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

[fall502]

Maybe not the best but probably saved the marriage and the holiday. Brought a Tom Tom when travelling by hire car in Ireland - not sure I would have made it out of Dublin otherwise. It also made travelling a lot easier without my wife having to try to read maps. She could enjoy the countryside and if I took the wrong turn which wasn’t too hard to do, the Tom Tom just replanned. Made the holiday very pleasant without the stress of navigating by maps and the ensuing yelling and screaming mostly by me.

Worst – tend to agree with the neck pillows

Always take the Ipad

 

[Maca44]

Maybe not the best but probably saved the marriage and the holiday. Brought a Tom Tom when travelling by hire car in Ireland - not sure I would have made it out of Dublin otherwise. It also made travelling a lot easier without my wife having to try to read maps. She could enjoy the countryside and if I took the wrong turn which wasn’t too hard to do, the Tom Tom just replanned. Made the holiday very pleasant without the stress of navigating by maps and the ensuing yelling and screaming mostly by me.

Worst – tend to agree with the neck pillows

Always take the Ipad

"wife having to try to read maps" obrieng, there is a thread called 'bit of humour' for these quotes. I have a scar just above my left ear where my wife hit me with the street directory after she became extremely frustrated, so I understand your situation.

 

[here2go]

Hahah. I don't have an ipad so may go for the new ipad. Hoping the price will drop more. Do you guys normally get the3G version or wifi only and connect to your smartphones hotspot?

Hanging out for an MS Surface over the next two months (tablet with keyboard cover) to replace my laptop. I'll leave my iPad to my son for games.

 

[here2go]

Iphone any version wins by a mile, the ability to use maps when traveling is invaluable.

My Nokia rocks from this perspective. I don't need a data connection to use maps when I've downloaded the maps at home. Handy on road trips in the middle of nowhere here in the NT, and reduces the need to buy a foreign SIM to save on OMG data prices when travelling.

 

[significance]

My Nokia rocks from this perspective. I don't need a data connection to use maps when I've downloaded the maps at home. Handy on road trips in the middle of nowhere here in the NT, and reduces the need to buy a foreign SIM to save on OMG data prices when travelling.

You can do this with an iPhone or Android device, too. There are a number of apps around for the purpose: I use OffMaps, which also pre-downloads any wikipedia articles relevant to the area, along with info about places to eat. Always helpful!

 

[here2go]

You can do this with an iPhone or Android device, too. There are a number of apps around for the purpose: I use OffMaps, which also pre-downloads any wikipedia articles relevant to the area, along with info about places to eat. Always helpful!

Open source maps (wikimapia) vs Proprietary (NAVTEQ, owned by Nokia, powering 80% of all GPS devices around the world). Neither is perfect. I just love the simplicity of Nokia Maps and Nokia Drive. That said, I've just lost love for them after they rebuked me for pointing out their exclusionary marketing was hurting their brand (if you aren't on Facebook, you can't enter this competition, and don't complain, even if you point that research suggests that driving people to FB actually dilutes the brand), and I'm thinking that I might just have to replace my Nokia with another WP8 brand which will also have Nokia Drive.

 

[Rono]

Fiona, why don't you buy a universal adaptor!

 

[Mollycram]

Definitely the kindle wins for me. Hated filling half my suitcase with books for a holiday.....

 

[Rebekkap]

In no particular order:
1. my home-made travel pillow - I sewed a zip onto a pillow case so I can roll a full-sized Ikea feather pillow up into a pretty small roll, zip it up and have my own comfy pillow wherever I go.
2. My sleep phones - Sleep Headband Headphones | Comfortable Headphones | Natural Sleep Aid - not noise canceling, so not ideal for planes, but GREAT for noisy hotel rooms!
3. Magellan lights out sleep mask (several people have already posted a link to these, including me in an earlier post!)
4. My iPhone
5. My Kindle
6. Travel slippers (also from Magellans as it happens)

When I'm traveling for work domestically, I like to take my breakfasts with me if breakfast's not included in the hotel rate, so my insulated zip-up lunchbox with plastic ice block is also at times a favourite. Or if I'm on holidays, my pacsafe travel wallet (doesn't fall out if you're upside down on a roller coaster, hard to steal!)

 

[anat0l]

My best:
1. Multi-head adapter block from Star Alliance. Obtained free during Star Mega Do 1.
2. Balnazza digital luggage scale. My folks definitely like this gadget.
3. Weird enough - old or dummy hotel access cards. Useful for keeping the power on in rooms that need the key in a slot... as well as other uses (those who have watched Up In The Air should know of this one )

Sent from my GT-I9300 using AustFreqFly

 

[Natalie_B]

Worst: pants with zip off legs that turn them into shorts. Seemed like a good idea at the time but have never used them and they look so daggy!

