10 gadgets to help you travel

Dr. Livingstone cut his way across the jungles of Africa with little more than a shotgun and a shaving kit. You probably ought not to try and sneak a rifle through the airport, but here are some more modern gadgets that will come in handy for a boys’ adventure.  If you have ay other ideas that could have been contenders for the list, please let us know in the comments at the end. External hard drive Taking loads of pictures? Working on the road? Be sure to take a high quality external hard drive. Especially if you’re carrying around a laptop or other valuable items, it pays to save all your important stuff in something less appealing and less likely to get nicked. The LaCie All-Terrain ones are good and fantastically practical thanks to its thick rubber edging. SpareOne For an all-round, awesome gadget, get your hands on a SpareOne – the only mobile phone capable of lasting up to 15 years on a single AA battery! Launched in 2012, this little marvel may not look all that cool but it’s perfect for keeping in case of emergencies, as it works anywhere in the world. Xshot Extender Forget lugging around tripods – pop one of these retractable beauties in your bag and you’ll have a much easier way of snapping pictures of yourself and your travel companions with using self-timers or bulky kit. Karabiner multi-tool Every man needs one of these classics. This stainless steel model offers up a knife blade, nail file, bottle opener and wood saw. Who knows when you will be in need of such essentials? Just don’t pack it in your hand luggage. Freeloader Pro Solar Charger Charge all your electronic kit while you’re on the go or in the wilderness with a funky solar charger. Perfect for road trips: just plonk it on the dashboard and drive. This should provide enough energy to keep your camera and phone charged up nicely. Retractable headphones This is a simple one that you’ll love. You know the score – you have to spend ten minutes untangling your headphones every single time you want to listen to a few tunes on your iPod. Well grab a pair of these and you’ll make things a whole lot easier for yourself. The cord retracts into a small compartment and they’re lightweight, too. Hand crank LED flashlight Don’t bother with batteries – they’ll only run out just when you need them most, for example on a night time toilet trip in the jungle. A wind-up torch does the job and will never, ever need batteries or charging. Plus it’s a good size, so won’t take up too much space in your luggage. Martian Voice Command Watch OK, so you might not need one of these, but it would be handy, right? Acting like a phone, this smart watch can make and receive calls and text messages, hooking up to your normal Apple or Android phone with Bluetooth. Very cool. The Lifeproof Nüüd If you’re taking your tablet away with you, that’s one thing you really want to look after on your holidays. These (almost) bombproof jacket protects your precious pad from bumps, shocks, rain, snow, dirt and more, without impeding access to the tablets. FinderCodes Forgetful? All these cool new gadgets you’ll have for your next trip is a lot of stuff to lose. Grab a pack of these unique QR codes, stick ‘em on your belongings, and hopefully the finder will be a nice bloke who will scan the code and get it back to you. Each pack comes with two large, two medium and four small tags. Alison Crabb is a Director at Exsus. If you would like to be a guest blogger on A Luxury Travel Blog in order to raise your profile, please contact us.