5 gadgets I always travel abroad with

There’s nothing like a check-in notification for an international flight that makes you triple-check your packing list. I’ve been around the block a time or two, so I’ve got the clothing choices, toiletries, and other essentials down — especially when it comes to tech.

Sure, you’ve got the typical cords and chargers that come with your laptop, phone, and even tablet. But what other tech and accessories do you bring for your travels? Whether you’re up in the sky in airplane mode or getting set up in the hotel before your meeting, here’s what’s always in my bag when I travel — abroad and domestic.

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I’m headed across the pond next week and would consider myself somewhat of an over-packer. What if I need two adapters? My skincare routine can’t suffer by leaving a product or two behind. And I most definitely need at least two outfits for every occasion. However, when it comes to tech, I try to be as minimalist as possible. I also tend to lose things, and anything tech-related seems to be the first to go missing.What’s typically on my checklist are a good pair of headphones, my laptop (and its sleeve), adapters (if I’m going abroad), and portable chargers if I know I won’t have access to an outlet. If I have a particularly long journey, I’ll even bring my trusty Kindle Paperwhite. However, I’m looking to up my game — whether it’s for entertainment or portable working optimization, what are the less common devices and accessories you refuse to travel without? 

1 Universal adapter

The outlets of the world really throw me for a loop

Epicka / Pocket-lint

I don’t travel outside of North America too often, but when I do, the first thing that gets zipped up in my carry-on is a universal adapter. Most of Europe uses Type C outlets (also known as the Europlug) that have two round pins, but there are some exceptions who use Type F (or Shuko) outlets and Type J outlets (Switzerland). However, in the UK, Ireland, and a couple of other places, they use Type G, or British Plugs.

Getting a universal adapter is imperative, especially if you’re traveling to several different countries in one trip and don’t want to carry around half a dozen adapters. I’m going to Italy, but my connecting flight and layover put me in London for a few hours — a few hours that will be precious for giving my electronics a boost.

I want to be fully charged up to enjoy the Dolce Vita, of course.

Epicka GaN 75W Travel Adapter

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2 Wired headphones

You can’t catch me, Bluetooth

While your universal adapter will let you juice up any time, I like to minimize the amount of technology I need to bring that needs to be charged. It’s one thing to have to stay on top of my laptop and phone battery — I don’t want to have to worry about my headphones running out of juice, too. My Kindle is different, but more on that later.

I have two pairs of trusty wired headphones. The first are my classic Apple EarPods with the lightning connector, as I’m still rocking an iPhone 12 Pro. They’re comfortable and get the job done on public transportation, casual listening, and especially phone calls. The microphone is surprisingly hard to beat, and it’s one of the reasons you see so many influencers getting back on the wired headphones train. Me? I never got off of it.

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The second pair of wired headphones I use are the Bose SoundSport in-ear headphones. I have them in black and grey and use them with my laptop or with a dongle if I’m listening on my iPhone. They came out in 2015, so I’ve been using them for a strong decade, and they are my favorite pair of headphones I’ve ever used. Since they are so old, it’s hard to find them now. However, I’m eyeing refurbished pairs on Amazon or Ebay if they ever do break on me. But, so far so good.

3 Laptop sleeve

Fancy or basic

This particular trip is for business, but I bring my stylish laptop sleeve with me wherever I go. It protects the most expensive — and important — thing I own (my brand new MacBook Pro) and prevents any scratches, bumps, and light movement in my bag. I have my laptop in there no matter if I’m traveling across oceans or just across town to my favorite coffee shop to do some writing.

I use the brown leather SafeSleeve Laptop Case, which feels luxurious and doubles as a shield from EMF radiation — so whenever I’m using my laptop, it sits underneath. I know what you’re thinking, that EMF-blocking tech is dumb or even fake. There’s no online discourse quite like the anti-EMF versus the tech community. However, I’m somewhat of a health nut, so I’m very careful with any kind of technology being close to my body in general. Being fully WFH and an online enthusiast in general, I’ll take precautions where I can that don’t completely break the bank — that is until we have more research, data, and studies as time goes on. You never know.

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4 Portable charger

You knew this was coming

Yes, obviously, I’m going to have a power bank on hand — and you should too. I get caught out and about on a random Saturday night with a dead phone, so you can best bet I’d get caught in a foreign country with one. But I know my way around at home, and if my phone suddenly dies in Milan, where I’m not as proficient with Italian as I’d like to be, I’ll suddenly lose my translator, navigation tool, and payment methods, just to name a few.

Throwing a power bank into my purse is easy and barely adds any weight. For shorter trips, all you need to do is charge it up the day before. For longer adventures, you have your universal converter to give it the juice it needs to carry you through.

UGREEN Magnetic Power Bank, 10,000mAh Wireless Portable Charger

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5 A Kindle Paperwhite

Portable library

Don’t get me wrong, I much prefer physical books. But I don’t want to lug around the entire box set of Sarah J Maas’s Throne of Glass series. That’s why my Kindle Paperwhite is one of my most beloved devices.

I have access to my entire library right from the device, and can readily access the cloud and Amazon to download even more when I’m on Wi-Fi. I have the 2024 version of the Paperwhite, and it’s lightweight, thin, and easy to throw into any bag I have, whether it’s my weekend bag, canvas tote, or even my work backpack. It takes up virtually no space, yet gives me the freedom to carry around hundreds of thousands of pages with me wherever I go.

I tend to get motion sick if I watch TV or movies in the car, but I’m a special breed of content-consumer that won’t lose my lunch if I read in a moving vehicle. I’m actually excited about the idea of a flight longer than 2 hours — more time to read.

Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (2024)

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Amazon’s new Kindle Paperwhite is its fastest yet, with 25 percent faster page turns. It also has a larger 7-inch display.

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