annually there are new travel gadgets and gear upgrades coming on the market. A quick “travel” search on Amazon will nearly always cause 10 or 15 purchases. but not all of these travel items are worth packing and while some of them may seem cool, you’ll never actually use them.
After travelling for over 10 years with nothing a lot more than a 40-liter backpack, we’ve learned to really lessen our travel gear and only pack the best (and necessary) travel items.
But that’s not to say we don’t have a few luxury items in our bags. There are some things in our packs that you’ve a lot of likely never heard of, and others that are a lot more common.
In this article, I’m going to list 20 vital travel items we have in our bags. These are items that we couldn’t travel without and we don’t think you must either!
Note: the most crucial thing you travel with is your backpack itself. Don’t miss our buyer’s guide for the best travel backpacks of the year and make sure your pack does everything you want it to.
Table of Contents
1. Handpresso (for coffee fanatics!)
2. Zipper Cubes
3. A Drone
4. portable charger (Power Bank)
5. noise Cancelling Earbuds
6. Laser Lite Ear Plugs
7. good Compact Camera
8. Lems Shoes
9. Ziploc Bags
10. Bluetooth Speakers
11. portable Doorstop (or Doorstop Alarm)
12. Locks
13. plug Adapter (and maybe a converter)
14. wet Wipes
15. Diva Cup
16. Reuseable bottle and Steri-Pen
17. travel Clothes
18. A Pillowcase
19. First-Aid Kit
20. travel Towel
21. Bonus: vital travel gear for Pets
Now You know the best travel Items
1. Handpresso (for coffee fanatics!)
We absolutely love the Handpresso, a compact, hand pump espresso machine. As coffee lovers who aren’t crazy about brewed coffee (we only like espresso), this is one travel item that we wouldn’t leave home without.
Simply pump it 30 times, add hot water and a pod of your much-loved coffee and voilà, you’ve got the best cup of espresso. For budget travellers who find themselves ordering lattes at coffee shops every day, the Handpresso can be an massive money saver.
Just think about it.
One large latte at Starbucks is around $3.65. We purchase a bag of ground espresso coffee at the grocery store for just $4.50 (or less) and that bag makes around 40 cups of coffee. add a bit of milk and we calculate that we’re not paying a lot more than 15 cents per latte.
Aside from the money savings, we just love this little pump.
We purchase delicious ground beans from all over the world. Colombian dark roast in Colombia, rich Java from Indonesia and tasty espresso from Italy. We wake up every morning and instead of walking to a coffee shop or conglomerate, we make lattes ideal in our accommodation and drink them on our deck.
If you love espresso, then you must travel with a Handpresso pump. The only real downside to them is that they’re quite heavy at around 800 grams. even though we only travel with 40 liters, we still find space for this vital travel item.
CLICK here TO shop FOR HANDPRESSO ON AMAZON
? perk Hack: pick up a boil coil on Amazon as well. This helpful little gadget can boil water in minutes and is incredibly compact. If you don’t have a kettle, simply plug it in and add it to a cup of water and you can have boiling hot coffee in no time. The boil coil is also terrific for tea, cooking a cup of noodles or even for making hard-boiled eggs.
UPDATE 2020: A lot of people are now using the Aeropress coffee maker for travelling. While we are still delighted using the Handpresso, you may want to compare this to the Aeropress and see which is best for you. It’s absolutely lighter, but does it make better coffee? having used both now, I still think that Handpresso has it beat but it’s up to you.
2. Zipper Cubes
We still vow by these things. They keep your bag organized and make sure that everything is compressed down so that you can pack a lot more in your bag than you would by just rolling clothes and stuffing them inside.
mesh packing cubes
We purchased Eagle Creek Zipper Cubes and they’re exceptionally durable. We’ve had them considering that 2010 and we’ve packed them so tight that we’ve had to kneel on them and pull on the zippers just to do them up. To this day, the zippers have held up and they’re still working like new.
There are a lot of these brands on the market, but the only ones we’ve ever used are Eagle Creek and we know that they’re exceptionally durable. This is one of the best travel items to have, no matter your style — backpack, or suitcase, these cubes keep everything organized.
CLICK here TO shop FOR packing CUBES ON AMAZON
3. A Drone
When we first gotten our DJI Phantom 3 back in 2014, drones were mostly reserved for professional videographers, vloggers and bloggers who wanted aerial photography. These days, drones have become smaller, a lot more long lasting and much easier to fly.
We’ve upgraded to the DJI Spark, which is so tiny that it can pretty much fit into any backpack or luggage. It comes with a hard foam case to keep it protected and it takes terrific videos and photos. If you like to get special photos while you’re travelling, then this thing is perfect.
It sets up in minutes, can be flown using just a smartphone and has a bunch of amazing features like follow me, hand gestures and point of interest. The drone can be flown by a 12-year-old and DJI has made it very basic to get exceptional cinematic shots.
If you’re a blogger, I absolutely recommend picking one of these up. At just $399 you really can’t go wrong. but even if you’re not a blogger, these small drones are best for getting amazing video clips and stunning photos from the sky while you’re travelling.
DJI recently released the Mavic tiny drone which is a guaranteed replacement for the Spark. With a 2.7K camera, enhanced Wifi and a 3-axis gimbal all for the same price as the spark — I’ll absolutely be upgrading to the Mavic tiny as soon as possible!
CLICK here TO shop FOR DJI DRONE ON AMAZON
4. portable charger (Power Bank)
Believe it or not, we didn’t travel with a power bank until mid-2017. I really don’t know how we did it. iPhones and other devices barely last a day, so we were always walking around with electronics that were completely dead and useless.
