Nowadays you can select among tons of travel gadgets which help you survive the travel. I’ve decided to crawl into this ocean to pick the best things on the market to make your choice easier. As Christmas is coming soon this text can be also a valuable hint to pick the best gifts for travelers in your family (if you are not the one).
Traveling is filled up with different types of waste (especially time and money) therefore I’ve decided to list the products in the categories which you can see in below table of contents:
Headphones with noise canceling are life-saving equipment during flights. Noise in the cabin during take-off and landing can reach 105 decibels (dB) and can stay around 85 dB during the cruising flight. 85 dB can cause temporary hearing problems and can devastate your comfort.
If you want to get rid of headaches after long-haul flights, then noise-canceling headphones are must-have in your luggage. And as holidays are coming up, this could be also one of the best gifts for travelers in your family or in your surroundings.
If your budget is limited, then you should check the JBL noise-canceling phones. In fact, I can recommend it to you as this model is currently the one which I’m using. There are mainly two reasons why I’ve bought them:
I used to have JBL headphones in the past and the sound was great. The same is with JBL E65BTNC – great sound quality and really good noise canceling.
The second reason why I’ve picked JBL E65BTNC is that these headphones price is half of Bose QC35 II.
This neck support lets you take a nap wherever you are (especially in a plane – red-eye flights…). I’m using it alternatively to my travel pillow as it is lightweight and easy to carry – I always wrap it around the handle of my carry-on bag.
The material is soft and cozy. If it gets dirty, it’s easy to wash it – just take out the plastic part and put the material to the washing machine.
When I was using other pillows, the problem was that after an hour or more, my neck started to sweat. With Cabeau Pillow it is different. This pillow not only keeps your head on position but also has a cooling feature so you can wear it for long hours.
Another advantage is that it compresses to 1/2 of it’s original size and you can attach it easily to your luggage.
Traveling often means a change of time zone and this usually causes a phenomenon called jetlag. Sometimes jetlag can be a real killer and can put you down in the middle of the day.
Hopefully, at that time you will have at hand The Ostrich Pillow to take a short nap. This thing enables you to cut yourself off from reality for a few minutes. After a quarter you will be like a newborn.
Imagine the situation – you have just landed, grab your luggage, the plane arrived late and very important meeting with the customer will take place in two hours. You rush to the hotel to change your clothes and it appears that your shirt is crumpled as hell, and in the room, there is no iron and time is running…
In this situation, a travel iron will save you. It heats up in 15 seconds. It’s really small, portable, and can save your business meeting. Definitively worth to have it packed.
What would you say for a portable washing machine? So tiny that you can pack it in your bag. Let me introduce you Cirsum – a portable washing machine. It uses ultrasonic technology to clean your clothes. You can use it in a sink. If you are going for a longer trip, think to take with you this device instead of spare socks. This could be one of the best gifts for travelers if you have some of them in your family.
If you struggle with the internet connection on your long distance trips (especially with its costs…), then you should know the Skyroam. It’s delivering the prepaid internet connection with WiFi hotspot that you can have internet with you all the time, whatever country you visit.
And what’s important – it’s in much lower prices compared to this what you could pay using roaming data transmission (like 20 times less… 🙂 ).
There are two options to get it. You can buy the WiFi hotspot with a subscription or you can rent it for the time you need it.
Best Travel Adapter: Pac2Go Universal Travel Adapter
Why it’s worth to have it?
Did you know that there are 14 types of sockets around the world? And because this is how the reality looks like, the socket adapter is a must have gear of each traveler.
Pac2Go has sliding plugs for US, EU, UK and AU with an 8 hole input socket. This is compatible with every 2 and 3 prong plugs on the world.
Best Small Portable Charger for Travelers: Xiaomi Mi Slim Power Bank Pro
Why it’s worth to have it?
If your phone is almost dead but you cannot afford any minute to stop and charge it up, then you need to use a Power Bank. In my opinion, there are three main things each traveler should care about when buying a Power Bank:
Make sure to buy a trusted manufacturer’s equipment – the batteries are no joke. It’s better not to wonder if overcharge blocker is there installed or not. Especially when you are on a plane.
