Ok, so if you’re like me and the other millions of photographers there is one thing that drives you crazy when shooting outdoors.

Yup, you guessed it – attempting to review your photos on the LCD screen in broad daylight.

(If you look closely, you can see the picture in the LCD but the sun glare makes it really hard to see.)

Forget about it! You simply can’t really see if you got the exact exposure or not. This is not a big deal when you’re tooling around a new city just shooting for yourself but it becomes a big deal when you have a big paid shoot (like a wedding or travel assignment) or you are under deadline and don’t have time to screw around trying to find a shady spot to check your frames.

(The same photo but viewed indoors where you can see it clearly on the LCD screen.)

Now if you are shooting a lot, you technically shouldn’t have to worry about double checking your photos because you should be dialed in with your camera enough to know you got it. When we all shot film we didn’t have the option of double checking exposures but in today’s digital world this is a luxury that no one wants to do without. It is REALLY nice to be able to double check your photo instantaneously and know you got it right.

Because this is an issue, there are a couple things on the market that you can buy that can help you with this problem. This issue is that they either suck or cost a lot of money.

I tried to go the cheap route once and bought this pop up shade which promised that it would shade my screen and I could see my photo. I couldn’t. Don’t buy anything like this – it will be a waste of $15. This thing sucks and further more I hit myself in the eye with it more than once when it was open on the back of my camera. I hate this thing.

This week I have a big wedding coming up and I have been trying to decide over the past 2 weeks if I want to buy a Hoodman. The Hoodman is pretty sweet and it works like a charm (I got to test one out yesterday) but coming in at $80 it is expensive! I also want something I can travel with and the Hoodman isn’t exactly small. It would be a disaster to keep hanging around in a travel bag and I really don’t want to spend $80 for something I will only use occasionally and could break on the road.

Well I got lucky because yesterday I decided to buy one. I went into the camera shop and the sales guy erroneously told me that they were sold out. I was bummed but I went upon my merry way looking at photo bags (for the 15th hundred time). After I was done I saw someone else checking out a Hoodman. They actually had one left in the back. Well I also checked it out for a bit and in all honesty I was pretty sold on it. I decided that piece of mind on a wedding day was probably worth $80. It just so happened that guy decided the same thing and he bought it. They double checked in the back but this time they were out of them, for real.

So I got in my car and started wondering if I could make my own. I decided to swing by Michaels and buy some foam core board for my construction of a black box I could put over the screen. However on the way through the store they had a dollar bin with some foam can coolers in it. It’s about the same length as the Hoodman and it has a hole on the bottom for condensation drainage (or my eye!) – perfect!

I bought one and ran home to try it out. I took some practice shots on the deck of the boat in FULL sunlight and it works like a charm! It may not have the magnifying loupe feature or be as fancy as the Hoodman but I saved $79! Plus it has the added bonus of keeping the canned drink of my choice chilled! Sweet.

I did decide to make the bottom (eye) hole a little bigger but that was the only adjustment I made. I love this thing! It’s lightweight, portable and has dual functions. A perfect piece of travel gear! The best part is that I don’t have to worry about it. I can squash it into my bag, lose it – who cares? It cost a buck and I can buy another one if I need to. It may not be the most professional tool on the market but I only need it for a few seconds each time I use it so it’s not really a big deal.

I wanted to share this little tidbit with our readers because this is a great travel tool and if you shoot a lot outdoors you will really appreciate a budget way to view your photos in full sun.

Stay tuned because I have some more photo “hacks” coming your way as well including how to find a great camera bag!

Also please let me know in the comments if you try this out and if it works for you.

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*Please remember all photos on this website are copyrighted and property of BeersandBeans.com, NarikosNest.com & Bethany Salvon. Please do not use them without my permission. If you want to use one of them please contact me to ask first because I do love to share and I would be flattered. Thanks!

This review is the first in Beers&Beans’ new ongoing video series: 90 Second Gear Reviews.  For the low down on all your nomadic necessities, be sure to check back often or better yet subscribe to our RSS feed today.

Come spend 92 glorious seconds with Randy as he explains why Eagle Creek’s Pack-It Toiletry Kit is the bees knees.

The Good:

• Compact size perfect for travelers with minimal necessities.
• Contains a removable mirror as well as a swivel hook for placement on towel rack or door.
• Weighs only 7 oz.

The Bad:

• Limited space for anything other than the bare necessities—toothbrush, paste, shaving needs, body wash.

The Ugly:

• Absolutely nothing.

Did you like this article? If so, consider retweeting below or stumbling it. Better yet sign up for our RSS feed and get the goodies delivered directly to your inbox! Consider yourself hugged.

*Please remember all photos on this website are copyrighted and property of BeersandBeans.com, NarikosNest.com & Bethany Salvon. Please do not use them without my permission. If you want to use one of them please contact me to ask first because I love to share. Thanks!

Tomorrow at 5:30 am I leave for Utah. It’s 9:30 pm now and I haven’t packed a thing!

I am a serious procrastinator. My friends were packed days ago.

We are going to stay at Bryce Canyon and Zion National Park and it is going to be cold. I just checked the weather and it’s 20 degrees there!

