Key Takeaways
- This is a guest post by travel tech guru Dave Dean of Too Many Adapters, a site devoted to technology for travelers. In this post, Dave breaks down th
- Wondering what to take on the road when it comes to electronics? You’re not the only one. Long gone are the days where a cassette player and film came
- Often unsure of what they really need, people end up carrying a lot more tech gear on the road than they should. After several years of travel and wor
Last Updated: 7/1/22 | July 1st, 2022
This is a guest post by travel tech guru Dave Dean of Too Many Adapters, a site devoted to technology for travelers. In this post, Dave breaks down the pros and cons of traveling with certain technology.
Wondering what to take on the road when it comes to electronics? You’re not the only one. Long gone are the days where a cassette player and film camera were the height of travel gadgetry. Walking into a hostel common room now, you’d be forgiven for thinking you had accidentally stumbled into the local electronics store. You’re likely to be surrounded by laptops and tablets, smartphones and DSLRs, and more softly glowing Apple logos than you can shake a stick at.
Often unsure of what they really need, people end up carrying a lot more tech gear on the road than they should. After several years of travel and working online though, I’ve figured out what works, what doesn’t, and what you really need.
In this post, I’ll outline the best travel gear you’ll need to help you make the most out of your next trip abroad.
Laptops
With the disappearance of Internet cafes and the prevalence of free Wi-Fi in locations all around the world, a laptop is definitely worth considering for your next trip. It’s the easiest method of staying in touch, backing up photos, and passing the time on those long flights or bus rides
I use mine to work from the road, so I went for something relatively powerful, but for more typical use, a thin and light laptop like an Ultrabook (e.g., Dell XPS 15) or a Macbook Air can provide everything you need at a lower weight and (potentially) cost.
- Size – Nothing larger than a 13” screen or that weighs much over 1kg, and less is definitely better. Consider the size and weight of the power adapter too. Those things can be huge!
- Strength – Something made well that won’t fall to pieces the first time it gets knocked in your bag. Get a protective sleeve to prevent scratches and cushion minor bumps, and read the reviews of its durability.
- Battery life – Five or six hours is the minimum, 8+ is much better if you plan to take long overnight buses or trains.
- Storage space – Don’t skimp on the amount of storage you have. 128GB really is the minimum, and more is much better. All those photos and downloaded movies take up more space than you think!
- SD card slot – It’s not an absolute must, but having an SD card slot built into your laptop is very handy. Assuming your camera uses SD cards (most do), an built-in card reader makes copying your pictures super easy. All you do is insert the card and transfer!
- Cost – The less you spend, the more money you have to spend at the bar, right? Not to mention the computer will be cheaper to insure and replace and less of a target for theft. Don’t spend much over $1,000.
Tablets
If I didn’t work online, I’d ditch the laptop and carry a tablet instead. Smaller, lighter, cheaper, and with better battery life than a laptop, the most well-known example is Apple’s famous iPad (mini or full-size).
While either of those will do the job for a traveler, the best value for money at the moment is in the Android range. A Samsung Galaxy A8 would be my recommendation.
There’s a lot to be said for choosing a tablet if your main use is consumption (i.e., reading web pages, books, and emails, or watching movies) rather than creation (writing, editing video, etc.). Again, choose one with plenty of storage (either built-in or via microSD card).
To back up your photos, both Apple and Android devices let you plug in an external SD card reader, so pick one of those up as well.
If you have absolutely no other choice, you can also use the camera on your tablet to get that must-have shot. Just be aware you’ll look rather silly doing so.
Mobile Phones
Smartphones have rapidly become an indispensable piece of travel technology, with all of our music, photos, apps, and entertainment all in one place.
I have a Samsung Galaxy. I made sure to buy the unlocked version of my phone, meaning that I can use a pre-paid SIM card anywhere in the world and take advantage of much cheaper calling and data rates. Your mobile company at home will charge incredibly high rates if you use your normal number overseas, making roaming calls and data prohibitively expensive for most travelers.
Switching to a local cell company when you arrive in a country can save you a small fortune. I personally know people who accidentally left data enabled when on vacation for a week and came home to a bill of several thousand dollars. If you
