Whatever happened to hitchhiking with a simple napsack?

Traveling light may still be en vogue, but long gone are the days of traveling simply. Oh no no. We cannot travel with the things we already own (gym duffels for suitcases etc)... no. That is entirely un-American in it's conservationism. We must own traveling gear, obviously. Things specifically for travel, whether it's suitcases or carry-ons, or travel-sized toiletries with accompanying baggies and neck pillows for the airplane etc. etc. The list goes on. You know what I'm talking about. And in fact, there is an entire industry built around these travel accessories.

However, I think these two take the idea of travel 'convenience' a bit far.

Tie Caddy

Wow, ya, wrinkly ties are a huge problem. When at home, this is usually remedied by the frequent washing/dry cleaning of them after a day's use. And traveling/sitting in an airplane chair is really hard on the tie..... wait. No, it's not. And no one dry cleans their ties that frequently... meaning they must not get that wrinkly from normal use. And it's not like people usually store ties somewhere that they're going to get dusty or dirty... unless you have mud floors in your closet, in which case I think you have bigger issues than dirty ties. This is just dumb. You don't need a tie-protector. Put it in the garbage with your pocket protector...nerd.

Inflatable Hangers

Ok, so basically, for $6 (plus S&H of course) you get hanger shaped balloons with hooks on the end. Fine. Two things though... one, are hangers SO big you can't pack a couple? Not even 2? What are you squishing in that bag that you can't fit in 2 plastic hangers if you really need them. Second... um... where are you going where you need hangers but they're not provided? Is your mother-in-law a hanger hoarding troll? Are you bringing your Armani that MUST be hung but staying in a hanger-fre motel 8? I'm puzzled. Every hotel I've been in has hangers available and NO ONE ever uses them. My only idea for these is that if your kids get really bored, you could fashion them into floaties with some duct tape and throw them in the pool for a bit. Oooo and the hooks could make them pirates... that'd actually be pretty awesome. Other than that - no go. Need a hanger? Walk to a dry cleaners and grab a few for free. Done and done.