What do travelers really want? Aside from airline tickets to Bora Bora or a white-water ride on the Zambezi River, finding gifts for travelers can be as imponderable as the whereabouts of Michael Jackson.
Should it be a gadget or a suitcase? Language tapes or guidebooks? Water purifier or travel diary?Well, we don't know either. So we asked these experts: Magellan's, a Santa Barbara mail-order company that specializes in travel-related gadgets and luggage; as well as Traveler's Bookcase in Los Angeles and Travel Emporium in Woodland Hills, stores chock full of travel accessories and books. We also polled SkyMall, the in-flight shopping catalog distributed on 14 airlines, for the most popular items travelers are snapping up this holiday season. And, for good measure, we threw in some stuff that haphazardly crossed our desk and looked like fun.
So, here's the best and the brightest.
Suitcases and gadgets
Magellan's, whose slogan is "essentials for the international traveler," lists the following most popular suitcases, packs and other sundry items.
Rollaboard Bag - $149. Jack McManus, president of Magellan's, says this has been the company's most popular piece of luggage since it was introduced in 1991. The soft-sided bag has built-in wheels that allow you to wheel it right onto the plane - all in carry-on bag size. Yes, it's the one designed by flight crews.
Quoin Suit-Paq - $149. A Cordura-nylon (the stuff backpacks are made of) garment bag that also fits under your airline seat. Separate pockets and compartments store bulkier items like cosmetics and shoes.
Sidekick Pouch - $28.85. A shoulder bag that converts to a waist pack, it has many compartments and a locking front panel for valuable documents, passport, etc.
Wallaby Trip Kit - $27.85. Don't know where it got that funky name, but this case for cosmetics and miscellaneous bits and pieces has three compartments and a hook to hang it when you get to your destination.
Door Stop Alarm - $9.75. A 6-inch-long doorstop wedge that emits a shrill alarm when your hotel door is opened. Could be embarrassing if you forget to remove it when room service arrives.
"Expo II" Travel Alarm - $12.85. While Magellan has many different travel clocks, this one is most popular. Gives a large digital display and runs on a AAA battery.
Security wallets and pouches - $4.85-$34.85. Everything from a "bra stash" pouch ($4.85, but how do you discretely get to your money?) to a shoulder holster pouch ($14.85; $34.85 for leather) to a money belt ($11.95).
PentaPure Travel Cup - $24.85. A cup-size water filter that claims to destroy "virtually 100 percent of all water-borne bacteria, viruses and protozoa," providing protection from diarrhea, giardia, salmonella, dysentery, cholera and other diseases. Just pour contaminated water through the unit on top of the cup. Good for about 100 gallons.
Among Magellan's newest items are the following.
Personal Safety Alarm - $12.75. A hand-size device that emits a 115-decibel siren at the pull of a pin.
Duram Escape Hood - Based on the principle that in an airplane crash, it's smoke, not impact, that kills, the hood forms a snug seal around your neck and filters fume-laden air.
Books and videos
Priscilla Ulene of Traveler's Bookcase in Los Angeles also counts a neck rest ($6.50) and the Travel Pro Rollaboard Carry On ($150) among the best-sellers. Soome of the most popular books are:
"Ultimate Adventure Sourcebook" by Paul McMenamin (Turner; $29.95) provides information and sources for trips from white-water rafting to safaris to hang gliding.
"Food Lover's Guide to Paris" by Patricia Wells (Workman; $14.95) tells all - from finding the flakiest croissants in the City of Lights to the best bistros.
New items include:
"Eyewitness Travel Guides" (Houghton-Mifflin; $24.95 each), a new series of comprehensive guidebooks to Paris, Rome, London and New York.
"Atlas of the World" by Hammond ($65) is as up-to-date as possible in this ever-changing world.
International dolls with a book and travel case (about $40) is for young travelers. Available in Italian, French, Asian, Mexican, Australian and British sets.
Shopping in the sky
SkyMall, a 118-page in-flight catalog distributed on 14 airlines, reports the Doggie Bomber Jacket ($29.95) made of imitation leather with embroidered shoulder pads is among its top-selling items for the year, but it didn't make the hottest holiday purchases based on sales from Oct. 1 to Dec. 3.
Harley Davidson Telephone - $89.95. Spokeswoman Marcia Flint says it's this year's hottest seller. Last year's leather Harley jacket topped the list.
Pimsleur Spanish Tapes - $245 per set. "I'm thinking this is a NAFTA thing. They offer all languages, but this is the most popular series," Flint says.
Rolodex Personal Planner - $79.95. It's an electronic telephone and address book as well an appointment calendar with 48K memory.
Travelers Golf Bag - $199.95. Meets standards for hard-sided check-in luggage and has compartments for clothes or golf shoes. No need to box those clubs any more.
Bits and pieces
These are some products that we either received in the mail or heard about from travelers who are more sophisticated than we are.
The Biddlestick - $19.95.This is one item no traveler can claim to have gotten in last year's stocking - it came out this year. Developed by John Biddle, the 15-inch grip pole screws into the bottom of your camcorder to act as a stabilizer. The result? Fewer shakes and jumps in your home videos. To order, contact John Biddle, Film & Video, Inc., Box 385, Jamestown, R.I. 02835; (401) 423-1682.
Automap Road Atlas - software for Windows, $99.95; upgrade packs for existing Automap Road Atlas users for Dos or Windows, $39.95. If you know what you're doing, this software allows you to plan and print out routes on freeways, calculate gas consumption, and locate interesting attractions on your IBM personal computer or clone. "Destination Europe" and "Destination Ski" can be added on. If you can't find Automap products in your software store, you can order them from Broderbund Software Inc., at (800) 440-6277.
Gift certificates - Refuge of the shopping impaired, gift certificates are an easy out for tough-to-please people on your list. Southwest Airlines offers certificates available in $10, $25 and $50 denominations that are good for a year. Call (800) 248-4377. Alamo Rent A Car has three types of certificates: cash value in increments of $25, $50, $75 or $100; guaranteed-rate certificates that allow you to "give" a particular size car for a selected number of days; and confirmation certificates, which allow you to pick the size car, number of days and rental dates in advance.
Other airlines, car-rental agencies and hotels may have similar gift-certificate programs - it never hurts to ask.