Oh! I always wanted a pair of them. In a perfect world, I'd get leave Sydney in the middle of winter, arriving somewhere hot and be able to zip off the bottom of my pants and be on my way! I was always jealous of those with them

 

[Natalie_B]

Best: I can't go anywhere without my kindle. Longer trips I'll also bring the ipadband my Bose noise canceling headphones. It's not a strictly travel purchase, but I always wear my black Bonds hoodie on overnight flights. It's got a oversized hood, which can cover my entire face. I put the headphones on, and pull the hood down to my nose to act as an eye mask, and voila, I'm asleep!

Worst: a lovely pink leather passport holder/jacket. It was ridiculously expensive but I HAD to have it. However, everytime I'd go through customs in Sydney, they would scowl, rip the passport out of the jacket and throw both back at me. I don't like to annoy them so it stays at home now...

 

[johnself]

Like many others I can't narrow it down to just one or two so:
Best: Iphone (Apps:Maps, Offmaps, TripIt, Camera, Assrtd Travel Guides). IPad (movies + ebooks). Audio Technica NC headphones. Macbook (Skype + Gmail + Dropbox). Belkin Laptop to HDMI output for hacking hotel tvs. Untested but I have just downloaded proXPN free VPN for upcoming China trip to ensure Gmail etc not blocked.

Worst: Inflatable neck pillow - gave up on these many years ago but am now a convert to memory foam pillow for long haul Y.

 

[bushtuckerman]

Oh! I always wanted a pair of them. In a perfect world, I'd get leave Sydney in the middle of winter, arriving somewhere hot and be able to zip off the bottom of my pants and be on my way! I was always jealous of those with them

Hahaha... I bought a pair of those for hiking in Lao a few years ago. After unzipping and wearing as shorts, the ends of the open zips would continuously scrape the insides of my legs. Not much fun on long hikes. Finally, after losing one leg they were never the same again.

The best travel gadget I ever bought is a compass. Yes an el-cheapo made-in-China plastic compass. Not just for hiking but for negotiating cities, particularly in SE Asia during the wet season and the sun is nowhere to be seen.

Cheers
Bush

 

[timster]

Care to disclose the brand of headphones to share the savings with a pensioner? Thanks.

The $30 NC headphones came from Jaycar some years ago (Chinese 'Encore' brand). No longer available unfortunately. But Jaycar and Dick Smith do have models in the $60-$70 range. Just make sure you get the adaptor that handles dual pin sockets too (eg Qantas). Mine also fold up so they fit easily into a cabin bag. I use rechargeable AAA batteries and recharge before each long haul.
Noise cancellation is never going to be perfect, but NC technology is no longer rocket science and I would be surprised if there's a $200 difference in quality between $60 and $260 models. Models that cover your whole ear are more effective. Comfort will obviously vary, and anything worn for 12 hours is going to get uncomfortable at some point.

Mine cut the dull engine roar and put an electronic 'sock' in the mouth of screaming babies. When it comes to sleeping I just tune into that god-awful 'new age' music channel than most arilines seem to have ... and that is so boring it puts me to sleep.

 

[TheEmu]

Untested but I have just downloaded proXPN free VPN for upcoming China trip to ensure Gmail etc not blocked.
.

Can you let us know how the proXPN VPN works in China, please paradox987 ?
Internet and email blocking there is always a pain, especially sending to government officials.
Perhaps you can mention it when you post your TR...
When do you go?
I will probably have to go late October so if you are there before then, I'd be really interested to hear if it works and how well.
Many thanks.

 

[Maggs]

Best Buy(s) Acer Android for everything, load it up with movies, music, games and happy me. Can't always rely on in flight entertained to keep amused. On land: My water emerser so I can make a coffee anytime , rather than relying on room service. Still too many hotels without T & C facilities especially in USA.

 

[dot]

Best:

• Bose noise Cancelling Headphones (had QC1, QC2 (x2), and now on QC15's)
• Comy multi-power adaptors (x2)
• Travel Router (for sharing hotel internet connections between multiple devices) (with 3G dongle capability & battery)
• Ex-QF J Eye Masks from a few years ago
• Valerian Tablets for those (many) overnight flights in Y
• Compact Camera
• RFID blocking leather Passport cover
• APEC BT Card
• Sansa MP3 player (for all the times that the IFE is non-existent or broken)
• Nokia E5 Mobile Phone (and E71 before it) - primarily for the all free offline maps and navigation application
• ExpertFlyer.com subscription
• Motorola Xoom Android tablet (wifi only)
• Multitool that fits on my keyring and looks like a key to x-ray operators

Worst:

• inflatable neck pillow
• Panasonic In Ear noice Cancelling Ear buds - they work well, but I can't stand having them in my ears for long periods

I am sure there are others that I can't think of, especially among the best category as I tend to think things through for a long time before I spend any money on new gatgets.

 

[Tortuga]

Given the amount of flack the inflatable neck pillow is getting, can someone recommend something that is actually good at supporting the head and allowing some type of sleep in whY?

Best travel item: Candy
Worst travel item: Eye mask

 

[TheEmu]

Given the amount of flack the inflatable neck pillow is getting, can someone recommend something that is actually good at supporting the head and allowing some type of sleep in whY?

An upgrade to J is about the only thing that works for me...