Eight New Products That’ll Take The Travail Out Of Holiday Travel

First up for the month of July was an all-time favorite sneaker’s re-release and a watch that uses an unexpected power source to glow in the dark. Then, we previewed a new cold-brew maker, a more muscular Land Rover, and a Lego set with some bite. 

We’ve also looked at the right stuff to keep you on top of your game when getting back to the grind and previewed superlative solutions for when your fitness plans move indoors. 

This time around, we’re giving you a head start on how to take the travail out of holiday travel.

Tangle No More
If you want to watch a movie on a plane’s in-flight entertainment system, wired headphones are a necessary, if anachronistic, fact of life. JBL’s $300 Tour Pro 3 earbuds let you cut the cord once and for all: Plug the charging case into the headphone jack, and it will transmit the audio to your earbuds via Bluetooth. Adaptive noise cancellation and Spatial 360 head-tracking audio, controlled from the charging case’s color touchscreen, give you an immersive listening experience.

An Adventurer’s Best Friend
The $279 Micro Puff jacket from Patagonia has been updated with a new shell material made from a lightweight 100% postconsumer recycled nylon. Now it’s got the best warmth-to-weight ratio of any of the brand’s coats and the highest compressibility. Weighing 252 grams (8.9 ounces), it smushes down into its own pocket—making it an indispensable tool in the multiweather traveler’s portfolio.

Does Your Packing Stack Up?
Frequent flyers know luggage comes and goes, but the true organizational hack is the cube that goes inside. The most durable option out there, made with ballistic nylon instead of the usual polyester, comes from high-end travel workhorse Tumi, based in Edison, New Jersey. The company introduces a set of cubes in black and light mauve (pictured). The three sizes (from $95) range from about 10 inches to almost 18 inches wide and will keep shirts, dresses and socks neatly separated and folded. The small and large sizes also have a collapsible divider.

Turn Out Your Tote
Louis Vuitton’s $2,300 Neverfull has been a workhorse handbag for women on the go since it was released in 2007. This season it comes with a twist: The interior can be flipped inside out—revealing the pattern that’s normally hidden from view. The yellow canvas (left) and bright pink versions are the most fun.

The Ultimate Chill Pills
A first-to-market two‑layer design ultimately separates Noon’s $30 Chill Mushroom Gummy Delights (which begin shipping Nov. 12) from the rest of the adaptogen-flogging crowd. Calming green-tea-derived L‑theanine, stress-busting rhodiola and immunity-boosting mushrooms are concentrated in an inner section that preserves their bioactive compounds, while a mild, apple-flavored taste pervades throughout.

Keep the Fun Rolling
The poker-themed Balatro may be loaded on everyone’s phone these days, but backgammon will never run your battery down. The $6,200 Paris‑Louxor set from Hermès has a board made of supple, matte calfskin while its counters, dice and other pieces are made of carved mahogany and maple. It’s available at Hermès stores nationwide. 

Scents of Adventure
Feel like you’re in the Italian countryside with Seed to Skin’s new $207 travel companion kit. The owners of Tuscany’s Borgo Santo Pietro hotel—a sprawling 300-acre estate with olive groves and a working farm—are offering a travel-size shampoo with notes of bergamot, rosemary and lemon, a conditioner with thermal plankton and a soap made from matcha. (Available Nov. 1)

A Buzzy Bite
This limited-run $12 bittersweet Commune tea bar from Valerie Confections reimagines the classic flavors of chocolate and mint with an herbal hit from sencha green tea and botanicals including sage, peppermint and lemon peel.