Here are the hottest gear deals for today, Monday March 15th 2010. Remember, these deals are often valid for just one day, so act fast before they are gone.

Today's first deal is inspired by our ten tips for road safety products. This Xantrex Powerpack works as a jumpstarter, air compressor and flashlight. On sale for $69.99 with free shipping. Click here for this deal.

Next up is an external battery pack for your laptop. This pack can add up to four hours of extra capacity to your machine, and comes with a variety of power adapters. On sale for $19.99. Click here for this deal.

Today's third deal is for a SwissGear rolling laptop case. This bag will hold machines up to 17", along with most of your smaller business items. On sale for $25.99. Click here for this deal.

And finally in today's lineup, add a GPS enabled workout buddy with the Garmin Forerunner 101. This basic GPS training assistant can track your distance covered, and helps you with its virtual partner. On sale for $89.99. Click here for this deal.

Road trips are a fantastic way to see the country - I've covered thousands of miles driving to my destination instead of flying - and while the experience may lack the relaxing time on board the plane, it also lacks the hassles of trying to actually get on the plane.

When you are in the air, you can rely on the flight crew to assist you if something goes wrong, but when you are on your own covering the roads, you'll need to rely on your own ingenuity and some technology. In this lineup, you'll find ten "must have" products that could help you stay safe on the road.

(Photo from Gadling Flickr pool member ohad*)

Alton Towers Resort is billing the new thrill ride Thirteen as the world's first "psychoaster." And for some, this ticket to ride could include medical attention.

The theme park has spent more than $22 million on the roller coaster, which is being billed as a combination of the "ultimate elements of physical and psychological fear." So much fear, in fact, that apparently some riders will need to see a doctor when it's over.

At least that's what Alton Towers officials want you to believe, so that you'll pony up an extra $1.50 per ticket for health insurance before riding through the theme park's Dark Forest area and over an alleged "unearthed ancient burial site."

The Sunday Mercury reports that the health insurance gets you treatment for physical and psychological trauma, should you need it after riding Thirteen. The treatment will be administered by a staff doctor, conveniently stationed right at the roller coaster.

That's all well and good, but who's going to come hold my hand when I have nightmares next week or next month? Exactly how much "scary" is still fun?

For me, the fun ends when I'm told that I might need medical attention at the end of a ride, but maybe I'm in the minority here.

Thirteen opens March 20.

The allure of Thailand's islands and beaches is immense. Sugar white sand. A wealth of activities, from diving to rock climbing to sailing. Raucous beach parties. But all these pleasing options can actually cause a big headache. With literally hundreds of beach and island choices, spread between Thailand's west-facing Andaman Coast and the eastern-facing Gulf of Thailand, visitors will be hard-pressed to choose where lay their towels. Not to mention many of us have limited vacation time and budgets.

So how do you properly choose the right beach for your upcoming Thailand adventure? It was exactly the problem I faced last month as I began the last leg of my trip through Southeast Asia. Fortunately, I had the luxury of time on my side. I would check out as many beach spots as I could. From the upscale to the budget, from peaceful to packed, I was on a mission to uncover Thailand's perfect beach. It was truly a dreadful task, I assure you dear reader, but I suffered through my investigation as best I could.

So did I finally uncover the perfect beach in Thailand? If you've ever wanted to take a Thai beach vacation, keep reading below for South by Southeast's handy guide to picking the perfect stretch of sand.

I've seen plenty of bland photos of Cambodia's famous Angkor Wat temple complex. Enough to know today's choice, by Flickr user mick62, is anything but. The close-up details of the exotic dancer, the wonderful sense of movement and grainy "reportage" quality to the image combine to create a photo that is both visually interesting and authentic. I'm also wondering if the the grainy quality of the image is from Photoshop? Or is this simply taken in low light? Anybody know?

Have any great photos you'd like to submit for Gadling's Photo of the Day? Submit your best shots here.

I was amused to read that on Day 1, about 120,000 iPads were sold on "a product that 99.9% of purchasers haven't touched or for that matter, even seen in person," CNN reports.

I'm embarrassed, but not for the reason you'd expect. On Day 2, I pre-ordered the 3G version of the iPad, due to start shipping in late April. In my eagerness to get my hands on the tablet, I committed a rookie mistake: I forgot to access the Apple Online Store through United Mileage Plus Mall.

For some reason, online shopping is the one mileage-earning opportunity that I often overlook. I've even gone as far as bookmarking the Mileage Plus Mall page in hopes it'll remind me. But no, I forgot -- again.