Keep in mind that in some countries there are limits for a maximum capacity of the battery which you can take on a plane – for example in China you can have in your carry-on luggage battery with capacity <20 0000 mAh with 5V (or less than 100wh) clearly indicated on the battery. Otherwise, they will ask you to throw it away or step out of boarding.
These days, almost all phones enable a quick charge function. Therefore, it’s a must-have feature in power banks I’m looking after.
Xiaomi Mi Slim complies with above-listed points that’s why I recommend it. Think about it and if you already have a power bank, then maybe you would like to buy it for someone in your family as this is one of the best gifts for travelers.
The problem with Power Banks is that it’s something you need to carry on, it’s heavy and you need to connect it with a cable to your phone. The alternative is to use something which always sticks to your phone – the charging case.
Such charging case uses wireless charging to recharge your phone and also protects it from mechanical damage as a regular phone case.
As this is 2 in 1 solution, the manufacturer had to make some compromises. The capacities of such batteries are significantly lower than Power Banks but according to producers, it can extend up to 33 hours the life of your phone.
Life-Saving Travel Bottle: LifeStraw Go Water Filter Bottle
Why it’s worth to have it?
If you or somebody from your family/friends is going to travel to the country where water cleanness is an issue, LifeStraw will be the right gift for him.
LifeStraw water filter removes bacteria (99.9999% of waterborne bacteria) and protozoa (99.9% of waterborne protozoan parasites) from lakes, streams to ensure safe, clean drinking water. According to the producer, one bottle filters up to 100 liters of water.
Maybe if I would have this with me when in December 2018, I would never get so sick in China.
Best Travel Water Bottle: HYDAWAY Collapsible Bottle
Why it’s worth to have it?
Going through airport security control you have to get rid of all your liquids in volume above 100ml. It means you can’t cross it with water bought in store outside the airport and you will have to pay twice more for the same bottle at the airport, behind the security check.
Well, there’s a solution for that. You can go through security with an empty HYDAWAY collapsible bottle and refill it for free at the drinking water station. The advantage of HYDAWAY compared to the regular empty bottle is that it’s a portable solution. After usage, it’s easy to store it and after a few usages, it becomes a part of your must-have travel gear.
Think about it as it can be one of the best gifts for travelers in your family or friends.
I think nobody likes when a regular wallet fills up your pocket. There is a perfect solution for that – it’s light, looks good and protects your credit cards with RFID protection from being scanned by thieves.
Wires, cords, chargers, everywhere… all tangled up. It’s high time to put it under control.
This BAGSMART organizer has all you need to bring order with your chargers, USB cables, headphones, batteries and other small stuff which you want to have always with you.
This 13,3 inches, lightweight MacBook Air (1,3 kg / 2.96 lbs) is one of the best gifts for travelers if you have deep pockets. It’s a productive and reliable tool for each road warrior. As it works on battery up to 12 hours you don’t need to search for places with a socket near the table – the park will be also a good place, even for the longer session.
Asus Transformer Book – Best Economy Class Laptop for Travelers
Asus Transformer Book – the one which I’m currently using
Why it’s worth to have it?
As in the title of this paragraph – this is, in my opinion, the best laptop for travelers. To get a detailed explanation, please check my other post about my travel accessories. Long story short, there are three reasons why is it worth to consider this laptop:
It’s a 10-inch laptop with Windows and SSD hard drive onboard. The size is a big advantage of the Asus Transformer Book – you can easily put it in the airplane’s seat pocket.
You can easily work up to 6 hours just on the battery and charge it with your phone charger or using your power bank. No additional dedicated laptop chargers.
You can have it for 1/3 of MacBook Air price which makes it one of the best gifts for travelers if your budget is limited.
Each time you visit a country for the first time you can scratch it on your Scratch Map to mark your visit there. This gadget brings a lot of fun and drags attention of visitors when it hangs on the wall in your apartment or office.
