GO GADGETS:MY BACK STILL hurts from the last time I helped my mother-in-law with her luggage. Her suitcase is bigger than she is, and its bulge calls to mind one of those Discovery Channel documentaries where a python swallows a goat. It once weighed close to 50kg, which was so far above the baggage allowance that the check-in staff made her empty about half of its contents on the spot.
It gets worse coming back, when she realises that all the clothes she bought on holidays won't fit into her case. The Flylite travel range (€20-€32) is for people like her: the range of lightweight nylon bags zip into compact flat pouches that weigh less than a kilo, they're small enough to slip unnoticed into your suitcase, and they expand to 25-, 44- or 84-litre capacities when you need extra storage space for the return trip.
The bags are coated on the inside to stop moisture getting in (or out). www.flylite.uk.com, 00-44-844-7365325
FROM LEAN BAGS to green ones. Many of the materials used to make the Osprey ReSource series of daypacks are recycled, and the company is shortly to release a bag made from 70 per cent recycled material. They're fine packs, too - the 32-litre Circuit (above) features a padded laptop sleeve, padded straps, an MP3-player holder, mesh sleeves and a "leave no trace" patch to remind you to put your rubbish back in your bag. www.53degreesnorth.ie, www.ospreypacks.com