TravelSmith

Full review
We first became aware of TravelSmith more than 10+ years ago. We've received their catalogs all during that time. We've also been to their semi-annual clearance sales held at the convention centers in San Mateo, CA and Marin Civic Center, San Rafael, CA.

Our first experience was ordering through their catalog and because that was always a good experience, we got on their mailing list notice for their clearance sales. When we began to travel more extensively overseas, we would go on-line to shop in preparation for any of our big trips abroad.

We have found their web site easy to navigate, easy to understand and use and is relatively fast even though we are still using a dial-up modem.

They offer clothing, shoes, travel accessories and luggage in men's and women's versions. Their clothing ranges from casual to sport performance in design and quality. They do not offer much in petite sizes for women, however.

We find their service to be excellent! Shipments via UPS arrive quickly without any delay. However, it should be noted that they are headquartered in Northern California in fairly close proximity to our home! We have ordered numerous times and have never be told that the item/s have been placed on back order.

We had one item that needed to be returned. It did not fit just right. The return was easily done and the credit was issued, immediately.

My wife uses both LL Bean and other on-line shops for clothing items and she feels TravelSmith is the best of the bunch! I echo that sentiment.

All their products are designed for maximum comfort or utilization during travel. As such, many of their items have hidden pockets or features designed into them for added security while traveling and sightseening. They also utilize high tech fabrics in much of their offerings. My first Polartec Vest with Wind Block technology came from them.

I love Coolmax clothing. This was the first store that featured Coolmax fabrics. It feels like cotton but does not wrinkle and dries quickly when washed in a basin. Coolmax is ideal for extended travel when luggage space is limited. I now have Coolmax shirts, pants, shorts, polo shirts, socks and underwear made of Coolmax. I can wash or rinse them out in hotel sinks and hang them on inflatable hangers at night and by morning, they are ready for wear, again, with no ironing required to make them look good!

Clothing items in their regular catalog and on-line selections are not inexpensive. However, going into their clearance/overstock section can yield some very nice bargains. This is where most of the items we have purchased come from - or from the semi-annual clearance sales.

Jim