Let’s face it: Traffic jams, suffocating smog and snoring trainside seatmates make it tough-and a boring haul-for the more than 100 million Americans who commute to work by train, bus or car every day. But there are products to help you beat the traffic and crowds, combat commuter angst and generally keep your mind occupied and your body relaxed during the daily haul.
Travel in comfort
– Slip on a pair of driving moccasins ($64.95), deerskin shoes with a rubber inner cushion and soft pressure points to massage your feet as you drive or as you prop your feet on the seat ahead on a train or bus.
– An ergo-concept chair ($139.95), a specially designed 5-motor cushion for your car or train seat, that supports your back while you sit. The deeply sculpted foam cradles you in comfort and provides the support you need to help relieve fatigue in your lower back.
– A heat and massage car seat ($119.95) provides a stimulating massage to your back to relief tension and keep you relaxed. It is operated by a hand-held wand to adjust the massage and has a heat setting for a therapeutic massage.
Get organized
– Sharper Image 1024K Voice Organizer ($299.95). It lets you record phone numbers, dates and appointments.
– A portable, computerized Rolodex electronic directory and planner ($149) slips into a coat pocket or purse.
Keep communicating
– A cordless phone antenna ($49.95) hooks to the window of your car, train or bus to keep your cellular phone static-free and can be carried in your purse or briefcase.
– A cellular phone organizer ($99.95) is a purselike calfskin case with a compartment for a cellular phone, sunglasses, money, credit cards and pens.
– Now a dashboard mounted speakerphone ($99.95) makes it possible for you to converse by cellular phone and keep both hands on the wheel.
Make your own music
– Barely larger than a typical earbud, an ultralight FM radio ($29) is is battery-operated and miniaturized to fit in your ear.
– Noise-quieting headphones ($149.95) are ideal for frequent flyers or anyone who is subjected to constant, repetitive or annoying noise. They reduce as much as 90 percent of the noise, so you can relax while you commute.
Beat the smog
– Auto air purifier ($34.95) can be hooked up to your car’s cigarette lighter to zap out the smog and pollutants.
Refreshments
– A gyroscope beverage holder ($19.95) keeps your coffee from spilling.
– A travel tumbler ($29.95) keeps your morning coffee hot or chilled drinks cold for hours in this vacuum-sealed stainless-steel drink tumbler.
Travel guides
The Ultra Road Whiz ($59.95) is a mini-computerized guide to 60,000 interstate highway services, including food and gas stations, motels, campgrounds, hospitals, shopping centers and service plazas (with rest rooms). Just key in your location, and it will tell you the distance, driving time, exits and directions for each.
Quick tip
– To order these products, check the catalogs from The Sharper Image, 800-344-4444, and Hammacher Schlemmer, 800-543-3366.
Research by Mary Beth Sammons. Sources: The Sharper Image, a national San Francisco-based retail and mail-order chain; and Hammacher Schlemmer, a Chicago-based catalog and retail chain, with stores in Chicago, New York and Beverly Hills, Calif., and a warehouse in Fairfield, Ohio.
