Friday

Top 10 Travel Tools

Space is a scarce commodity in your backpack if you are traveling for an extended period of time. That means that everything must have a good reason to be there – or, better yet, multiple reasons to be there. Here’s our family’s top 10 list for travel tools.


#1: IPod Touch or IPhone: You don’t need an introduction to this item unless you’ve been a troglodyte for the past 5 years. We don’t carry a phone while traveling, but we do take the IPod Touch. It has all your music in one place, movies to watch on long bus trips, thousands of game apps to keep the kids entertained (Thank you Angry Birds, Pocket God, Cube Runner and Doodle Jump), and a browser to surf the web and email if you find a hotspot. You can even make phone calls using the Skype app. (For more on Skype, read “Skype: Indispensible Travel Tool”)

#2: Swiss Army Knife: Some of the things you’ll find on my favorite 21-function knife are scissors, corkscrew, magnifying glass, pliers, toothpick, flashlight, tweezers, can opener, bottle opener and a knife: all have been used multiple times on our travels.

#3: Bandana: It’s your sweatband for long treks, your tourniquet if case you have a serious laceration, your blindfold if you need to sleep in a well-lit place, your washcloth if your face is dirty and your facemask on long dusty rides in the back of a pick-up truck.

#4: Dental Floss: Not only can you floss your teeth, you can use it as an emergency shoelace, sew a torn article of clothing for a quick fix or dry your clothes on your makeshift clothesline.

#5: Miner’s flashlight: Do you want to read but the overhead light in your budget hotel room is less than 10 watts? Are you sharing a room with others and they all want to go to sleep but you want to read or write? Are you carrying bags in both hands and walking somewhere in the dark? The miner’s flashlight with headband is your answer.

#6: Zip-loc bags: You can keep things organized, clean and separate. They are hard to find in the developing world and if you are self-catering and carrying some food with you, there is no substitute.

#7: Tevas: You can wear your Velcro-strapped sandals in the rain or on the trail. They are lightweight, wash easily and are super comfortable. You can wear them in the shower if it looks like there may be diseases lurking on the bathroom floor.

#8: Earplugs: Is your hotel room on a busy street or next to a mosque? Are you sleeping in a dorm room of a hostel? Have you realized too late that you are sitting directly under the speaker of an overnight bus that plays loud music all night? Are the rest of your family members not tired enough to go to sleep yet? Bring your earplugs and all these troubles melt away.

#9: Immersion Heater: Sometimes nothing will make you feel more civilized than a hot cup of tea. With an immersion heater, you can have boiling water in one minute in a bus station, a hotel room, even on a train. For more on immersion heaters read “Civilization in a Cup.”

#10: Travel cable lock: Are you in a bus station and need to buy snacks for the ride, without worrying about someone snatching your bag? Are you afraid someone might pinch your backpack from the overhead bin on your all-night bus ride when you go to sleep? Do you want to make sure that no one from your dodgy hotel steals your bag while you’re out of your room? Whip out your cable lock and attach your bag(s) to something permanently fastened and get about your business.

What are your favorite travel tools?

16 comments:

  1. I only have the floss, miners light - agree it's essential and cable lock.

    Goodness I need to go shopping!

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  2. Great tips, I always carry most of these in one form or another, especially love bandanas, though find a 'Buff' is even more functional and versatile. In fact thanks you have just saved my tip of the week dilemna haha

    Iain

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  3. Ayngelina,
    Yes, you need to go shopping...I wonder how much of this stuff you can find in South America?
    Jason

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  4. Iain,
    Now you've got me intrigued. What exactly is a "Buff"?
    Jason

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  5. I have everything except the Tevas, Immersion Heater and Cable Lock. I do have a padlock for lockers.

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  6. Jason,
    Padlock for lockers is a good idea, especially if you are staying in dorms a lot. (Be careful though, my son just got his phone stolen from a padlocked locker; police told us crooks are using some "coke can technique" learned on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRjNnnLOpmE )
    Happy and secure travels.
    Jason

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  7. Great informative post...Out of the listed travel tools the two are very useful for me...They are Travel cable lock,and the second one is i-phone...
    Both of these are very helpful while traveling...

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  8. The immersion heater sounds like a great idea. I'd love to keep a bit of civilisation in my holdall for times in need on a long journey.

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  9. Great list Jason. I carry most of these.

    I also carry a sarong or two. They come in handy as towels, blocking light, and so much more.

    I love my Kindle, which is new to my travel gear. Great battery life, and it's easy to have enough books to last a trip. I like my ipod too, but the battery life is a bit short.

    Always carry a good lock for my door when I am staying somewhere long term.

    I carry lots of zip lock bags. They come in handy for so many things.

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  10. Ferienhaus,
    Thanks for your comment...yes, those are two very useful items.
    Jason

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  11. Hi Ginger,
    Yes the immersion heater surprised me with its usefulness.
    Thanks for stopping by.
    Jason

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  12. Nancie,
    I'm sure if my wife made this list, the sarong would have been on it.
    Thanks for commenting.
    Jason

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  13. I'm not a backpacker but duct tape comes in hand no matter what type of travel I'm doing. And, I agree, iPad is a great convenince.

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  14. A small torch and a Swiss army knife, definitely (bit difficult to get through airport security, though). Agree a sarong is very useful, too. And most of all, a notebook. That's about it.

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  15. The most incredible tool I've come across is a beautiful way to take a little piece of home along for the ride. I'm a bit envious of those who get to travel for pleasure but I try to incorporate my hobby into my frequent business trips handed to me by Dish Network. Now I must also give credit where credit is do, Dish did also introduce me into the innovative technology I'm blogging about. I ended up getting a Sling Adapter soon after it was released late last year. TV Everywhere works as a great way to travel with a piece of home in your pocket but also provides a way to utilize monthly services far away from home. I utilize the adaptation of DVR events into the fun I choose to have at my destinations, sure all live programming is accessible but my recordings are usually related to historical background. Every traveler should have a companion and not feel so far away from home, this little dandy is perfect.

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  16. I am glad to read this post! The important tools U mentioned which are to be carried during long journey are really useful n interesting too...
    Thank You
    Navya

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