Best Oddball Products That Actually Work, 2017 Edition

Finalist: Allurette Washer

The Allurette Washer didn't look promising online—on its Indiegogo page, it just looks like a giant plastic bag. However, once we received it, we immediately designated a spot for it in our suitcases. The Allurette is an ultraportable washer for your clothes, which is perfect for travel when you have to pack light.

The Allurette has a built-in washboard and allows you to get a machine-quality wash in just a few minutes, whether you're using it in a hotel sink or at a camp site. Having washed quite a few items in the hotel shower before, we can verify that the Allurette is a way better and cleaner option.

The Allurette is designed for delicate and active wear items that are hand-wash only, but we tried it on regular travel clothes as well and had great success. We will use the Allurette at home on our delicates in the future, which adds to its value.

The Allurette folds down to fit in the palm of your hand when you're not using it, and it's ultra-lightweight, so you won't regret packing it.

Finalist: SCOTTeVEST Debbie Dress

We were somewhat skeptical about SCOTTeVEST'S Debbie Dress—could we really stash everything we'd normally carry in our purses in to a dress without causing weird bumps and bulges that would make us look super suspicious? Turns out, we can. The dress has seven well-hidden pockets. If you're looking at it, you can really only spot the two in the front. The other zippered pockets blend in with the dress, especially in the black color.

We loaded up the pockets with the essentials: sunglasses, keys, credit card, cash, and smartphone. The well-designed weight management system kicked in, so we didn't feel as if the dress was sagging or weighing us down. The dress hid the items beautiful, and we didn't look like we were trying to smuggle anything under our clothes.

The Debbie Dress is a 95 percent cotton / 5 percent spandex blend that travels well, is machine-washable, and is wrinkle-resistant.

Finalist: CoolBag

The undercover CoolBag hides a lot of secrets. On the outside, it looks like a normal tote bag. Inside, it can act as a temperature-controlled cooler, keeping food or drinks cool for hours. There's also a separate non-cooled compartment, so you can toss your phone in without worrying about it freezing.

Take it to the beach without worry: the CoolBag is knife-resistant, and its handles are reinforced with 10 gauge stainless steel wire cables. The handles can be attached to a chair or table to keep your stuff secure while you swim. The zipper can be locked with a combination lock for extra protection as well.

NOD Pillow

The NOD Pillow is unlike any other travel pillow out there, and that might just be why it works. The NOD Pillow acts as a hammock for your head, supporting it and keeping it from bobbing down when you fall asleep. The pillow uses retractable cords to loop over your seatback (and will work with most any type of car/plane/train seatback). The downside is that you will have to interact with the person sitting behind you to make sure that you're not interfering with their seatback screen or tray table.

When you're done with the NOD, it folds up small into its own pocket for easy storage.

Mymanu CLIK (Honorary Mention)

Unfortunately, Mymanu CLIK didn't have any demo units available for us to try out for the Editors’ Choice Awards. We'll definitely be watching and waiting for these wireless earbuds that claim to be able to translate voices in real-time—a prospect that would totally change the way we travel.