Packing on weight

Flying the friendly skies this holiday season? Well, if you’re trying to pack it all in, and avoid the “skyway robbery” of baggage fees, a startup called Baubax has your solution. Its new line of jackets and hoodies allows you to turn your carry-on into weary-on (sorry.)

Its best-selling bomber travel jacket, which actually is not half bad looking, especially by Durango fashion standards, touts 15 features. Among these are a handy inflatable neck pillow in the hood; a built-in eye mask (for when you want to fake sleeping to avoid a pesky neighbor); a bevy of secret pockets, including ones for your tablet, phone, earbuds and eyeglasses; built in hand-warmers; special blanket holder (blankets not included); and even a pen/stylus that doubles as a zipper pull. But perhaps our most favorite feature is the chest-mounted drink holder for when you need to set your beer down to retrieve your ID or put your hands up for an impromptu wanding (especially handy for those Vegas flights.) 

According to the California-based company, its the most-funded clothing project in the history of crowdfunding, with more than 55,000 jacket-backers. The jackets are available for men and women in the aforementioned bomber as well as windbreaker, blazer and hoodie formats. They also come in a respectable array of colors, so as to avoid the dreaded “black suitcase” debacle in crowded spaces if you happen to put your jacket down. (Which, from reviews, you might need to do – when fully loaded, the jackets are rumored to rival Hulk status.)

The jackets are available for sale on the company’s website, www.baubax.com, and are currently marked down from their mark up, to $149.99. Shipping is free, and if you order now, you just might be lucky enough to use it during the holiday travel mayhem. In which case, the drink holder will likely get lots of use.