In this type of devices not only the list of features is important. 24/7 heart rate tracking, calorie burn, and sleep analysis would mean nothing if the battery was not lasting long. Fortunately, it’s not a case of Fitbit Charge 3. It can work without charging for 7 days if not heavily used.
Moment Wide Lens – The Best Lens for Perfect Insta Photos
Why it’s worth to have it?
While traveling you have a lot of occasions for really good shots. Beautiful window seat views on the airplane or great architecture of visited cities are on top of the list of each Instagram fan. Therefore to make your photos even greater, invest in Moment Wide Lens.
Note: If you are going to purchase Moment Wide Lens, don’t forget that to attach it to your phone, you have to purchase the Moment case.
Joby GorillaPod 3K Kit is one of the best gifts for travelers who need stable support for their photo camera. If your friend or somebody in your family is a vlogger or photographer, then for sure they will love such a gift. You can wrap this high-quality tripod around any surface and get great, steady pictures. The weight of the device to mount should not exceed 3 kg.
That’s new equipment in my bag. I’ve bought it last month tempted by great videos from YouTube. So far I’m impressed with the image stabilization – it’s really awesome. You can check some samples on my YouTube channel. Anyway, it’s a really handy camera, especially with those GoPro grippers, arms, and pods. If your budget is big enough then it’s a really one of the best gifts for travelers.
Travel Pro Crew 11 was designed with the professional flight crews cooperation. It’s a durable bag which will serve you for years. It has features which are becoming more and more popular like USB port in the back to charge your mobile devices or dedicated pocket for Power Bank.
This triangle crossbody backpack accompanies me every day and I love it. I’m keeping there all my stuff including wallet, car keys, sunglasses and cords organizer with chargers and wires. While traveling I always have there also my medicines and headphones. It’s small so you do not have to put it to compartment while taking off and landing which is great as I have all my stuff within the reach of hand.
As this could be one of the best gifts for travelers it will also satisfy any stationary male representative of the population in your family…
Nomatic Travel Pack – 20L Backpack Funded on Kickstarter
Why it’s worth to have it?
Nomatic Travel Pack raised $2.9 million between Kickstarter & Indiegogo and answers why is it worth to take a while to look closer at this product.
It has mesh divider, shoe compartment, and compression packing cube (add-on to squeeze your shirts and place easily in the pack). If needed you can expand it from 20L to 30L as it has extension feature.
It has also RFID safe pocket, TSA ready laptop storage, and some other useful features. If you have in your family a real road warrior, then it’s one of the best gifts for travelers you can make.
Wenger Gigabyte Business Backpack – Best Business Backpack
My Wenger Gigabyte Business Backpack
Works perfectly with spinner carry on bags
Why it’s worth to have it?
I’m one of the users of this equipment and I must say that I love it. It’s lightweight, has a compartment for a 15-inch laptop and the pocket for a smaller 10-inch device, lots of pockets and you can attach it to you spinner bag (see photo). For more details read on my travel gear post.
This one fits in your pocket. A great solution if you are going to buy some souvenirs at your destination and don’t want to buy an additional bag to bring purchased items back home.
Pack light is my guiding principle and this is in contradiction with my love for books as these take a load of space in my bags. But in fact, this is no more my problem since I use Paperwhite.
You can fill it with hundreds of books (8GB of storage), it works on the single battery charge for weeks and it’s waterproof.
My Recommendation for Top 4 Books for Your Next Business Trip:
The Operator by Robert O’Neill – this book will give you some idea on how difficult it is to become the SEAL Team Operator. Addictive and well-written.
The 4 Hour Body by Timothy Ferriss – Minimum Effective Dose is the smallest dose that allows you to achieve the desired effect. This rule is followed by Tim Ferris, author of “The 4 Hour Body” in the fight for a perfect body. Sounds interesting?
Which of best gifts for travelers did you like the most?
I hope this list could give you some hints on how you can improve your comfort and productivity. And if it’s not you who travels a lot then maybe you could find here some best gifts for travelers in your family.
Lucas
