If you’re not used to it, traveling can be a frustrating and exhausting ordeal, but the experienced traveler knows there are lots of ways to ease the pain of a 14 hour plane ride. With that in mind, we compiled a list of indispensable travel tech that will keep you charged from departure to destination.
Good luggage
There are two halves to holding all of your tech effectively while traveling, your carry-on, and your suitcase. If you like to travel light, there are lots of options for getting all of your stuff into one bag, so you don’t have to check anything. If you need to go somewhere for a few weeks, there are also a number of awesome choices for luggage that’s as smart as you are.
Kickstarter is smattered with great options for tech-packed luggage, and one of the most interesting is Trunkster, a smart suitcase that’s bursting with useful features. Trunkster ditches the flap and zipper construction that’s plagued luggage for the longest time, opting instead for a roll-top front access with a TSA-approved combination lock. There’s a 15,000 mAh removable battery built into the carry-on version, with USB ports on the top for easy access. The handle even doubles as a scale so you won’t be surprised with extra fees when checking in, if you’re a heavy traveler.
Software support
There are lots of apps you can use to stay on top of relevant information as you travel, from booking to transportation once you’ve arrived. If you’re flying, it’s a good call to have your airline’s smartphone app installed, so you can stay up to date and ensure you always have the right times and gate. A good ridesharing app can be a huge help almost anywhere in the US, and a number of major cities abroad, and can be a lot easier than finding a taxi. It’s also a good idea to have an app to help you find somewhere to stay, one that provides lots of options and easy access in case something goes wrong, or you decide to change your plans.
It’s always good to have a backup plan, but the Booking Now app actually does a bit more than that, especially if you’re the spontaneous, on-the-go type. Unlike most apps, which rely on you planning a trip days or weeks ahead of time, the Booking Now app is designed around on-demand travel, so if you find yourself abroad with a couple days to spare before the big meeting, or you made last minute travel plans, you can easily find somewhere great to stay, and it will even show you the best way to get there from wherever you might be.
Noise-canceling headphones
There are lots of noises when you travel, and you can probably ignore most of them. There’s nothing worse than sitting down on the airplane and turning your headphones up all the way, only to realize you can still hear the fleet of crying babies that are apparently by themselves in economy plus.
After carefully reviewing the options, we named the Plantronics BackBeat Pro as our favorite pair of travel headphones. With active noise-canceling technology and a sturdy construction, you can tune out the haters without worrying about anything breaking when you have to run to catch your next flight. As an added bonus, if the battery dies in the headphones, you can plug them in with a traditional 3.5mm cable, so while you’ll lose the active noise-canceling, you can at least finish your movie.
Portable battery charger
It’s just like the old saying “From each according to the devices they own, to each device according to how long their layover is.” No matter how conservatively you use that iPad, chances are it might not make it to your destination, and we recommend always having an extra power source so you don’t end up watching a movie over your neighbor’s shoulder. We did the research and put together a list of our favorite portable battery chargers, from the slim single device charger to the portable power block.