Best and Worst [travel gadgets/items you have ever purchased]

[Dyslexic traveler]

What is the best travel gadget or item for traveling you have ever purchased, and why?


What about the worst gadget or item for traveling you have purchased and why?


And with that in mind what is the one thing you can never leave home with out (not counting your American Express card, man that dates me)

The Dyslexic Traveler

 

[NM]

Best - iPad.
Worst - I was given a Sony eBook reader a few years ago from AA. Have never even loaded any reading material onto it. Just sat in bottom drawer.

 

[Princess Fiona]

Great questions
For me the best travel gadget is my Babyliss travel hairdryer, iPad and Bose QC 3's are a close second.
Haven't bought any useless gadgets but can frequently be caught out with the wrong type of adaptor
I never leave home without my iPhone, ever

 

[TonyHancock]

Best = iPad - what can I say...it has made travel bearable, movies, podcasts, music, books, games.....and so it goes on.
Worst = Sennheiser Bluetooth noise canceling headphones.......actually that is a bit unfair because they are not too bad, but the constant blue flashing light even when not in bluetooth mode is so annoying and they are nowhere near as good, even when wired, as my Bose QC3's.

I cannot leave home without my iPad.

 

[freepyjamas]

Best= Kindle without a doubt. Having hundreds of books in your pocket, with a battery life that means you don't need to recharge for a week, is heaven for any traveller who loves to read.

(the iPad would be close, but I didn't buy it for travel per se, so I gave it an automatic DQ)

Worst = one of those bulky bean-filled donut neck pillows. They don't give enough support to actually do the job, they take up half your carry-on space, and they're butt-ugly. Exped makes a good inflatable one though.

 

[serfty]

Worst Purchase:

DVD player to watch movies when travelling around the USA - looked for "quality" cost $195. Ended up watching with subtitles as I could never get it loud enough to overcome the ambient noise of a jetliner in flight, even with N/C 'phones.

Best Purchase:

Acer ASPIRE one with 10½" screen - Cost $295 - I saved 3 kg in carry weight over my then laptop, I could now hear movies, could do work, Skype with Video and can be configured with whatever software I want, how I want, real keyboard and self propping screen.

 

[simongr]

Best


There are a lot of candidates in this section - the iPad of course, the multi-country adapters, my moleskin notebooks that I used to use for trip reports, my Tumi rollaboard. I know some of these things aren't gadgets per se. But the winner is the AV cable I bought to hook up the iPad to the TV so I can watch movies on the hotel TVs that I have stored on the iPad.


The worst


Some of the many headphones that are sat in drawers...

 

[mrs.dr.ron]

BEST: Travelon bag weigh doodie - lets me know what my bags weigh before I get to the check in counter, on a 6 week shopping trip to the USA this is essential ! getting those bags at 22.9kg.


WORST: Curling wand ( single voltage - I plugged it in at the Millenium Hilton Bangkok and fused the whole floor into darkness !! ) Now have an american DUAL voltage curling wand that goes everywhere.

CANT LEAVE HOME WITHOUT : My Kindle.

 

[Boris spatsky]

Best - iPad and Macbook Air. I need both as they both have strengths that the other cannot do.

Worst - back in the 90s i was given a palm pilot ( it was huge!!) Absolutely useless, so it sat in the drawer for ever.

 

[yankinoz]

BEST: My Balanzza travel scale ensures that my suitcases are right at 23kg on my US flights. It is extremely accurate. Bose noise cancelling headphones are a must.

WORST: Probably my neck pillow. It is very bulky and I probably wont be taking it going forward.

I have been thinking about getting a small travel wallet to hold my passports and other docs but still fence sitting on that one..

 

[SeatBackForward]

What is the best travel gadget or item for traveling you have ever purchased, and why?

Noise Cancelling headphones both my old ones and my new ones, I've blogged about them here on AFF. Makes the life on the daily bus run in/out from work bearable, not to mention the benefits on planes. I have in ear type so I can sleep with them if doze off (avoid doing that on buses though!)

What about the worst gadget or item for traveling you have purchased and why?

This particular kensington power adapter:

Its bulky, falls off and doesn't provide enough USB juice. I've since replaced most of my power requirements by using USB adapters through my Laptop charger.

And with that in mind what is the one thing you can never leave home with out (not counting your American Express card, man that dates me)

The Dyslexic Traveler

Would have to be my diary, documents, map, music, movies, games, newspaper and soon to become wallet - my mobile phone.

 

[juddles]

Best addition to my small travel coughnal is my teddy. He is a beanie kid (for those that know them).

Always breaks the ice during searches, and onboard attracts the nice attention of hosties. Many a long international flight they serve him drinks too.

 

[casanovawa]

Best device - my net book - I can't find a reason to give it up for a tablet as stated earlier it has a real keyboard for typing and skyping, closes up so don't have to worry about screen getting scratched, 130 gig HDD plus i can plug a cheap 1.5TB hdd in for extra storage, wifi, can plug multiple other devices in USB slots to charge them from just the single power point often available... Learnt about how unportable the 4 kg laptops are when i nearly broke my back lugging one around Europe for 6 weeks in 2008!!

Worst device - not sure really, although i think on the last several trips i have taken a blow up neck pillow in my backpack and never inflated it once, so probably should learn that i never am going to...

Can't leave home without - well i don't like to become dependent on anything or so desperate i can't leave without, but my humble android mobile does have a range of useful features for when the netbook isn't charged up or isn't on me, so very portable... I usually also take my DSLR whenever going on any long trip overseas, not so much a quick holiday up to bali etc...

 

[codash1099]

Best - iPad and travel adapter much like the Kensington one shown earlier but much cheaper and without the defects.

Worst - I would never admit to making a bad purchase!

 

[TheEmu]

Best: An easy one! My iPad2: Movies, books, music, games, work if I have to... A close second: the Sennheiser PXC250-II that I plug into it: featherweight with effective n/c and more space-efficient in the bag than the Bose at half the price.
Worst: not so easy...so much cough to choose from!
Never leave without the iPad now... and American Express? Oh, dey have office lite here in Hong Kong!

 

[Blackadder]

Best device: Power adaptor, without that everything I take with me would be limited in use.

 

[lano]

Best: Deck of Uno cards. I've played Uno with Japanese tourists on an overnight ferry between Greece and Italy, it's always interesting having fun with new people and learning new rules 7's and 0's anyone?
Worst: Multitool. So far I've only opened 1 bottle of wine with it, not really worth the hassle of having a "knife" in your luggage.

 

[Sprucegoose]

Best : my common sense and sound judgement

Worst: my lack of inhibition...at times.

 

[JessicaTam]

Great thread.
The best would have to be me (finally) getting with the iProgram and having common devices so one charger fits all. Specifically the iPad for its versatility. It knocked the Kindle out of top spot.
Worst: Everything is good until I find something better; I just hope I don't find it too soon after the last purchase.

 

[Paddy55]

Best = iPad - what can I say...it has made travel bearable, movies, podcasts, music, books, games.....and so it goes on.
Worst = Sennheiser Bluetooth noise canceling headphones.......actually that is a bit unfair because they are not too bad, but the constant blue flashing light even when not in bluetooth mode is so annoying and they are nowhere near as good, even when wired, as my Bose QC3's.

I cannot leave home without my iPad.

Same here... hard to remember the days of "communal" movies ... long and best gone!