TRAVELING IN STYLE : Side Trips : Gear to Go

* Reading in bed in a hotel is hard enough; bedside lamps are either too bright or too dim, and they’re often poorly positioned. But try reading in bed when you’re camping out. No matter how you arrange your book, your flashlight and yourself, it’s just about impossible to hold a steady beam of light on your reading material while you prop yourself up in a sleeping bag. The light wavers, one arm freezes, the other one goes to sleep long before you’re ready to--and your camping companions probably hate you for all that thrashing about you’re doing. But Adventure-16’s Light Header solves the problem: A snappy black Velcro headband that holds a flashlight. An attached loop holds a mini-Magnalite or other flashlight in a position that focuses light exactly where your eyes are looking. It even works in hotel beds. The Light Header is available for $3.50 (band only) at Adventure-16 stores in West Los Angeles, Tarzana, Orange County, Solana Beach and San Diego.

* While sunglasses have long provided fashionable protection for the eyes, about the best protection for the nose, in bright sun anyway, has traditionally been gloppy white zinc oxide. Unfortunately, it looks pretty silly. Now, though, Shiseido has introduced a flesh-colored Sun Block Stick that is both water- and sand-resistant and offers a sun protection factor of 35. You’ll find it at the cosmetics counters of most major department stores, for about $18 per 7-milliliter stick.

* Quality of light is important during the day, too, and Revo, maker of high-end specialty sunglasses, has introduced the Traveler Collection: all-purpose sunglasses with color-enhancing lenses that filter out ultraviolet rays while admitting primary colors. The world thus looks brighter rather than dimmer. Revo also has a new line of polarized glasses called Neutral H20, especially popular with fishing and boating enthusiasts because they help them see better into the water to spot fish or rocks, while screening out the glare. Both series of glasses sell for about $200 per pair at Optical Outlook and Strictly Sunglasses stores all over Southern California, or call (800) FOR-REVO for other stores. * Traveling with a baby where sidewalks are uneven or nonexistent--whether in a park, on a trail or just in Silver Lake--has suddenly gotten a lot easier: Weebok, Reebok’s baby line, has just introduced its aerodynamically designed Multi Stroller, a three-wheel, all-terrain baby stroller that’s smaller than the jogging models on the market but features large, tough wheels like those of a mountain bike. (They’re 12 inches in diameter instead of the usual 4 or 8 inches.) The collapsible, lightweight Weebok Multi retails for about $250 in specialty children’s stores and some department stores; call (800) 541-7064 for location information.

* The Weather Travelpack, a pocket-sized guide to predicted weather conditions every month of the year in 50 major U.S. cities, is an invaluable tool for the American traveler. Developed by Weather Trends International, a prominent weather consulting firm, it’s $4.95 at all Nature Company stores, at Rand McNally: The Map and Travel Store in Costa Mesa and Glendale, and at selected other bookstores.

* And when travel means just a picnic outdoors, you can do it stylishly with Crate & Barrel’s new round picnic hamper. With an exterior of the traditional basket-weave wood slats and tall rather than wide, it’s easier to carry than the traditional square hamper (though it won’t hold as much food). Its Styrofoam liner lets it double as an ice chest. Exclusively at Crate & Barrel stores, $29.95.