Travel gifts to give this holiday

Here’s a briefcase that’s got your back and your tablet as well. The Pelican ProGear U140 Urban Elite Tablet Backpack has a hard-sided latching case built in, which is designed to shield your tablet from the rigors of travel. Besides that case, it has a pocket for your office gear and another where cords and chargers will snuggle right in. Because of the hard-sided case, the pack weighs about 6 1/2 pounds, so it’s no lightweight. This backpack says it’s designed for netbooks, but measure first; my 11.6-inch netbook did not fit.

Info: $259.95, http://www.pelicanprogear.com

—C.H.  (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)

The sleek Delsey Helium Aero carry-on is the “it” bag for a weekend getaway. The 100% polycarbonate construction means the case is durable and lightweight — a measly 8.4 pounds —and easy to maneuver up and down stairs or in and out of the overhead bin. The case can expand up to 2 inches to accommodate your shopping spree, and the double spinner wheels mean it can roll easily alongside you. The Helium Aero also comes in 25- and 29-inch sizes and is available in titanium, cobalt blue and red.

Info: Carry-on, $300; 25- and 29-inch cases, $400 and $450, respectively. http://www.delsey.com

—Anne Harnagel  (Richard Derk / Los Angeles Times)

Airbac backpacks are outfitted with a built-in air cushion that protects your camera and other tech gear — as well your back — from the bumping and jostling you encounter while traveling. You need only inflate the cushion, using a standard hand pump, to your desired level of comfort and lumbar support. I tried two: The smaller Zoom, part of the Airbac photography line, weighs about 3 pounds and has six sturdy padded compartments to hold your camera equipment. The under-seat-size Airtech travel backpack weighs about 3 1/2 pounds and has a thickly padded sleeve to hold your laptop, as well as two roomy compartments and zippered pouches in which to stash the rest of your travel gear.

Info: Zoom, $99.99; Airtech, $89.99. http://www.airbac.com

—A.H.  (Richard Derk / Los Angeles Times)

RuMe’s colorful luggage tags, made from recycled aluminum, do more than distinguish your bag from all the other black bags on the luggage carousel. On the back of each tag is a QR, or Quick Response, code and a URL. To register your contact information, you scan the QR code with your smartphone or log into the URL. If your bag is lost, the finder scans the tag’s QR code or enters the URL to locate you. RuMe’s anonymous third-party email link allows the finder to reach you without disclosing your personal information. Each luggage tag contains a unique QR code pattern and URL address; the printed image won’t chip or fade.

Info: $14.95, http://www.rumeid.com

—A.H.  (Richard Derk / Los Angeles Times)

On the road, I miss things that make home home. Sounds silly, but my sonic toothbrush is one of them. In the war against excess weight (I mean the bag, not me), the big sonic toothbrush, about 71/2 ounces, stays home. But now, I’ve found a Violight, a 1 1/2-ounce thing of beauty that resembles a long lipstick tube and comes in a variety of pop-artish colors. It runs on one AAA battery.

Info: $14.95, http://www.violight.com

—C.H.  (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)

These ballet flats by Tieks may be the ideal travel shoe, just right for wearing on the airplane or padding around in your hotel room. The shoes, made of Italian leather, are lightweight — about 12 ounces — yet sturdy enough to wear outside. The split-sole design allows you to fold them in half and stash them in their compact pouch, then tuck in your purse or carry-on bag. Tieks come in 41 colors and patterns, but they had me at their jazzy turquoise soles.

Info: From $165, http://www.tieks.com

—A.H.  (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)

Why isn’t this under “Books”? Well, it’s more than that. To wit: I would have gotten all my work done the day “Safari” arrived, but I started playing with it, and soon time stood still because the book did not. It’s billed as a photicular book, and each page of this African animal book, created by Dan Kainen with text by Carol Kaufmann, has images that move so that rhino or zebra trots as slowly or as quickly as you like, just by wiggling those pages. It’s not electronic so it’s suitable for kids — of all ages.

Info: $24.95, http://www.workman.com

—C.H.  (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)

If space is no object and fashion is, think about a different headphone experience. I tried the iLuv ReF headphones with a red canvas exterior; they’re made for the iPod, iPhone and iPad and some Android devices and Kindle, among others. The musical experience was rich and, best of all, the phones blocked most of the noise that makes travel wearing. The only downside: My ears got hot. Seems a small price to pay for sanity and style.

Info: $129.99, http://www.iLuv.com

—C.H.  (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)

How many times are we told, “You don’t get to have it both ways”? Excuse me, but with the Polaroid Z2300 you do. This camera, which has a 6X digital zoom, gives you prints and 10-megapixel digital files. You put in the ZINK photo paper, take the picture and hit print. The prints aren’t huge (2 inches by 3 inches), but they do you tell you, in a way that digital sometimes can’t, whether the shot is a keeper. You can also shoot 720p HD video. The camera is clunkier than the digital models you’re used to, but it’s still fun in a cake-and-eat-it-too way.

Info: $159.99, http://www.polaroidstore.com

—C.H.  (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)

It takes a special person to like “Gross America.” Fortunately, among my friends and family, there are many who will enjoy Richard Faulk’s semi-encyclopedic book about such places as Leila’s Hair Museum in Independence, Mo. (which focuses on the Victorian practice of hair mourning art), the waste lagoons of eastern North Carolina and a statue to the Donner Party in Truckee, Calif. Well, I suppose it’s a matter of taste — the book, I mean.

Info: $13.95, http://www.penguingroup

—C.H.  (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)

In his foreword to “Food Lover’s Guide to the World,” James Oseland, editor of Saveur magazine, writes, “For me, there is no better way to understand a place — to literally get it inside you — than by eating its food. Through food, I always find my way.” In the lavishly illustrated pages of this coffee-table tome, you’ll find food and drink from a host of countries, recipes (pork vindaloo from India, bibimap from South Korea) and explanations of local foods unique to those places. There’s even an entry on California cuisine.

Info: $39.99, http://www.lonelyplanet.com

—C.H.  (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)

Not all of us are going to hike Ethiopia’s Simien Mountains, but that doesn’t mean we can’t dream about seeing its gelada baboons. In Lonely Planet’s “Great Adventures,” the reader is treated to a breathtaking array of travel experiences, illustrated with beautiful photography. From washing elephants in Thailand (which even a tame traveler could do) to driving El Camino de la Muerte (Road of Death) in Bolivia (which seems redundant for freeway-loving Californians), the book will have you reveling in the sheer variety of a world without chain restaurants and strip malls.

Info: $39.99, http://www.lonelyplanet

—C.H.  (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)

“SoCal Close-Ups: Your Vacation Guide,” by Christopher Reynolds and the Los Angeles Times, includes about 40,000 words of frank advice in an ebook or iPad app on hotels, restaurants, museums, bars, parks, beaches and shops in Los Angeles and Orange counties. The iPad app version, “Los Angeles Times SoCal Close-Ups” is a visual feast that combines text with about 600 photos and a dozen videos from Times photographers, breaking L.A. and Orange counties into 12 chapters.

Info: $4.99 for ebook; details at http://www.amzn.to/SePC3a. iPad app is 99 cents per chapter in Apple’s App store, http://www.bit.ly/Rjki6p  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)