Most of the time I only travel with carry-on luggage, the main reasons for this are to save time at the airport and make sure I don’t overpack. There are so many travel gadgets out there, but the following are the ones that I always have in my carry-on. You can click the title of any gadget for more details. We appreciate it when you use our referral links to support the blog!
In This Post
Gadgets
Anker PowerCore 20100 Portable Charger
With a full charge, I can charge an iPhone 6s seven times and larger Samsung devices about five times. The charger is light at 12.5 ounces and has saved me when my phone was dead and needed to call an Uber. This is a great time to purchase this charger as it’s currently 50% off from Amazon when using our referral link!
Bose QuietComfort 25 Acoustic Noise Cancelling Headphones
These headphones are my favorite travel gadget. They are excellent at minimizing jet noise, crying babies and all of the other noises we deal with while traveling. These headphones also offer superior sound quality and durability. Thanks for using our referral link to check out prices and options at Amazon.
Monster Outlets to Go (3 Outlets, 2 USB)
This product lets you charge up to 5 devices at once. This is helpful when you are in a lounge or small airport where outlet availability is scarce. I bought it at Amazon using our referral link and it has saved me many times when only one outlet was available… I’ve even offered to share the open ports when someone else was hogging the plugs and nobody else could charge their phones.
Universal Travel Adapter
Probably the essential gadget for international travel because most countries around the world don’t have the same power plugs as us. I bring a universal travel adapter even when I travel domestically as a sweet international deal might pop out of nowhere. Get yours using our Amazon referral link before your next international vacation.
15″ Macbook Pro
The overall size of this laptop make it difficult at times, but I love the larger screen for doing work or watching tv shows/movie while traveling. When larger electronic items must be stowed (takeoff and landing), I finish the movie or TV show on my smartphone. For those who prefer to travel more compact, below are some Macbooks that are great travel options. Check out all of the various sizes and options at Amazing using our referral link.
Virtual Private Network (VPN) Service
VPN’s are vital, especially for people, like travelers, who use a lot of public networks at places such as hotels, coffee shops, and airports. I like ExpressVPN because of its simple interface and super fast international downloads. The service is $99.95 per year but offers a 30-day money back guarantee. Here is my ExpressVPN referral link, this will give us both one free month if you keep it after the 1-month trial.
Possible Upcoming Additions
iPad or iPad Mini
As mentioned earlier my 15″ Macbook Pro can be a little tricky when it comes to takeoff, landing, and small regional jets. I have been thinking about adding an iPad or iPad Mini to my travel gadget repertoire, this way I wouldn’t have to switch between my smartphone and Macbook when watching TV or movies. Here are some great options at Amazon with our referral link. I would buy an iPad with the largest memory size you can afford because apps, photos, and videos are getting larger and larger and you don’t want to be scurrying to delete items while packing for the airport because your iPad ran out of storage space.
The Bald Thoughts
These are the current gadgets that I use, and I am in no way implying that there aren’t any better brands/options on the market. I find all these gadgets very useful and are all sleek enough to fit in my carry-on backpack along with my Dopp kit.
What gadgets do you always have in your carry-on?
Love these little tidbits! I use PC’s for laptops, but love my iPad Air 2 for watching shows, using my Kindle & Nook accounts and mobile productivity. I’m curious, is the VPN the same as my personal hotspot on my iPhone?
I use a PC laptop too, but thinking of getting a Mac notebook for traveling since they’re so light and way better for video than a PC. VPN is different than a hotspot. A hotspot allows multiple devices to connect to one internet connection. Not every hotspot device comes with VPN protection. A few advantages of VPN (Virtual Private Network) is that it protects your passwords when connected to an unsecure network (like public wifi at the airport or Starbucks) and it allows you to change your virtual location to the US when traveling internationally so you can access Netflix or other US-only services.
Christine,
I see so many people using tablets on flights that I think it might be a happy medium between my Note 4 and MacBook.
Lee did an excellent job explaining the advantages of a VPN; the main reasons are it secures your network and increases privacy. While ExpressVPN isn’t the cheapest option, it’s one of the highest rated VPN services on the market.