Gear

By Globe Staff, 10/28/01

The bigger and bigger picture

These Bushnell binoculars are the size of a small camera, but bring the world to you in a big way - seven times closer. And there's none of that dark-ring nonsense that you see around the view through regular binoculars. They cost $29.95 at Restoration Hardware stores; through the catalog (telephone 800-762-1005); and online at www.restorationhardware.com.

Hands-on relief

Worn like a wristwatch (but on the inside of the wrist) and drug-free, the ReliefBand Device by Woodside Biomedical Inc. can help relieve the symptoms of motion sickness. It uses gentle electrical signals to affect the nerves that trigger nausea and vomiting. It's the only medical device cleared by the Food and Drug Administration for nonprescription use (but should not be used by people who have cardiac pacemakers). It costs $129.95 and is available at Sharper Image stores and CVS and Osco pharmacies; through the Hammacher Schlemmer catalog (telephone 800-543-3366); and online at www.redenvelope.com, www.hammacher.com, and www.carefreetravel.com. For more information, log on to www.reliefband.com.

Following an antique path

After reading about an English courtier who walked across Europe beginning in 1608 and then wrote about his experience, Tim Moore decided to retrace his nearly 400-year-old steps. Armed with a decrepit copy of Thomas Coryate's book, a purple plush suit, and a secondhand Rolls-Royce, Moore followed the path Coryate walked through France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, and Holland, stopping at (or close to) the sites Coryate visited and sampling too much bad fast food along the way. His colorful account of the trip, ``The Grand Tour'' (St. Martin's Press, $23.95) is a hilarious look at what came to be considered essential to the education of the ruling class.