Today we travel with 3 different portable chargers, in 3 different sizes for different situations.
There’s no need to take out the heavy power bank if you’ll only be gone for the day, and the smallest one we have only charges the iphone to 50%, so we only use that one if we’re running out the door and we realize our phones are dead.
This portable charger by Rav Power has 3 outputs, is compatible with the new iPhones, and charges a lot of smartphones for 6 times with one charge! We personally use this TP-Link power bank, but the Rav Power is higher rated, a lot more economical and uses a lot more charges.
Of course, these portable chargers aren’t just for smartphones. You can charge tablets, cameras, and anything that uses a USB to charge.
CLICK here TO shop FOR A portable charger ON AMAZON
Finally, we pack the travel Card. This thing is about the size of two credit scores cards stacked on top of each other, but it doesn’t hold much charge. If we’re lucky, it’ll give the iPhones a 50% charge, but we can only normally rely on it for around 35%. Still, it’s terrific if we just need a quick improve in battery and don’t want to carry around anything heavy.
CLICK here TO shop FOR THE TRAVELCARD ON THEIR WEBSITE
Note: travelling with carry-on luggage makes flying a lot less stressful. To figure out whether or not your luggage will meet the restrictions of the airline you’re flying with, check out this carry-on size chart which shows the allowance of 170+ airlines.
5. noise Cancelling Earbuds
I wasn’t sure what all the fuss was about surrounding “noise cancellation” until I tried on a pair of Bose QuietComfort 20 noise Cancelling Earbuds. These things are incredibly comfortable and they actually cancel out a lot of noise from around the room or airplane.
The best part is that you don’t have to actually listen to music in buy to cancel out the noise. You can simply put in the earbuds and turn on the noise cancellation feature and the earbuds will scan the audio climate in the room and counteract any noise by sending the opposite signal into your eardrum.
They work like a charm and really need to be heard to be believed. Oh, and they’re Bose, so you know they sound remarkable when they’re playing music.
Another option if you’re trying to find a Bluetooth option (and if you’re an Apple fan), are the Apple Airpods Pro. We have a pair each, and these noise-canceling Bluetooth earbuds are terrific for working out, listening to Podcasts and chatting on the phone — minus the bothersome cord that gets in the way.
CLICK here TO shop FOR BOSE EARBUDS ON AMAZON
6. Laser Lite Ear Plugs
Continuing on the theme of blocking out unwanted sound, I wouldn’t travel without a good set of earplugs. When I have the opportunity to buy my favourites from Amazon, I always choose Laser Lite Foam Ear Plugs.
They’re soft, comfortable and block out the most sound possible without hurting your ears. You can pick up a pack of 200 of them for just over $20 and they’re worth every penny. To get the most out of them, you’ll have to pinch them down and insert them into your ear, and then let them expand deep within the canal.
Earplugs are an vital travel item for any individual — dogs barking, music blaring, fireworks going off, loud traffic, people partying…it all happens when you’re trying to sleep!
CLICK here TO shop FOR EAR PLUGS ON AMAZON
7. good Compact Camera
Every traveller needs to carry a good pocket camera, although these days, it’s pretty remarkable what iPhones can do!
If you want to take some better photos and terrific videos while you’re travelling, without packing the size and weight of a full DSLR or mirrorless, then I recommend the Canon G7x mark II.
This cam has some extraordinary features, takes terrific photos (when not in automobile mode), and produces some of the best videos of any cam in its class. Canon has now updated this cam to the G7X III but be careful. A lot of users are complaining about bad focusing and overheating.
If you’re not a Canon fan, then you may want to opt for the Lumix LX10. this one outdoes the G7x II with 4K video and rack focusing photography, indicating you can take the photo now, and decide where to focus later. A terrific feature that’s absolutely worth the money. Also, the LX-10 has a Leica lens which promises clearer, a lot more crisp photos.
CLICK here TO shop FOR LX10 ON AMAZON
Having used the G7x mark II for over a year, I can say it’s an exceptional cam and I highly recommend it — especially for videos.
Another option and a cam that we recently upgraded to is the Sony RX100 VII, which has exceptional retina focus, an external mic port, and takes terrific photos.
? perk Hack: Both the G7x II and the LX10 lack an external mic port. If you plan to do any video with these cameras, the built-in mics sound horrible when there’s even the tiniest bit of wind. The option is to pick up a small mic muff, cut out a piece and glue it over the built-in mic at the top of the camera. The sound becomes less tinny and the mic works amazingly well in windy conditions.
CLICK here TO shop FOR G7X mark II ON AMAZON
8. Lems Shoes
I can’t speak highly enough about these remarkable travel shoes. Nick’s Lems shoes have lasted him for over four years and he wears them quite a bit.
They’re very comfortable, can be used in place of dress shoes and running shoes in a lot of cases and the best part is that they roll up into a ball for easy packing.
Without a doubt these are the best shoes Nick has ever owned and if they ever wear out, he’ll get another pair ideal away. For men and women, these are simply the best travel shoes on the market.
CLICK here TO shop FOR THE MEN’S LEMS shoes ON THEIR WEBSITE
CLICK here TO shop FOR THE WOMEN’S LEMS shoes ON THEIR WEBSITE
9. Ziploc Bags
Not only do these plastic baggies take up essentially no room in your suitcase and weigh nothing, but they have a variety of uses, making them one of the best travel items.
If you’re listening to music at the beach, these bags are a terrific way to keep sand out of your speakers or phone. If you’re hiking through the rain, putting your electronics in Ziplocs is a terrific way to secure them.
Use a Ziploc to keep your electronics safe when you’re near water, to keep cords from tangling together in your luggage, to keep small gels or lotions from spilling all