapest way to fly on United. You don’t get to select your seat and you can’t check any bags or even bring a standard carry-on bag without paying extra. You are allowed one personal item, measuring 17x10x9" or less. That’s smaller than most backpacks and is an unusual size. Here’s a small duffel with those exact measurements. It’s big enough for a couple of changes of clothes, toiletries, electronics, and a laptop. (Here is a similar bag for Spirit) — MF Recomendo is an authentic, hand-crafted, human-written weekly newsletter that is free, but not cheap. Consider supporting our work with a paid option, now at the low price of $45 per year. Paid subs enable us to keep making it free for others. Recomendo is published by Cool Tools Lab, a small company of three people. We also run the Cool Tools website, a YouTube channel and podcast, and other newsletters, including Gar’s Tips & Tools, Nomadico, What’s in my NOW?, Tools for Possibilities, Books That Belong On Paper and Book Freak. Recomendo Unclassified Ads work! Reach over 115,000 subscribers for just $200. UNCLASSIFIEDS Pets can't tell you what's wrong—but we can. At Sage Veterinary Imaging, pets get human-quality MRI & CT scans for precise answers. People travel from all over to our Round Rock, TX center for expert diagnostics. Learn more at SageVeterinaryImaging.com. How I broke my guitar plateau: TrueFire's videos reveal pro techniques from multiple angles. Slow-mo features & synced notation make complex parts digestible. 1,500+ courses, all styles. 14-day free trial. Get smarter about AI in 5 min. Our free newsletter makes you smarter about AI and teaches you how to leverage AI to become more productive. The Deep View is read by 450,000+ including professionals from OpenAI, Google, Meta, and Nvidia. Don’t panic and carry a towel! The new audiobook Douglas Adams: The Ends of the Earth celebrates the wisdom of the scifi author with never-before-heard materials and interviews with collaborators like Stephen Fry and David Baddiel. Get 20% off when you pre-order with code DA20. Recomendo is copyrighted by Cool Tools Lab, LLC. Commissions may be earned from the links above. |