My Tech Secrets for Stress-Free Travel: 9 Essential Gadgets and How I Keep Track of It All

Unless you’re particularly easy-going or spend most of your time on planes, trains and cars crossing borders, traveling has its stressful moments. And for many people, the main pain point is arriving at a port (whether by air or sea) and boarding the chosen mode of transportation. There’s juggling passports and paper or digital boarding passes.

I’ve been working on simplifying this process as much as possible, and based on how my last few trips have gone, my method seems to work well. Here’s the gear I use and how I set it up.

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I divide the kit I carry into two categories:

• The essential thing I don’t want to lose
• Everything else

Let’s dive into these two categories.

The essential

These are the things I should have with me when I travel: passport, smartphone (many tickets and boarding passes are now digital, not to mention credit/debit cards), my essential keys (I slim down my keys as much as possible before I travel so there is less to carry and lose), wallet, headphonesany medications you need, a power bank (I usually find I have room for one 5000mAh Magnetic Wireless Charging Power Bank for charging on the go and a 10,000mAh Backup Power Bank in case of delays), charging cables (for my phone and Apple Watch), and a universal adapter.

If I travel with a laptop or drone, these devices also come with me, along with the specific chargers.

Keep the technology as simple as possible. Remember that you will get your equipment for the X-ray trays at the security checkpoints. The less suspicious your stuff looks, the quicker you will get through security and be on your way.

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If I have space, I will include it. folding toothbrush and a couple of those Compressed magic wipes — just in case.

I also attach (hidden, if possible) a AirTag in your bag I carry my things inside and I have A modified AirTag in my walletjust in case I get separated from my things.

As far as carrying my stuff, I recently switched to those Chest/Shoulder Messenger Bags which you can find on Amazon and other online retailers.

These bags are comfortable, have several pockets to keep things organized, and are water resistant from rain. I have no idea about the origin of these bags, as the market is full of companies selling the same thing. I chose a bag From a company called Waterfly because the reviews were good and the bag has lived up to those reviews. I modified the bag by cutting off the zipper pulls because they were making noise. I replaced the zippers with Laces with luminous labels at the endsAside from that modification, the bag was great.

The idea of ​​this bag is that if I arrive in a foreign country, I won’t have any problems with the clothes I’m wearing and the bag I can bring on board. I’ll have my phone and I can charge it to make plans.

Everything else

This category covers literally everything else: clothing, toiletries, and more. These are all items that are manufactured in factories every day, that can be easily purchased, and that are not essential for my travels. I don’t want to lose these items, but once I hand them over to the staff to store, they are no longer under my control.

All my toiletries are in Heavy duty Dyneema bags (These bags are super thin, feel like paper, and are stronger than kevlar) and I keep a spare one for dirty clothes.

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I have AirTags in my luggage to keep track of things.

As for luggage, I have replaced my bags and suitcases with Peli Air suitcases. I have the smaller ones Peli Air 1535 for short trips and taking out the largest and most robust Peli Air 1615 For longer trips. Both cases are airtight, dustproof and crushproof, equipped with wheels and convenient retractable handles, have locking points with stainless steel guards and sturdy double-locking latches.

Both my 1535 and 1615 They are bright orange in color and are covered with reflective tape and stickers. They are easy to identify among all the black and brown cases at the collection points. Their distinctiveness eliminates the possibility of misidentification and deters thieves from getting their hands on them.

I have also modified my boxes by replacing the original latches with TSA compliant lockable latches (less to do with security, because all TSA-compliant locks are garbage, and more to do with preventing accidental opening), hiding an AirTag inside the retractable handle and swapping out the original wheels for Smooth sliding versions from a company called ColorCase.

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Each case has a removable card holder. There I have a Trace Me Label That should help me get my bag back if it gets lost.

These cases are as sturdy as any other suitcase. Yes, they do come with some extra weight (the Peli Air 1535 and 1615 weigh 8.7 and 14.1 pounds, respectively), but for me, that’s an acceptable trade-off.

Final Thoughts

Please remember that these are personal recommendations based on my experience and preferences. It is important to customize your travel essentials based on your own needs and destination.

Also, think carefully about what you can leave at home. Sure, it’s comforting to think you’ve got everything packed and ready to go, but I’m surprised how often I come back from a trip to find a bunch of stuff I didn’t touch.

Then there are the things you should leave behind: knives, fireworks and more, which should stay at home.

Plus, every time you travel there’s a risk that something could get lost, stolen or damaged, and if you have to travel with expensive things, it’s a good idea to insure them.