Founded in 1995, Walkabout Travel Gear was one of the first small independent web retailers.
At the time, few people knew how to buy anything online, and “travel gear” was not yet a familiar retail category. Walkabout Travel Gear helped define that category by bringing adapters, packing systems, security products, water-purification gear, backpacks, and hard-to-find travel equipment together under one practical travel gear banner.
This page highlights selected newspaper, magazine, book, and online coverage of Walkabout Travel Gear. The complete archive of scans and source documents is preserved separately in the Walkabout Travel Gear publicity archive on wikibrad. A company summary is also available on Wikipedia.
Deseret News — February 25, 1996
This business-section profile covered Brad and Gia Boyle turning real backpacking experience into a Salt Lake-based mail-order travel gear company. It documented Walkabout Travel Gear selling specialized independent-travel gear and already running a 30–40 page website in early 1996.
The Boston Sunday Globe — December 14, 1997
The Boston Sunday Globe holiday travel gift guide pointed readers to Walkabout Travel Gear for stocking-stuffer travel ideas and ordering information.
Fortune — Winter 1999 Product Review
Fortune’s Winter 1999 Product Review listed Walkabout Travel Gear among online travel resources for specialty travel equipment, electrical conversion gear, and modem connection help.
Los Angeles Times — April 18, 1999
The Los Angeles Times included the Eagle Creek Endless Journey backpack in a travel-packing article and listed Walkabout Travel Gear as the catalog source.
Fortune Small Business Magazine — December 1999/January 2000
Fortune Small Business Magazine featured Walkabout Travel Gear in its cover story about dot-com business strategy, using Walkabout Travel Gear as an example of a small site finding a niche the large sites had overlooked.
Computer Shopper — Pocket Guide to Online Travel, 1999
Computer Shopper’s Pocket Guide to Online Travel pointed readers to Walkabout Travel Gear for international phone-plug adapter illustrations and travel tips.
MyBusiness Magazine — March/April 2000
MyBusiness Magazine featured Walkabout Travel Gear as a small web business built around a niche, useful travel information, and a customer community.
Los Angeles Times — April 16, 2000
The Los Angeles Times listed Walkabout Travel Gear in a guide to major online travel gear sites, describing it as an outfitter headquartered in Moab, Utah.
The Washington Post — October 15, 2000
The Washington Post’s Way To Go travel column included Walkabout Travel Gear’s Portable Door Lock in a road test of hotel-room security products.
Cooking Light — August 2004
Cooking Light’s Travel Essentials feature mentioned Walkabout Travel Gear as the source for Pack-Mate Storage Bags, recommended for saving luggage space.
The Palm Beach Post — April 1, 2007
The Palm Beach Post mentioned Walkabout Travel Gear in Cheryl Blackerby’s travel advice column about hair dryers, converters, and packing light.
The complete archive includes advertisements, newspaper coverage, magazine and book references, newsletters, press releases, and preserved source documents from Walkabout Travel Gear's history.
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