So I am going with my cousin Sarah and my friend Lauren and they want to camp & hike.

I love camping – just not when it’s 20 degrees out.

This is what I have so far:

1 Marmot sleeping bag (to 15 degrees) & a silk sleep sheet

1 Big Agnus sleeping mat

1 Backpack full of warm clothes – 2 hoodies, 3 yoga pants (for layering under clothes), 1 pair of jeans, 1 pair of wool pants, 2 t shirts, 2 long sleeve shirts

My awesome folding toothbrush

1 pair of sneakers, 1 pair of fuzzy warm slippers (for the campfire), my trustee ole’ flip flops just in case it warms up (you never know!)

Randy’s REI jacket and fleece (Just found out today my winter coat is missing – oops!)

Then as I was picking up some last minute items at Target I remembered that I have also misplaced my P.J.’s and I definitely am not wearing shorts to bed in 30 degree weather. So I went through the bargain bin to see if I could find some warm fleecy pants to wear.

I did.

They are pale pink with a kitten painted on one leg. I started laughing hysterically because they are SO ugly. It’s hard to imagine that anyone even allowed these to be made. But I had to buy them because well they are pink, with a painted kitten on them, they were $6 and my friends will laugh uncontrollably when they see me put them on for the first time! I can’t wait! Oh yeah they have butterflies and embroidered flowers that go all the way up the leg – sweet!

You didn't think I could make this up did you?

I got my camera gear all lined up, my kickin’ Camelbak daypack, my laptop & my wifi hotspot just in case I can get a signal.

What else do I need? I feel like I am really missing something and it’s going to be really hard to get it out there.

If you have any last minute pointers for me – please let me know!

I will get some pics up when I get back next weekend and I will get some Vegas pics up too. I haven’t even been able to edit them yet but we had a great time. I made up a new in-camera technique and got some cool shots that I am really excited about! Of course I’m gonna try it out at Bryce & Zion too!

See you next week with some good gear reviews – hopefully!

Did you like this article? If so, consider retweeting below or stumbling it. Better yet sign up for our RSS feed and get the goodies delivered directly to your inbox! Consider yourself hugged.

*Please remember all photos on this website are copyrighted and property of BeersandBeans.com, NarikosNest.com & Bethany Salvon. Please do not use them without my permission. If you want to use one of them please contact me to ask first because I love to share. Thanks!

Lately I’ve been wondering if it is possible to have a full time job while gear shopping. Luckily for me I’m self employed so I don’t have to worry about it but it seems I have spent countless hours over the past 2 weeks gear shopping. Mainly I’ve been purchasing the big items at REI simply because they have such a fantastic return policy. I’ve returned many things and never had a problem – they even let you return used gear at any point in your lifetime. It’s pretty nice, I can try things out and if they don’t work I can return it and get something new. They had a big sale last week which led to countless hours wandering around the store checking out new backpacks, sleeping bags & shoes.

I have a couple items I’ll be posting reviews on but for now I wanted to focus on one awesome little item that has literally stolen my travel heart.

I picked this little gem up at Bed, Bath & Beyond which is another store I highly recommend for travel items, esp. toiletries. They have a killer travel size toiletry section and you can get anything there! I was totally in awe when I discovered all the trial sized items.

It seems I am always on the search for a good travel toothbrush. Now that we’re living the nomadic life it is more important than ever. I’m either on the boat, camping or staying at a friends. I’m on the road and so are my teeth so I need a toothbrush that can take the heat. I’ve tried them all:

- The tiny toothbrushes that comes apart into 2 pieces and you click them together to form one long toothbrush. Not bad but how much does it suck when you are brushing your teeth and it comes apart and the part w/ the brush on it falls into the sink? Sucks pretty bad, especially when it’s not your own home sink.

- The regular toothbrush with the little cover that you snap onto the brush. Inevitably it always comes apart in my luggage and then I have a toothbrush with strange yarns all over it. Not good.

- The mini toothbrush which isn’t bad but it never feels big enough to really clean my teeth. Feels like it is made more for a child.

- The only thing that worked well was the large tube that you put the entire toothbrush in. The only downside? It’s gigantic and takes up so much space. I don’t know about you but I just don’t want to commit that much space for my toothbrush. Plus it always gets kinda nasty inside it from what I guess, is toothbrush sweat.

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Then I walked down the aisle at BB&B and a ray of light seem to guide me to this vision of a perfect travel toothbrush made by Butler!

Check it out:

It starts small.

Then it unfolds out of itself.

Until you get a full sized toothbrush!

It snaps in place (closed & open) so it is always secure and it is so easy to carry around and air out if need be.

I love this toothbrush! I think it is my favorite piece of gear right now. And get this -

You can get 2 of them for .99 cents at Bed, Bath & Beyond. Under a buck for 2 of them! That’s a fantastic deal. I ended up buying 4 and then later on I spent a while trying to figure out what is wrong with me that I would need 4 toothbrushes at one time.

I think I was just a little over excited. But now I have stocking stuffers for the family trip to Italy.

This belongs in your travel bag so go get one (or 4) !

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