There is some tech gear I never travel without. A laptop, digital camera, a long range USB antenna and a number of various cables and wires to make my life easier and keep me connected.
I’m curious, what technology and electronics can you simply not do without when you travel and why?
Generally I bring things that help me to stay connected to the Internet, get work done, and keep on top of emails (and of course Twitter). I’m looking forward to hearing your must-travel tech gear for an upcoming post I’m working on and your feedback would be wonderful.
[photo by: nouQraz]
I am a full time traveler, for me is essential to always have with me an international plug adapter, 4 spare rechargeable batteries (you never know), of course laptop, photo camera, mobile phone,my fishing rod and some clothes.
As we are currently traveling in the Australia’s east coast;in our hippie camper van I always have to have a spare tank of petrol, here is absolutely essential as sometimes petrol stations could be quite far from each other.
Rechargeable batteries are a good one, I can never seem to find double AAs when I need them…
One important travel necessity I’ve found is a three-way plug, a plug that has three plugs on the front, along with one foreign outlet adapter.
I can’t charge up my electronics fast enough when I have to do one at a time, especially when coming in late and leaving early. Camera batteries, ipod, etc, all need to be plugged in at once. Instead of buying a bunch of foreign outlet adapters, one of these works great.
I also like to travel with a set of mini-speakers. Gotta have some tunes to wake up to!
Those all-in-ones are very handy. So much better than carrying around a bag full of various adapters.
My camera broke before I went on a weekend trip to Dublin and I was so frustrated without it. If I don’t see things through my camera lens I feel like I haven’t seen them at all.
In the last year twice I’ve been without a camera when there was a perfect travel photo opportunity. I’m still bitter about it because I don’t trust my memory to retain the image.
For me, it is only a camera but most trips are accompanied with a laptop as well.
I always have a camera on my too but don’t use it nearly enough.
I take my netbook (Samsung NC10), camera and spare batteries everywhere. I also carry a usb external hard drive, usb stick and several memory cards to make sure everything is backed up. For a while I also had a backup camera, but I lost the good one in Hong Kong and have been using the backup since. Planning to buy a new one in Bangkok.
After losing a set of really great photos with sentimental value from a trip years back, I’m crazy about backing up.
Camera and ASUS EEE, thats it!
I love hearing about what notebooks people are traveling with. I’d really like to get a Dell Mini and Hackintosh it.
Rather than hog your comment box with the list, here’s the link to my essential travel gadgets. I’d also add the iPhone to the list now that I’ve got one.
One point to note, my external USB hard drive which I used for back up was very handy when I ran out of hard drive space on the laptop. Yes, I took many many photos!
It’s amazing how inexpensive storage space is these days. Also seems that no matter how big the hard drive, it’s easy to fill them up with pictures.
My must have list contains….
My digicam
universal plug adapter
4 spare rechargeable batteries
my mobile phone
Pen drive
I’m terrible with regular AA batteries myself, I’m always forgetting/neglecting to bring them along.
Hi Anil, I travel with my Dell mini laptop, it is a nice computer but for me is not fast enough; all depends of the programs you run.
Anyway my girlfriend love it!
I was very close to getting a Dell mini, but did the opposite and got a bigger laptop in a 15 inch Macbook Pro. I’d like to add a mini to the laptop family but that would be way too many machines to travel with…
I don’t bring much gadgets as I try to travel light but my trip won’t be complete without my camera and Ipod.
Cool, thanks for adding. Just curious, which iPod (nano, touch, etc.)?
I’ve got the iPod Classic. While on the road, I listen to New Age music to heighten the experience.
Camera and laptop are a given…but an ipod is a must!
I can’t live without my podcasts. I am on too many local, long bus rides and trains, etc where I’m stuck for hours and normally rather uncomfortable. Listening to Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me, This American Life, or The Moth Podcast is my oasis of calm…and they make me laugh!
I use an old ipod (no one wants to steal it) that is 80G – so I also use it as backup storage for my laptop. Plus – I keep my ‘best’ photography uploaded on it so that when someone wants to see it – I can easily whip out and show them my portfolio of work! I love it when I can use one gadget for multiple purposes!
I don’t use my iPod for podcasts enough. I do everything else with it but use it as a listening device, which is pretty dumb of me! I need to come up with a list I can follow on a regular basis, will come in handy the long bus ride I’m hoping for next spring in South America 🙂
I travel with a travel-sized power strip that folds up easy and gives me a few extra outlets in a hotel room. It also has a USB outlet for my Flip to charge while on the road. Laptop, video camera, digital camera, and flash drive are also musts for me.
The power strips are useful, especially if traveling to places where you need a voltage adapter and only have 1.
I just need my laptop and mobile phone – then (with WiFi), I’m always on, are able to do my work, connect with people and take pics.
Btw: Thanks for your comment telling you saw the Christmas tree from Norway in DC – sorry you did not had you’re cam 🙂
Wish it were possible to carry wi-fi around somehow. Now wouldn’t that be a great travel accessory 🙂
For the Xmas tree, I wasn’t expecting to see such a wonderful sight at the train station and my camera wasn’t on me, I’m still kicking myself. The Norwegians sure know how to make a wonderful tree!
Well, my laptop and camera and telephoto lens are musts. I just took my first international trip with my iPhone and found it indispensable, once I figured out how to turn off the cellular connection and rely only on the WiFi. I’m looking forward to the introduction of Apple’s new tablet early next year – it will reduce the weight I carry by half, at least.
I’m looking forward to the tablet as well. I think it’s going to take out many birds with a single stone. I think in the new year at some point I’ll be looking for a digital SLR, any recommendations?
I always carry a card reader to download photos onto my laptop as well as a thumb drive to back it all up.
Donna, I’m with you – constantly backing up all of my photos, I’m so paranoid about losing any of them!
Hi Donna. Not exactly a gadget but now when I travel, I use Evernote Software to store all my travel docs on the internet. And of course my Iphone.
I hadn’t heard of Evernote before, I’ve just been checking out. Cool concept, seems like it would work very well with an iPhone especially?
Hi, I am an expat who goes back and forth between Argentina and Canada. There is one netbook that I HIGHLY recommend. It is the Samsung NF310. The keyboard is spillproof and there is 7 hr battery life. This is one of the best netbooks every designed on the market. I can work on it for like 7 hrs straight with a drink in my hand!
I appreciate the recommendation, looks like a tough little device with good start up times; about how fast are you finding?