10 Most Useful Travel Gadgets of 2011
Photo by: oblivion9999
Do you like to geek out over gizmos but aren’t sure which devices are worth their weight in your backpack? Chill. OTP’s List of the 10 Most Useful Travel Gadgets for 2011 will make your nomadic life a bit cooler, a lot easier and a touch more secure.
Photo by: eatsmart.com
EatSmart Precision Voyager Luggage Scale
You can easily avoid running all over airports looking to weigh your heavy load by packing a luggage scale. What sets EatSmart Precision Voyager Luggage Scale apart from the rest is its sassy design. Made to be gripped with one or two hands, you don’t have to be a yoga master to reap its benefits. Especially handy on restrictive RyanAir flights, with this guy, you’ll never have to wear 3 pairs of jeans and 5 t-shirts to beat the weight limit again.
On the move too much to charge your electronic devices? A portable solar charger will do you right. There are different devices that can charge anything from an iPod Shuffle to a MacBook pro. Volitac Systems offers innovative solutions to meet your power demands while staying on Mother Earth’s good side. Unfortunately, it’s useless in sun-deprived places such as London, Seattle and the dark side of the moon.
With the Remington MB-200, there is no need to look like a nomadic Neanderthal (unless it’s National Beard Month, then fair game). Its durable waterproof design can last through the roughest of festivals and one full charge can go weeks at a time. Its adjustable trimmer eliminates the need to carry multiple attachments, which really comes in handy when you need to turn your Black Forest back into a happy trail. Ladies, if you’ve been in Paris too long, use this sucker to manage the madness before taking a razor to your woolly wonkas.
Photo by: digital-cameras-planet
This camera is waterproof, shockproof, freezeproof and crushproof (if it was 80 proof, it would be priceless). The GPS will record where your photos were taken and in which direction you were facing. Unfortunately, it does not alert you to where you misplaced the camera after blacking out. It even has a manometer, which alerts you of how manly and “tough” the men in the photos appear (no; it has something to do with measuring pressure). Now that’s technology! www.olympusamerica.com
This alarm eliminates the need to cut the party short for an early morning flight. The Sonic Alert company develops devices for the hearing impaired, so if this alarm doesn’t wake you up, you’d have to be dead, not just deaf. We highly advise turning the alarm off when going through airport customs to avoid unnecessary security alerts.
Photo by: techfire.com
Apple’s improvements to the iPad, with its new iPad2, makes having one even more worthwhile. The new generation has a faster processor, dual cameras and a thinner and lighter design, which makes it a better travel companion than that chick you picked up in Prague. Make it more perfect (perfecter?), by adding the Off Track Planet application when it becomes available (soon, friends). www.apple.com
Eliminating the need to be held hostage by iTunes, the Motorola Zoom has some aggressive features for a tablet pad. Stocked with a large screen, the ability for additional storage via microSD, a LED flash for its camera, the ability to watch flash videos on the web, and the ability to flawlessly sync with your Droid, this baby is like bringing a gun to a knife fight.
Nothing screams sex like a person with the ability to create their own internet hotspot in areas with no signal or lan lines for miles. Geologists will tell you the Hughes 9201-M2M connects to the world wide web via satellite and creates an access point where up to 11 computers and PDA’s can all connect. At the size of a laptop, you and everyone around you can be connected even in the most remote areas. Just polish your nerd skills setting it up, sit back and watch the other tech nerds flock to you like trekkies to the big convention.
All newly printed US passports have RFID chips and that data can be accessed by readers from just about anywhere. It takes only seconds for your data to be stolen, sold on the black market and a number of things; terrible, criminal things. Assume your passport is always going to be subjected to unexpected spontaneous orgies and don’t go raw. Protect your second most important parts with TheftDefender protective sleeves. While they don’t come in the ribbed, extra-thin or “for her pleasure” varieties, you can fancy the sleeve up with some art for a little pizzazz.
- www.pacsafe.com loves their stripper poles
Photo by: packyourbags.com
Let the lumpy hostel bed be the only reason you’re having trouble sleeping. Now, your electronics, documents, jewelry and state of mind can be locked up safe and sound in a PacSafe Travelsafe. The eXomesh® cage system can deter the sharpest of knives and it folds up small when not in use. Grab two to keep those pesky backpacker hands off your cold 6-pack in the hostel fridge.
Keeping you connected, on your toes, groomed, safe and savvy, these tech toys are the best 2011 has to offer. Just remember the real glory of backpacking comes from fully experiencing the world around you and these little gadgets won’t make or break your trip.
This Philadelphia native has made it a habit of traveling to Europe at least once a year, and rarely takes vacations shorter than a month. When he travels, he focuses on nightlife and mingling with the locals, and always finds a way to the parties. Dennis returned to his corporate job after his first backpacking trek to find out it wasn't there. This led to him becoming the general manager of one of the US's top rated hostels. So, even when is not traveling, he is contributing to the stories and experiences of those who are.
Tweet This
Share on Facebook
Digg This
Save to delicious
Stumble it
RSS Feed
Comments