A Few of My (Mostly) Favorite Things

Gear Review Interlude

Dateline: Chris

Here's a little interlude to talk about some of the stuff we've had on our trip, and whether we (I) think it's good, meh or bad.

Volkswagen Polo Diesel (our rental car we took from Dubrovnik to Montenegro) - 

The Volkswagen Polo is like a less in every way version of the Alfa Romeo Giulietta I reviewed a few weeks ago. It's a competent car, it gets great gas mileage, but unlike the Alfa, it never lets you forget it's a diesel and the gearing often seemed off in a way that made the car want to rumble. It had a less good stereo and you had to crank the rear windows. This was a replacement value European rental car. Verdict? MEH.

Peugeot 308 Wagon Diesel (Our rental car for our Dubrovnik to Split adventure) - 

The Peugeot 308 (which proudly said it was the car of the year on its lift gate) is good at everything you want a car to do. It was comfortable, it had a terrific engine, it did not suffer from the Polo's problem of too-tall gears, it had lots of room, it had a good electronics and it was always willing to pass whatever was in front of it. If you like an Audi A4 Avant, this car is similar but better. A normal person would probably like this one best, but I still prefer the Alfa. Verdict? GOOD!

The Opel (AKA Vauxhall) Corsa Petrol (Our rental car for our big road trip, Dubrovnik to Plitviče to Ljubljana to Budapest to Vienna) - 

Opel is a European GM brand, some of whose cars are sold in the United States as Buicks. The Opel Corsa is like a slightly crappier VW Polo with, in our case, sadly, a petrol engine. Like if you were to rent a GM car from a rental agency in the United States, a GM rental car in Europe is likely to be a drab affair. While we all fit into it with our bags well enough, and it was reasonably comfortable, it was low on the sort of thoughtful touches and comforts that make all the difference in a car you actually own. Worst, especially for us, was the gasoline engine that was far weaker and offered far lower fuel economy than we enjoyed in our diesel cars. To top it off, diesel is almost always cheaper in Europe. We even tried to see if Sixt would let us switch our car in Ljubljana; they said no. Verdict? BAD. Sixt ALSO BAD.

Apple MacBook Retina, 12-inch, Early 2016 (1.1 GHz Intel Core m3, 8MB RAM)

Jen has her handy work MacBook Air 13", but we needed a second computer if only for Otis to do homework on. Shortly before we left, we received a gift of the early 2016 version of the Apple MacBook Retina 12" laptop in space grey. I chose it for its smaller size and figured its lack of moving parts and only two ports (USB C and 3.5mm headphone jack) would make it less vulnerable to travel mishaps. So far it has proved just big enough to work on and it seems to me is the perfect balance of portability and workability. The screen is terrific and performance hasn't left me wanting yet. I give it especially high marks for being light enough to hold at eye level while lying in bed during important Denver Bronco games, which are so far available on American DirecTV by using Private Internet Access VPN, which we bought for added security when using shared wifi on the road. Don't tell the NFL. Verdict? GOOD. Private Internet Access VPN? ALSO GOOD.

Billabong Men's Crossfire X Submersible Short

Jen found the Billabong Men's Crossfire X online and suggested I get them as my bathing suit. As it turns out, they're my favorite bathing suit and my favorite short, if only because they fit me better (I think I got a 1" narrower waist than I did my other pants and shorts). They dry quickly and don't look like I've necessarily been at the water park all day if I wear them around town. I wish they were maybe an inch or two shorter, as they come down just to above my kneecap. Verdict? GOOD.

prAna Men's Brion Short

I also purchased the prAna Men's Brion Short and find them to work very similarly to the Billabong Crossfires. I think they're a little more comfortable and I think the pockets might be a little better, but I prefer the Crossfires for their better fit, which probably isn't prAna's fault, I just needed a smaller size. Verdict? GOOD.

Sierra Designs DriCanvas Short

My last pair of purchased travel shorts are the Sierra Designs DriCanvas Shorts, which are thicker than the prAna or Billabong shorts, and are definitely more of a short and less of a bathing suit than the other two. The DriCanvas are almost 60% cotton, so while they dry faster than normal shorts, they don't dry as fast as the other two which are all or nearly all synthetic. They are rugged and comfortable. Verdict? Good.