Seeing the world provides some of the best experiences in life, but if you get dysentery because you drank stagnant river water it doesn’t matter how beautiful those flamingos are. Nature lovers and travelers take pride in smiling broadly and declaring through their chattering teeth that bathing in the ice chip-filled murder river is exhilarating. But under that quivering beard is the truth; they wish they had a hot shower.
Here are some sweet gadgets to quell the discomforts of globetrotting while still allowing you to have those unforgettable experiences.
Alps Mountaineering Eclipse Table
For a single person on the road, one may not see much value in this. I am often traveling with my family, and many are the times we have stopped on the side of the highway during a thousand mile drive, only to pile out of the car, make our sandwiches, and then proceed to eat off of our luggage or the hood. With this awesome portable table, whether you are camping, road tripping, or on your yearly family camel caravan across west Texas, you will have a foldable table (with drink holders!) for a far more comfortable eating situation.
Poweradd Apollo3 8000mAh Power Bank Solar Charger
I have two of these babies. They were both gifts, and two of the best gifts I have ever received without a doubt. It doesn’t matter how fully charged and airplane moded your iPad is. On a thirty hour flight to the gorgeous land of China, that iPad battery is going to die. Unless! You have one of these awesome PowerAdd mobile chargers. On my recent trip to Guatemala we had a power outage for an entire day and I had to give a two presentations equaling close to five hours of speaking. All of my notes were on my iPad, and I had to work on them between sessions. If it hadn’t been for this charger I would have been dead in the water during my latter sessions. The ability to charge it by the sun is also an amazing plus.
The PowerAdd Solar Charger has two ports, so it can charge two devices at once. It can fully charge your devices at least twice. I charged my phone twice and iPad once before it died on one occasion.
Scrubba Wash Bag
I know I’ve said this before, but I spend a lot of my time in the middle of nowhere. I’m talking no running water, no electricity and just a makeshift toilet made from a hole and a shredded tarp (beautiful mountain view though!). So many times in those situations you get filthy, especially your children, and no matter how well you packed, you run out of clothes. Some people will tell you just to take your laundry down to the river, which is valid in certain conditions, but rocks and washboards destroy fabric. If you don’t mind tossing out your clothes after your trip, no big deal, but if you are traveling several months out of the year like me, you can’t afford to buy a whole new set of clothing every time you head out. The Scrubba Wash Bag may not be as gentle as a washing machine, but it certainly is more so, and gets your clothes cleaner than rocks!
Rerii Swiss Knife Multifunctional USB Cable
You know what drives me crazy? When I want to charge my device while on the road or in the airport, and having to untangle the nest of cables in my computer bag, looking for the right one. They are cluttered, take up space, get all twisted together, and eventually break. With the Rerii Swiss Knife USB cable that problem goes away. You pull out the sweet knife shaped charger, whip out your charger of choice, and plug in. No frantic searching when you only have half an hour before your next flight, just get the thing charging!
The Small Mini Iron
You know that problem we all run into when our three-piece, diamond studded suit gets all wrinkly after the police chase us all night because we stole it? Well, do I have the solution for you! The makers of the Small Mini Iron may not be the most creative in actually naming their product, but they came up with a brilliant idea in making a tiny iron. This thing only weighs one pound, heats up in fifteen seconds, and is super compact.
HDMI Pocket Projector Mobile
Did you know these were a thing? A projector that fits in your hand and still has a decent image? I didn’t until someone gave one to a friend of mine. These things are amazing on so many levels. The bulb lasts up to 20,000 hours, you can hook it up to mobile devices for any presentations, or campfire movies you may want to show (nothing quite like A Turtle’s Tale 2 over s’mores!). The HDMI Pocket Projector Mobile will even show your videos and images in HD quality. Did I mention it also can run on battery for up to two hours? Just enough time to find out if Sammy survives global warming! Spoiler: he doesn’t; I assume. He’s a turtle named Sammy, what shot could he possibly have?
Do you have favorite travel gear that makes your life easier? Tell us about your must-haves in the comments!
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Okay, I just ordered 2 of the solar powered phone chargers for my traveling techie brother and brother in law for Christmas. AAAAAND Amazon had it on sale. (and it’s still the beginning of August so do I get extra points for Christmas shopping this early?!?) What a fun list of neat products I had no idea existed!