Anyone who knows me, or has read one of my packing lists for Latin America or packing lists for my Asia & Europe will know that being a nerd, REALLY love my nerdy travel gadgets. As a result of this, I travel with a lot of electronics,While some of them I barely ever use. like
my remote control for my DSLR camera. There are other gadgets such as my portable speaker and 2-way audio splitter cable that have been really handy and I couldn’t imagine traveling without.
My Top Nerdy Travel Gadgets
What electronics I travel with
So today I want to share with you all the nerdy travel gadgets I think every traveler shouldn’t be without.
1. Camera
Travelling and taking photo’s go hand in hand. Whether you’re doing a short weekend trip away, or a one-year trip around the world you probably are going to want to take a camera to capture those beautiful moments along the way. With so many different types of camera’s out there it’s hard to choose whether or not to go with a simple point and shoot camera, a digital SLR camera, or a hybrid that’s somewhere in between. For me I travel with an excessive amount of camera’s. I have my DSLR to capture those amazing high quality shots,
Sony cybershot) that I take out to bar’s and places where I don’t want to be lugging around an expensive bulky SLR camera. Then I have a waterproof,shockproof camera,
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS25 which I use for taking video and for when I want to get some underwater footage.
2. Portable speaker
I only just picked up one of these for my current trip and it’s quickly become my favorite gadget in my backpack. I have a
Mini X II portable speaker and it packs so much volume for it’s size, and has the added bonus that you can link multiple speakers together for added boost.I have used it countless time’s when sitting on beach and in hostels sharing music with friends, from my laptop or from my smartphone. You can pick one of these up fairly cheap and there are lots of different brands I only paid $25 USD for mine on ebay. There are even some fancier portable
2 way audio splitter cable, This really cheap and handy cable allows you to listen to music with a friend from your mp3 player or smartphone or both sit down together and watch a movie on your laptop. For the cost of only a couple of dollars this definitely is a useful little cable to have. I have even seen adapters that let you plug in up to 5 different sets of headphones into one jack. such as the
Belkin rockstar multihead splitter, It sure beats sitting on a bus sharing one headphone each.
4. Laptop/Tablet
Laptops and tablets are a great way to stay in touch with family,family and share your photos online while on your trip. I personally travel with a
Hp Envy Touchsmart Laptop and while it is a bit cumbersome at times I love the freedom to be able to edit my photos in programs like lightroom and photoshop while travelling, as well as all the other nifty storage options you have on a laptop compared to a tablet, such as an
Apple Ipad. However if you are not planning on editing photos while on the move, and don’t need all the functionality that a laptop offers a tablet could be a better more lightweight solution.
5. Universal Travel Adapter
Sick of carrying around 3-4 different travel adapters for each region of the world you are in? Well with one of these
universal all in one travel adapter plugs you don’t have to worry, this small adapter has different sliding plugs that can be switched in and out with the push of a button so you never have to worry about not having the right power adapter again. It also has an added bonus of a usb adapter so you can charge your usb devices.
6. Gorilla Pod Tripod
Gorilla Pod
I can’t even begin to express how much I love these things, I have been travelling with a
Joby gorilla Pod for the past year. They are so handy as it means you don’t have to carry around a giant tripod in your backpack. They come in a couple of different types, Ones made to hold bigger SLR camera’s,
such as these and simpler models designed for point and shoot cameras
like these. So don’t miss out on taking those awesome night shots because you don’t want to carry a full size tripod, Grab a
Battery charging case
One of the biggest problems I have using my Iphone while travelling is that it is ALWAYS on the verge of running out of battery. Each day feel like I am in a constant struggle to keep my phone charged up enough to be able to take instagram photos, or keep in contact with friends and family on facebook. But then I found this handy gadget. The battery charging cases are simply a case for your phone that include their own battery. So when you charge your phone you are also charging the battery case. These case’s come in a variety of different brands and can range from really cheap knock off versions on ebay for $5-$15 USD Which I tried but ended up breaking with 2 weeks. If you want a quality one you can’t go past the
Morphie Charging Case available for Iphone and other smartphones. With the ability to double or in some cases triple your battery life on your phone you won’t be searching for a power point to recharge your phone while on the go anytime soon.
8. Portable battery charger
Portable battery charger
Similar to the battery charging case, these external battery chargers, such as the
Trent Icarrier come in a variety of sizes and capacities and allow you to charge your smartphone, tablets and in some of the bigger sizes even your laptop. There is even a cool on that has a solar panel in it so you can charge it via the sun.
9. Monster mini power board
So you’ve bought that awesome travel adapter so you can charge your devices while on your trip, Which is great, however unless you want to buy a bunch of them you are only going to be able to charge one thing at a time. That’s where this portable
Monster mini power strips come in handy. It’s small, lightweight and you will never have to choose between which device to charge again.
10. A smartphone
A smartphone, I think by now most people have some kind of
Iphone, Smartphone or Android device. If you don’t or are debating on whether you should bring yours on your travels. I would highly advise that you do. These are so useful for times when you want to send an email, quickly search the web,skype or get in contact with friends and family on facebook, without having to drag out your bulky tablet or laptop. It also has the added bonus of you being able to add new friends that you meet directly to facebook without having to wait till you are near a computer meaning you won’t miss out on adding those new friends you’ve met on the road.
