The Goods

Bigger, Faster, Stronger

SanDisk's new Extreme III CompactFlash cards top the market for speed at 20MB per second, and now these memory cards hold up to an impressive 8GB. In case your summer photo expedition is stalking yeti in the Himalayas or prowling the Sahara, they can withstand severe temperatures-ranging from -13ºF to 185ºF, according to the manufacturer. Street price: from $75 (1GB) to $470 (8GB). If your suitcase is too full for a card reader, consider the folding Ultra II SD Plus card pictured above, now available in 2GB for $145 (street). Plug it straight into your computer's USB 2.0 port to offload. (www.sandisk.com; 866-726-3475)

Geek Out

When you travel, you gotta bring your DSLR, a couple of lenses, and a flash. But what about your 17-inch laptop, spare memory cards, your MP3 player, and a jacket in case it rains? Finally, there's a bag for the techie who wants to protect his or her stuff but doesn't want a backpack as big as a house-and totes around more than just camera gear. We also think this LowePro CompuDaypack ($100, street) is quite stylish. (www.lowepro.com; 800-800-5693)

Flashy Flash Drives

We hate having to stick our flash drives into the computer to find out how much memory is left. That's why we like Memorex's 1GB Travel Drive ID ($100, estimated street). The name you give it and the amount of space remaining shows up in a digital readout on the outside. Or, if bling is more your thing, class up your data with the $3,600 gold-and-diamond flash drive from a Dutch company called White Lake (www.white-lake.com). Unfortunately, the diamonds don't light up when the drive's full.