Sling Bag

Topo Designs' clean one-strap backpack for comfier commuting

Topo Designs‘ newest addition to their line of heritage-inspired bags, the sling bag, has a slim profile designed for ease of use during daily commutes. The single shoulder strap handily slips on and off when you need it, while a small stabilizer strap keeps the bag stable while wearing it messenger-style. Functionally speaking, leather lash tabs and seatbelt webbing pull tabs on the back are …

Alternative Clocks

Seven unconventional clocks that tell more than time

Our pace and focus on the short-term these days seems to have surpassed the steady tick-tock of time passing. Groups like The Long Now Foundation aim to counteract this phenomenon by encouraging long-term thinking. To foster this world view—time as a series of years, one lined up after another and 10,000 more after that till infinity—computer scientist Danny Hillis proposed a monumental timepiece that “ticks …

Cash Passport

Travelex's chip-based card allows U.S. travelers greater freedom abroad

Since borrowing a London-based friend’s credit card in order to use the communal bike system in Paris a couple summers back, I’ve been curious about less-complicated solutions to the lack of “chip and PIN” credit card technology available in the States. Designed specifically for traveling Yankees, I recently started using the Cash Passport that Travelex launched late last year. The smart card not only gives …