Essential Travel Products
This article contains affiliate links. See Love Fly benefits from your purchases.
We are always refining our travel ‘kit’ and have tried a lot of different products, but are always trying to overcome some travel inconvenience, or comfort issue.
This list of See Love Fly’s Travel Essentials are items we take on almost every trip.
Travel Back Pack
We only travel in ultra-light mode these days. A couple of poor checked luggage experiences coupled with the fact that dragging wheelie bags through countries who don’t feature an abundance of smooth surfaces have led us to the travel backpack strategy.
The travel backpack strategy takes draconian packing discipline and a commitment to mid-trip laundry but offers two big benefits, 1) you are highly mobile, nimble, and all your stuff is safe on your back, 2) it allows you to take advantage of discount regional airlines that reward those who travel light with great prices.
We are fans of two brands. I really like Osprey’s Porter 46L, and my wife and children really like Cotopaxi’s 42L and 28L packs. Making th jump to a travel backpack takes some getting used to, but once you’ve done it and experienced the freedom and lack of transit hassle, you never go back!
Osprey Porter 46L - Amazon Link $195
Cotopaxi Allpa 42L - Amazon Link $210
Cotopaxi Allpa 28L - Amazon Link $170
European USB Wall Adapter
Gone are the days where our travel devices use 110 plugs - it’s all USB now. These inexpensive, handy little USB charge ports fit directly into European outlets, are light weight and easy to pack. Many European hotels and AirBnBs are old and not riddled with power outlets. Often there are only one of two outlets in older hotels rooms, so the dual port configuration makes it easy to charge everyone’s device. No matter which country you are visiting, these USB converters are available in any configuration.
European (flat-ish) wall adapter - multi-device Amazon Link $16
Big Block, 2 USB Ports, 1 standard USA 110 - multi-device Amazon Link $10
US Plug, flat style, easy packing - multi-device Amazon Link $17
European 2-device USB wall adapter - multi-device Amazon Link $9
Above are links to a range of Travel wall USB adapters. If you are traveling ‘ultra-light’ consider the flat, and flat-ish versions.
Noise Cancelling Headphones
Noise Cancelling referes to a technology that uses sound frequencies to cancel out other frequencies - specifically the fatigue inducing frequencies you find on airplanes. You need headphones of some sort to listen to your own phone based entertainments, or the entertainment systems provided by the airline during your flight. When your headphones have noise cancelling technology you will find that the sound of the plane does’t fight with the sound of your movies, which means you don’t have to crank up the volume so much. Noise cancelling headphone are also a huge mitigator of flight fatigue. Cutting down on the background noise, whether it be humans talking loudly over the sound of the engines, or a baby crying, or just the sounds of the engine will make your whole sensorium happier.
Noise cancelling headphones are available in-ear and over-ear formats. The over-ear version offer more sound blocking capabilities, and the in-ear versions offer more portability and packability.
Another important purchasing consideration is wether the headphones communicate only to a bluetooth enabled device, or to a wired device, or both. I’d recommend both. These are marketed as ‘hybrid’.
Hybrid noice cancelling headphones are getting harder and harder to find, but almost every long-haul airline entertainment system only supports a mini headphone jack enabled set of headphones. If you only intend to use your own portable system, like your phone of tablet, then Bluetooth only headphone will suffice.
When making a purchasing decision, you have a number of factors to consider. 1. How much of an audiophile are you? You will pay a higher price for sound quality. Bose, and Sony are some of the leaders in high quality sound delivery, and high-quality noise cancelling. 2. the capacity for Bluetooth, wired, or both? 3. Size and packability - over ear noise cancelling headphones are big and take up a lot of luggage space. Many brands have gotten clever about headphones that fold and twist in such a way that they take up less space. While these save space, they also break more easily. It’s a balancing act that only you can decide upon. In-ear configurations are super small, but don’t allow for a wired connection. They also tend to leak a lot of sound, especially on a plane.
If you’ve got the resources, one of both configurations is ideal. If you have only one choice to make, I’d recommend a hybrid over-ear solution of the highest quality you can afford. Below are links to several models I’ve tried.
Sony ANC Earbuds - WF1000XM4 - Amazon Link $140
Sony ANC Earbuds - WF1000XM5 - Amazon Link $300
Sony ANC Over the ear headphones - WH1000XM5 - Amazon Link $330
JBL ANC Earbuds Tune 230 NC - Amazon Link $60
Little Donkey Andy Men’s Packable ‘Puffer’
Coats are the nemesis of a packing strategy. Coats take up too much room and are often heavy, but when you are going somewhere cold, you have to have one, and it better be adequate for the weather.