11. Portable hard drive
Portable hard drives are a really handy gadget to travel with, I travel with a
Western Digital External Hard Drive, It allows you to backup your photos, easilly exchange movies, photos and music with other travelers. If a portable hard drive seems a bit bulky for you, You could use a USB stick instead.
12. E-Reader
While I personally don’t travel with one (Because I am really lazy when it comes to reading :P). However If you love books and reading, then travelling with an E-reader, Such as a
Kindle FireKindle Fire is a great way to carry around all those awesome books you love without having a heavy backpack full of books. It also has added bonus that you don’t have to go to a bookstore every time you want a new book, you can simply go online and buy and download it, Which is super handy especially if you are travelling in a non English speaking country where finding the book you want could be difficult.
What is your favorite travel gadget that you can’t live without?
Note* If you are interested in buying any of these awesome gadgets mentioned in this post, I have included amazon links throughout this post to all of them, Also if you buy something through one of my link’s I get a small bonus, which really help’s me out with funding my future travel’s.
i would like all of these
Hogga recently posted..Seeing Montreal with Le St. Martin
Tell me about it I still wanna get a tablet, But i’m a bit broke at moment 🙁
Brendon recently posted..60 Days On The Road: Life A Nomadic Traveler!
Yowsa!
I thought I was pretty on top of being a minimal yet connected.
Thanks for the tips, i’ll look into these for my upcoming trip!
I’m one of those poor souls without a smartphone, even though one would have been extremely handy to have on my last trip. When I get a smartphone I’m definitely going to invest in a smartphone battery case as well. Had no idea that even existed.
Alouise recently posted..Hidden History in Toronto
I don’t think I could travel without a smartphone, It’s so handy for searching things up without having to go to a laptop or computer. The amount of times being able to use google maps to find my hostel when lost has been a life saver.
Brendon recently posted..60 Days On The Road: Life A Nomadic Traveler!
Travel adapter, a mini extension cord similar to yours and my iphone. =)
Nicole recently posted..Haus der Musik is Haus der Awesome
Nice 😀
Love the Gorilla pod Tripod! It’s a nice size and gets the job done for sure.
Really helpful list. Ugh I gotta find me a portable backup. I am a little worried about the 16,000 pictures on my laptop…
Murissa recently posted..The Rock of Cashel, Ireland
Yeah it’s super handy I love being able to just wrap it around a pole or a tree branch.
You definitely need to get some backup sorted, don’t wanna lose all those photo’s
Brendon recently posted..60 Days On The Road: Life A Nomadic Traveler!
Yeah, I’ve got some of those for my current trip. Glad I have the e-reader this time around. Still need to get a new, larger gorilla pod for my new camera (old one isn’t strong enough for the bigger camera). And I would definitely like a tablet computer instead of my laptop if they were more affordable.
ChinaMatt recently posted..Sensoji Temple in the Rain
E-Reader is definitely a good gadget to have. I carried a bunch of books last trip and they weighed a lot.
Brendon recently posted..60 Days On The Road: Life A Nomadic Traveler!
Totally agree with the two way audio splitter, the best way to share music (and sometimes movies) with mates whilst on the road. None of this one earphone each nonsense.
Great read mate!
Neil (@packsandbunks) recently posted..My top 5 things to do in Dalyan, Turkey
I know right I’ve used it a bunch of times this trip, super handy 🙂
Brendon recently posted..60 Days On The Road: Life A Nomadic Traveler!
Great list, Brendan! I travel with most of the products you mentioned and the others are on my ‘to buy’ list. Does that mean I’m nerdy? 😉
Teresa recently posted..Youth Travel is a State of Mind
I guess it does 😉 But it’s ok I think everyone has a little bit of a nerdy side 😛
Brendon recently posted..60 Days On The Road: Life A Nomadic Traveler!
Just missing the Gorilla Pod…almost all the same stuff but maybe not brands.
Arnette RTW recently posted..Um…Vancouver Sun Run I’m Looking At You
why bring so many items and carry them around. you can rent many of them locally. i am sure there are many rental sites out there, but i used one during my last visit to Turkey, just left my notebook home and rented a tablet, which is super light and comes with unlimited internet option.
http://www.rentnconnect.com
I picked the tablet from the airport, which is great since I started using the internet during my transfer to hotel and dropped it off at the hotel before I leave.
To me it makes no sense to carry my luggage all around but just rent stuff, no need to bother local connectivity issues either, since local companies doing their job well.
Great tips, mate! We use a Gorilla Pod and it’s great as a second tripod, but if you love photography you should also carry a regular one. What do you think of solar power chargers, are they any good? And what about some GPS devices? We are planning an 11-month hitchhiking trip across Asia and wondering if they would be any useful to us. Any advice you can offer?
Hitch-Hikers Handbook recently posted..Travel Photography Competition – week 110
Great list – will definitely be bookmarking so I can check I’ve got all the ‘nerdy’ gadgets I need before we head off on our next trip. I’ve had a GoPro on my wish list for a while… do you know much about these? Great post :).
I have a Gopro hero 4 black and love it 😀
Brendon recently posted..Ticket To Mystery Escape Room Bangkok
The Gorilla Pod tripod just blew my mind. Going to have to invest in one of those – it’s tough to carry a tripod and a forty pound pack with a baby!