Gap Year Safety: Wear Vagaband

As the parent of four kidults, I’ll admit that I worry.

As lifestyle travelers for most of their formative years my kids are better prepared than some when they take off to travel solo, but they’re still solo.

• They’re still inexperienced.
• They’re still without a safety net.
• They’re still out there, without me.

Statistically, I know the odds are in their favor. In every scrape thus far they’ve figured it out and lived to laugh about the adventure. We’ve taught them to over prepare and manage the risks as they strike out on their own, but even when you’ve dotted every i and crossed every t… well, sometimes things happen.

It’s not just my kids either. I travel solo, often. Sometimes for work, to Portland, or LA, or San Diego. Sometimes for fun, the length of the Nile by boat, train and foot, or across the highlands of Guatemala by chicken bus. In those situations the people at home worry about me.

Of course I teach my kids to carry copies of everything, from itineraries and tickets to personal information, insurance and passports as photos in their phones, and even printed on paper in their packs. But what happens when a phone is stolen or lost (my oldest son went through three on his Gap Year)?

• Or the pack gets soaked and the paper ruined?
• Or they are separated from their back ups on an off the beaten path adventure.
• How would someone know that I’m deathly allergic to nuts and my epi-pen is in my daypack?

Enter the Vagaband

I think these are so cool. Not only are they WAY cooler looking than the old school medic alert bracelets, they cover FAR MORE information than just the medical necessities. Change the information as often as you like. As long as you’re wearing it you will always have the details close at hand. Perfect.

Needless to say, I’ve ordered one of these for my son, who’s taking off on his Gap Year this fall.

• And one for my adult son, who lives and works all over the world on boats.
• And for my adult daughter, who is studying abroad.
• And even one for the teen I’ve got left who has short solo test flights planned this summer.
• And two for my mother and I, who will be all over Africa this fall on our own.
• Maybe one for my husband too, he’s driving through Central America and back on his own in September.

Get the point? These are great for the whole family. But especially for the Gap Year crowd.

Max Harrington, one of the founders of Vagaband had this to say:

“In essence Vagaband is a safety net for young travellers. It takes the form of wristband, which is extremely durable, while also being comfortable, stylish and remarkably capacious. When removed from the wrist, the band unfolds to reveal all of the wearer’s relevant medical and personal information, including the names and numbers of who you are traveling with, where you are staying and even a space for notes (all of this is completely updatable as you fill in the information with a pencil).”

I love it. Thanks Max. This Gap Year Mama is a fan.