The Little Donkey Andy Men’s is lightweight, affordable, comfortable, warm and highly compressible which made it a great candidate to take along on our Fall trip to Norway and Denmark. It also looked tidier than most amorphous bulky puffer jackets on the discount market. The hood came in handy when the wind picked up and I needed just a bit more warmth. They come in a wide range of colors.
Men’s Puffer - Amazon Link $60(ish)
Columbia Women’s Powder Lite Mid Jacket
This coat balances good looks with packability. Kaety wanted to be warm, have a decently packable coat and blend in to the more stylish fashion norms of Europe. This particular coat has a more tailored fit. If this is not a great style for your body shape, Columbia offers a wide range of high quality products that will last for years.
Columbia Powder Lite - Amazing Link $100 (ish)
Rain Shell
I purchased a lightweight North Face rain shell that rolled up roughly to the size of a Twinky. The rain shell makes for a nice lightweight jacket on warmer days, a wind breaker, and when worn over a puffer, a very warm, rainproof combination. Layers! There are many brands of lightweight rain shells, and without hesitation I would say there is no right or wrong choice except for it fitting your body, and your budget.
Most locations you visit, no matter what the season, will have some chilly nights, windy afternoons, and an occasional rain shower. Throw this coat in your luggage - you won’t be sorry.
North Face Venture 2 rain jacket - Amazon Link $109-150
Microfiber cloths
These are tucked in almost every pocket of every bag and jacket we travel with. They come in handy to clean glasses, sunglasses, phone screens and cameras. Travel is a dusty, greasy, splashy, splattery, misty activity and any glass surface will collect all of these atmospheric byproducts. As you use them, they collect the ‘junk’ and start creating more problems than they solve. One pack of these will last you a couple of weeks of cleaning. Refresh your supply with a new set for every trip.
Packable memory foam travel pillow
We’ve tried a lot of these and this is our current favorite. I’m not much of a Tavel pillow user, but my wife likes them and needs them to feel comfortable on long flights. This pillow has a good density, and is about the size of a small cafeteria tray. It’s a little heavy compared to other travel pillows, but it packs up in its own stuff sack which is about the size of a Hydro Flask water bottle.
Electronic Organizer
Modern life, and all our devices, and their attachments have made these kinds of accessory wranglers critical. I consider this two-sided zip folio of pockets critical to my sanity, and to keeping the travel ‘flow’ fen shui positive. This little organizer is stout, well laid out, and for some reason the double-sidedness of it seems genius. Ther’re a ton of these on the market, and by no means is this ‘the one’, but I’ve tried a lot of these and this one hits a lot of positive marks. Digging around in a dark hole is never good, so the flat open format, and the little flex pockets are a big winner.
FYY Travel Cable Organizer - Amazon Link $10
Inflatable Seat Cushion
So…this is an item that attempts to mitigate the pure desperation that only an economy seat on a discount carrier can generate. Most human backsides can manage a 9-hour sit-down, even under poor conditions. But when a flight stretches into 10, 12, and 14 hours and you’ve resorted to magical thinking, death staring everyone in Premium, and wondering if anyone has ever died from sitting too long, you will be relieved to have one of these inflatable cushions. To be frank, it doesn’t solve the whole problem, just make it a bit more bearable. It packs up in a small and tidy package, and can also be used as a lumbar support, or even a makeshift pillow. One of our companions on our last overseas trip found it invaluable in saving their sanity and…backside. BTW - you won’t need things like this if are able to fly Premium Economy, or Business Class.
Silicon Travel Bottles
We love these. They are easy to fill and clean, they are very squishyflexible, and don’t leak. When you are trying to keep your toiletries bag sane and streamlined, moving your lotions, shampoos, and such to these little squeeze bottles is a brilliant.
Power Banks
Travel drains your battery like nothing else does. Mapping apps ask a lot of your battery because of the constant use of location services. We each carry one of these power banks and a short charging cord each time we go out for a day of excursions and adventure. One power bank can charge many phones multiple times, but they charge up slowly, so make sure when you are back at your lodgings that you get a good long charge time. If you are ultra-light travel packing - purchase the smaller version. These battery packs are heavy.
10,000 mAh Power Bank - Amazon Link $20 (ish)
Compact 10,000 mAh Power Bank - Amazon Link $22
Packing Cubes
Packing Cubes aren’t new on the travel scene, but if they are new to you, you need them! They allow for easy organization of your clothing, and when you are taking things in and out of your bag you can keep everything from becoming a chaotic mess. We tend to use the small and medium bags almost exclusively in our packing, and have several set of these cubes in different colors. The cubes even work in ultralight backpack strategies. Compression Cubes are another spin on the packing cube - they have an additional zipper which allows them, once packed, to be compressed in half. Very handy when you are taking too much, but want to be in denial about it.
Non-compressed Versions - Amazon Link $20ish
Compression Versions - Amazon Link $32
