Travel gear advice

[Th3Pr0ph3t]

Re: Travel gear advice

I purchased a GORUCK GR2 backpack almost three years ago. This thing is awesome (and pricey). https://www.goruck.com/Gear/Details/GR2

I've taken this with me around the world, have hiked with it, etc... If its packed right I can get 3-5 days worth of clothing and supplies in it. Unfortunately my main laptop (IBuyPower Valkyrie) is to big to fit in this backpack, I have a smaller laptop that fits in the laptop compartment just fine though.
The backpack has plenty of pouches/compartments and MOLLE straps. The best part of this backpack that I like is the zippers zip down to the very bottom so the backpack can unfold.
Usually when traveling I have to first (smaller) compartment filled with cords, toiletries, etc... with the second compartment for clothing.

[bluknight]

Re: Travel gear advice

Bumping this one again. Two years on, anyone have any new gear/configurations they'd like to share?

[bluknight]

Re: Travel gear advice

I bookmarked this thread a while back, and it's come in handy a few times - I'll probably even share my current 'field kit' one of these days. However, I'm curious, has anyone made any major changes (additions or deletions) worth mentioning in the intervening year?

[Thorn]

Re: Travel gear advice

Grid-Its are nice for organizing little things and cables so they dont get spread all around your bag.

Based on this post, I bought a couple of Grid-Its last week. So far, they're great. Thanks for the info.

[bluknight]

Re: Travel gear advice

I normally carry a spare (and cheap) slimline power strip with me, and if I have checked luggage, have one or two in there spare. I find it very convenient when I'm at an airport to plug in a strip at a location where all the plugs are "in use". (Side note -- DEN is particularly bad with its lack of power ports for people in transit. Sad, because it's a pretty decent airport otherwise.)

If people also hop on my strip (which I welcome), I have no qualms about abandoning the strip when I have to go for my next flight, because they're cheap and I have spares. I've noticed other people starting to 'pay it forward' too, although I have yet to encounter strips that I've released in the wild yet.

[[Syntax]]

Re: Travel gear advice

I was at the airport in Vegas watching people hang thier iphones from the wall. McCarren Airport put the power outlets 6' up the wall.. One lady had her phone in her bra, and the charger cord barely reached the outlet from the chair where she was sitting.

I had a nice 10' generic iphone cable I had purchased on ebay, and it reached all the way down the wall and onto the seat next to me. I had about 6 people ask where I bought it.

Im using one of the Belkin 3 USB Port Wall Chargers.

[arahel_jazz]

Re: Travel gear advice

Wow, this thread has given me some great info!

Just a reminder to all the single people that safety is very important if you meet that special person. Be sure to carry some form of protection in your travel bag for intimate moments.

Married... not an option. Would have to carry my Lawyer's business card for when I get home and get busted by the wife in divorce court.

Jergins is the best, no chafing.

AstroGel... single use packs.


On a more useful note, I like to use the six-outlet Monster "outlets to go" power strip instead of the molded plastic 3-way. I like the little bit of surge protection it gives me. It lays really nicely in my gadget bag, and the cord folds around it and plugs into itself - no prongs sticking out anywhere.

[hexjunkie]

Re: Travel gear advice

Wow, this thread has given me some great info!

Just a reminder to all the single people that safety is very important if you meet that special person. Be sure to carry some form of protection in your travel bag for intimate moments.

Jergins is the best, no chafing.

[Bbox]

Re: Travel gear advice

Wow, this thread has given me some great info!

Just a reminder to all the single people that safety is very important if you meet that special person. Be sure to carry some form of protection in your travel bag for intimate moments.

[sintax_error]

Re: Travel gear advice

Very nice summary, Dev. I think we can all take away from a thread like this. I don't travel much but when I do, certain things always make it into/onto my pack aside from the netbook/kindle, most of which can easily be found trolling Google.

-4 port USB wall charger
-The aforementioned 3 outlet power brick
-3x 6" Micro USB cables and 1x 6" Mini USB cable
-My own brew of the Energizer Energi To Go unit
-A stand alone GPS unit
-Spare phone battery
-Small Space Bag
-Energizer Smart Charger (does AA/AAA NiMH)
-Spare set of sunglasses
-Cleen Canteen
-Headphones
-Small flashlight
-Spare GSM phone
-A few doses of prescription meds and various Advil/Tums/Etc.

