10 Best: Essential Travel Tech for this Summer’s Vacation

What is the essential tech you need to pack for this summer’s vacation season? Business Optimizer takes a look at some of the must-have gadgets that help to make your holiday run even smoother.

1# Pack small

The mantra used to be “pack light” but now, with greater restrictions on the size of carry-on luggage and the extra charges now commonly levied on hold luggage, the new mantra is “pack small.”

In this, the Vago can assist. This neat little 7cm tall device pairs with vacuum bags to help you squeeze more into the available space, shrinking your soft items such as clothes and towels into a vacuum package that enables you to maximize space in your luggage.

2# Check the weight of your luggage

If you’re worried, you’ve overdone it with your Vago, or you have tried to squeeze too many souvenirs into your carry-on on your return leg, you can regain peace of mind with the Balanzza Handheld Digital Luggage Scale. Just attach the scale to your luggage straps and lift to find out how much your baggage weighs.

3# Keep your phone on with a power bank

For most of us, our smartphone is our #1 essential life tool, whether at home or on vacation – so finding ways to keep it charged is a vacation priority.

Carrying a power bank is the best way to ensure all the essential data and life tools that are on your phone are always available to you.

The Independent rates the Aukey Power Bank Portable Charger because of its excellent capacity of 20,000mAh and good value for money. A full bank should give your iPhone X around seven total charges – just remember to pack it fully charged!

#4 International power adaptor

Ensure your electronic gadgets have power with an international adaptor
Once you get to your hotel or another venue with mains electricity, you’ll need to ensure you can use it.

If you’re traveling outside your home country, you’ll need a travel adaptor to convert the available outlets so you can plug your devices in.

If all you need is a universal USB port, the Global Travel Kit Wall Charger is a good option.

Otherwise, you’ll need to step up to something like the Satechi Smart Travel Router / Travel Adapter with USB Port.

As well as fitting into four of the most common plug configurations used around the world, it provides two options to charge your device: an AC power port and a USB port. Cleverly, the Satechi also includes a router which will meet most of your travel wireless networking needs as router, repeater and access point.

5# Cut connection costs with mobile Wi-Fi

Even if you don’t need the adaptor capabilities of the Satechi, a travel router can be a great addition to your vacation packing, especially if your family is taking a plethora of devices away with you.

By creating your own local wireless network, you can cut the cost of expensive hotel Wi-Fi charges which are often charged per device. The TP-Link M7350 lets you share a mobile connection from a single SIM with up to 10 devices, so you pay only once.

It’s easy to use, with a built-in display that includes information about how much data has been used and how many devices are connected. It also has a microSD slot, which lets you share up to 32GB of storage across networked devices.

6# Capture all your memories

Made to go where your smartphone can’t, the GoPro is the best way to capture all your vacation memories. With lots of associated accessories – from dog harnesses to suction cups and helmets to handlebar mounts, you can secure your GoPro to just about any surface. Just choose the mounts that best suit your hobbies and vacation plans.

GoPro has added an introductory model to its winning range of rugged, waterproof go-anywhere cameras: the Hero. Or start as you mean it with the GoPro Hero 6 – which delivers GoPro’s best image quality yet.

7# Stay charged even off-grid with a solar charger

If you’re traveling somewhere off-grid, a solar charger can be just what you need to keep your GoPro or various other devices charged.

The water-resistant Floureon solar charger and power bank is aimed for outdoor life has a built-in flashlight and compass as well as being dustproof and shockproof. The power bank can store up to 10,000mAh of additional battery life, and there’s an IA output for charging your phone and another 2A output for charging your tablet.

This lightweight, packable lantern from Luminaid is another excellent option for keeping your devices charged when you are away from mains power. The Packlite Hero is both solar inflatable lantern and phone charger. The waterproof light packs flat for easy carrying and the 4000mAh battery will recharge your phone two to three times on a single charge, depending on the type of phone.

8# Avoid in-car arguments

Renting a sat nav with your car can be expensive and not all rental cars come equipped with navigation systems.

If you know you are going to be hiring a car and driving during your vacation, slipping a universal car mount into your suitcase can help to avoid those in-car map fights and tussles over navigation.

#9 Deter thieves with a lock for your laptop

If you are going to be taking your computer with you on vacation, and especially if it is likely you will be using it in public spaces, you might wish to consider investing in a lock for it. Your choice of lock is going to depend on some different factors, such as the anchor point to which you will be securing the device and what kind of lock slot your machine has (if any!).

For this reason, it is best to look at lock systems that are either approved by or specialize in your particular brand of laptop.

10# The single best way to record your vacation memories

Will all these high-tech gadgets are great, here at Business Optimizer we also advocate a very ancient technology: paper.

Taking your journal and pencil with you on vacation enables you to access the thoughtfulness and space you really need to capture an inconvertibly personal record of your holiday.