I’m the kind of person who constantly tries to refine my travel kit so that I’m covered for every eventuality. I even buy travel tech accessories if I think they can make my life even 5% better. Over the past few years, I’ve spent countless hours and pounds (or freedom bucks for my American friends), and here are a few key items I can’t live without.
Table of contents
The ultimate travel pillow
Although not exactly “tech” in the traditional sense, where travel is concerned, you have to make adequate adjustments. Over the past 4-5 years, I’ve tried so many dedicated travel pillows that I could probably start a reselling business.
There is only one that I can hand on heart recommend in all situations, and that is from Cabeau. Firstly, those wrap-around neck pillows sound great, but you sort of end up in a heap or with a painful neck trying to lean into a comfortable seating position.
This pillow has headrest straps that more or less lock or anchor the pillow so you can lean in like a sort of hammock. It’s harder to explain than it sounds. What I’m getting at is that this provides a stable place to rest your head and, therefore, a better sleep in an economy seat. It’s not perfect, but I’ll take 4-5 hours of acceptable rest over an 11-hour flight of pure discomfort. Pair with an eyemask and you’ll feel better rested before you reach your destination.
The classic gaming gadget
On long-haul flights, I usually have a couple of things to keep myself occupied, as often, the infotainment options are less than stellar in an era when YouTube, Netflix, Disney+, HBO, and BBC iPlayer cover me for just about every type of content I would ever need.
I’m finding that I just want to unplug from all of my other connected tech when I travel. Just give myself a little more old school entertainment when and where possible. I’ve been carrying the Modretro from Chromatic for almost six months now, and it has brought a bit of nostalgia back to my travel kit. This is basically the Nintendo Game Boy you wanted as a kid. Bright colors, gorgeous 1:1 backlit screen, solid metal construction, plus it plays all my old carts without skipping a beat.
I’ve even been playing a few newer titles that have been especially published by Chromatic. I’m smitten, as this isn’t a big gaming console. It’s pocketable. The battery is excellent, and I find that slowing down and playing games as intended is also something that has helped with my gaming patience. Usually, I’ll run an emulator at 10x speed and wonder why I’m blazing through a game without really enough time to take in the experience.
Sure, I do have a Steam Deck, which I love dearly, but there is nothing quite like firing up the classics and playing as Nintendo intended – patience not included.
The modern gaming gadget
I don’t often game on my Android phones, but as a self-confessed Balatro addict, I have yet to find anything that gets even remotely close to the Backbone Pro for comfort and convenience. It turns my Galaxy S25 Ultra into a proper gaming console so that I can try and get past another Ante. I’m helplessly addicted to this game, and the controller just aids me in sinking yet another hour in.
In truth, I don’t always take the Backbone Pro with me on every trip. Instead, it’s one of those “nice to have” accessories that works well with any phone I happen to be testing. Plus it beats on-screen touch controls every day of the week.
Comfortable always-available audio
I’ll be honest, I don’t usually wear over-ear headphones, save when I’m gaming on my PC. It’s hard to switch away from the Sennheiser HD650s to another brand that simply won’t offer the same audiophile-level sound. For the most part, I rock the OnePlus Buds Pro 3 as my go-to in-ear earbuds.
They are sheer perfection in my eyes. Comfortable, pocketable, with incredible sound that you can tune to your own preferences. Even the out-of-the-box tuning is excellent. I love the color options, the battery life, basically everything about them, and I recommend them constantly to my Android owning friends – and even colleagues! I would elevate the OnePlus Buds Pro 3 from travel tech to EDC. I covet these earbuds so highly. They barely leave my pockets each day.
When I’m on a flight, I prefer over-ear headphones as the design helps mask the awful drone on long-haul flights. I’ve been using the Nothing Headphone 1 headphones for a little bit, and I can’t really fault them. Yes, you need to do a little bit of work to tune the out of the box sound signature. Once you do that, they’re genuinely solid.
I adore the design, because I’m an analog kinda geezer, but I have become smitten with the insane battery life. With ANC active, I’m getting well over 45 hours on a single full charge at 50-60% volume. That’s way more than the promised 35 hours and perfect for extended travel sessions or when you know you might not be close to a power outlet to charge.
When I’m moving from place to place, it’s that peace of mind that sold me on the Headphone (1) over other alternatives that might sound marginally better. My advice to anyone looking at these headphones would be to look at how many people are offering EQs. There is a great community on Reddit offering some solid options to really round out the sound profile for your listening preferences.
Entertainment on tap
Until recently, I used the Pixel Tablet as my go-to video-watching device for tech-event based travel. I have since swapped it out for the OnePlus Pad 3. It’s the most powerful Android tablet I’ve ever used, but it’s the larger screen real estate that has been great for travel.
It’s light for its size at under 700g. So if I don’t feel like taking a laptop, it’s the perfect 13-inch screen for catching up on shows. I only really use it to watch TV shows and movies, and while Samsung has tablets with better OLED screens, this thing slaps those in-seat airplane displays that not only have dodgy touchscreens, but a limited selection of content to keep me entertained.
I often don’t need to charge even after 9 hours of a Lord of the Rings marathon, which is always good in my book. The detachable keyboard means I can still get a little bit of work done if I need to, but I try not to use it like a laptop, as that does showcase some of the shortcomings of Android in that particular form factor right now.
Plugs and power
Depending on where I’m going, I switch out the various international power bricks on hand. Luckily, lots of the globe adopts North American tech, so when I travel soon, I’ll use a US plug, and the Spigen Arcstation 65W charger has been a go-to for a year or so. It is pocketable, so it takes up a negligible amount of room in my tech kit. I know that I can charge my laptop alone or a few devices like my camera, phone, or watch as there are two USB-C ports.
During the day, I’m carrying the Anker Nano powerbank that just attaches to the back of my Pixel 10 Pro XL because it’s Pixelsnap compatible. At 5,000mAh, it’s enough to fully charge my phone or even my camera when I’m out doing touristy stuff. I went for this powerbank because I hate having a heavy sidebag, and many 20,000mAh options are big, bulky, and especially heavy. This is just enough to keep my tech topped up in a bind, and that is all I need while travelling.
However, to contradict myself somewhat. Less frequently, I carry the Anker Nano Powerbank because it’s small, offers 10,000mAh of extra power, and, for me, the all-important integrated USB-C cable. The 45W charging speed is amazing for all of my gadgets. Just tapping the side button lets you track the powerbank’s health and the current capacity – which is great while travelling. I tend to carry this sparingly, but it’s a refreshing little powerbank that looks good too.
- Spigen ArcStation 65W Charger
- Anker Nano Power Bank 5,000 mAh (MagSafe Compatible)
- Anker Nano Power Bank 10,000 mAh
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