And I'm sure I'm leaving something out, but it's late, and I didn't get raptured, so I'll edit later on with anything I missed.

EDIT: I don't know how but I forgot the roll of duct tape that hangs off the strap. Though lately I've been liking the hotel room keycard wrapped in the stuff better, more space efficient.

[Deviant Ollam]

Re: Travel gear advice

last but not least is the laptop...

... i don't even travel with it in my carry-on a lot of the time (only when i know i'll have layovers of more than two hours or so and i need to work) but when i do, it's in a neoprene thin zipper case that can pass through the passenger screening x-ray without having to be opened.


i hope my long series of images and whatnot have been a little bit useful to you! most of all, i highly encourage people to get some of those dual-head USB cables and an Energi To Go pack.

that, and for god's sake, people... travel as LIGHT as you can in an airport. get some miles or just buy your way up to status if you can... they have loads of basically everything you could ever need in some lounges or even in the right places for free if you know where to look. don't over-pack your carry-on and you'll not only have an easier time stowing it on the aircraft, but you'll also breeze through security and generally have a more pleasant time when flying. trust me.

[Deviant Ollam]

Re: Travel gear advice

first you get da money, then you get da power...

a few odds and ends in the backpack's tiny side pouches that make electricity situations better...

• the "salt shaker" power adapter that will let me use basically any plug on the planet
• heavy-duty splitter that has made other travelers infinitely happier when they need to share juice with me (as in this morning at GRU, actually)
• and i TOTALLY recommend the "Energi To Go" power pack family of products.

i can't say enough awesome shit about that last item. i have the "smart phone" version which is more than enough for my needs. they engineer these SO WELL. they will keep a charge for something INSANE (like 6 to 9 months, i think) and can be re-charged via USB. they support a single USB "A" port for you to use in charging whatever you like. i can charge my cel phone from it from totally dead to nearly 100% in about 60 to 90 minutes, i think.

one of the best damn things i've ever put in my bag, i swear it is.

also in the above photo is a small baggie with some wet wipes, some dental floss, and a couple of airport lounge Free WiFi cards... useful at places where there's a hot spot but no "proper" lounge to go with it.

[Deviant Ollam]

Re: Travel gear advice

Not like it's something everyone needs... but i highly encourage people to carry some Traveling Terabyte Project business cards and maybe a flash drive or two, to hand out to any servicemembers whom you see when you are in the terminals...

[Deviant Ollam]

Re: Travel gear advice

Render, i'm willing to bet you remember this little guy...

... it made a night with all of us stuck in Denmark for a few hours a lot more tolerable. if you wind up wanting to entertain yourself and (like me) you keep only a netbook with you (or maybe not even that, just a smartphone or iPad) then an external speaker is REALLY useful.

this little pop-up model from DiVoom is a terrific one, and available cheap sometimes if you poke about on the internets.

[Deviant Ollam]

Re: Travel gear advice

small top pouch of the backpack often contains a few granola bars and (not pictured, but incredibly important) some empty ziplock bags. i throw my sunglasses in there, any other odds and ends. but the stuff that's always in there is always contained in a little zipper pouch that i got at an event in Poland...

... the zipper pouch has just about anything i could need on planes and in airports...

• gum, cough drops, and Tylenol PM is about all one ever needs to put in your face-hole to take the edge off in-flight
• some audio stuff... tiny earbuds (same ones i have, in a different color, in my main tech backpack) and a few airplane plug adapters (bought four of them from some DealExtreme type web site for about 99 cents each)
• also an eighth inch male/male audio cable... never needed it, but good to keep around
• USB travel charger. from my old phone, but same voltage and amperage as my Defy
• USB cables... the best kind i have ever found (see more below)

the folk at Ziotek make USB cables that have dual heads on them... Mini and Micro. So. Fucking. Useful. I keep two long ones and a single short one in both my travel bag and also my everyday tech backpack.

so i can power any modern phone, charge little odds and ends, and run all USB devices (including USB 3.0 hardware... since the Micro plug will work just fine and run things at USB 2.0 speed)