After buying the 64GB model ($829) and a case ($39), my total came to $945.05 with taxes. I'm kicking myself because had I remembered to log in first with my frequent-flier account, I would've earned 945 miles toward my United account. (The Apple Online Store lets you earn one mile per dollar).

If I end up buying a dock for the iPad or a wireless keyboard ($69), I'll try to remember my own advice. Feel free to remind me.

The Charles Hotel's recent small gesture may actually be a bold move. The hotel, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has decided to add Skype and video cameras to the free computer station that occupy rooms once dedicated to ice machines. It doesn't look like much more than a small concession to weary travelers who want to stay in touch with their loved ones, but it's actually a fairly hefty commitment.

Though the proliferation cell phones has made using the hotel phones unnecessary, the Skype-equipped stations still undermine a hotel revenue stream, which is tantamount to the hotel's announcing: "We'll take money out of our pocket to keep our guests happy.

The stations obviate the need for guests to lug around laptops and cameras and such, which would seem like a natural benefit to the business traveler. Of course, I toted mine around on most of my trips because of the business need, and I don't see many of that ilk dropping their laptops.

You have to hand it to Climber Sterling, a Danish low cost carrier. When they found out that their competitor, Norwegian Air Shuttle was launching a massive fare sale, instead of letting consumers go out and buy the dirt cheap tickets they scooped them all up. Using a series of fake names and a lot of keyboard stokes, the airline was able to purchase over 650 seats, successfully preventing hundreds of travelers from getting in on the deal and in all probability, sending some business back to Sterling.

It's a clever trick, but highly noncompetitive and kind of low, and the airline's CEO officially apologized to its competitor, saying that the employees acted independent of the company's knowledge. It's worth noting that two of the airline's board members were also in on the operation, so one wonders how sincere that apology was.

Think that this has ever happened in US?

Long distance hiking legend Andrew Skurka is off on another adventure, this time taking on a trek through the Alaskan wilderness that will take seven months to complete, and will cover more than 4700 miles. Dubbed the Alaska-Yukon Expedition, the journey will take Skurka through eight national parks, six in the U.S. and two in Canada, while crossing four mountain ranges, and some of the most remote wilderness found anywhere in North America.

Skurka set out from Kotzebue, Alaska a few days back, and will now travel south to the Iditarod Trail, then east to the Alaskan Range and the Lost Coast. From there, it's on to the Inside Passage, up the Yukon River to the Ogilive and Richardson Mountains, before eventually turning west, and running the length of the Brooks Range, one of the last great wildernesses on Earth. Finally, he'll return to Kotzebue, completing the circuit and ending the adventure back where he began.

For now, Skurka will be traveling on skis, but much of the journey will be completed on foot and with the use of a packraft, a small, inflatable boat that he can carry with him. For most people, the thought of covering more than 4700 miles through remote backcountry, under your own power, would seem like an insurmountable challenge, but for Skurka, it is just another long hike to add to his resume. In the past, he has hiked both the Appalachian and Pacific Crest Trails, as well as a route from the Atlantic to the Pacific that covered more than 7700 miles. His 6875 mile Great Western Trails Route a few years back also earned him the title of National Geographic Adventurer of the Year.

You'll be able to follow Skurka's adventures with weekly updates on the National Geographic Adventure Blog and through his Twitter feed @andrewskurka. If all goes according to plan, he should be finishing up the journey in the early part of October.

Here are the hottest gear deals for today, Sunday March 14th 2010. Remember, these deals are often valid for just one day, so act fast before they are gone.

Today's first deal is for an American Tourister luggage set for the kids. For $23, you get a backpack and rolling suitcase in "ladybug" or "penguin". Despite the cute look, this is real luggage, and will help kids drag their own stuff through the airport, like a real tourist. Click here for this deal.

Next up are the Altec Lansing Backbeat UHP606 noise isolating headphones. These highly rated headphones are on sale at daily deal site xoodeals for $19.99, with free shipping. Click here for this deal.

Today's third deal is for a two-pack of LED flashlights for your helmet or bike. The lights feature 11 LED's, and can be attached to your bike or helmet. For added safety, you can even make them rear-facing on your bike, thanks to a red LED blinker. On sale for $4.99. Click here for this deal.

And finally in today's lineup, if you don't mind a camcorder that doesn't record in HD, then check out the Samsung SMX-C10. This stylish camera features an ergonomic grip, optical zoom lens and rotating LCD screen. On sale for $99.99. Click here for this deal.