5. Backpacking Electronics
Unlike regular holidays, with backpacking your will be away and on the road for longer. So here we have listed what we consider to be be our essential backpacking electronics that you will need on your trip, including calling out some elements you dont recommend taking.
Universal Adapter
A universal travel adapter is one of the most essential things everyone should have when travelling. This saves you from having purchase and carry multiple adapters with you. One purchase and you are se for the future.
We recommend the AUNNO Universal Travel Adtpter (20W Plug Adapter with 3 USB-A & 2 USB-C ports) covering all of your essential connections. You can get yours here for £17.99.
We also recommend buying these ahead of time and having them in your backpack, as the ones available for sale at the airport, although they do the same thing, are usually substantially more expensive! (Sometimes up to 4 times the price!). This is also the type of item that is better to carry 2 of, so that you can keep 1 in your day bag, and the other in your rucksack.
Mobile Phone
A mobile phone is an essential every day item, and even more so tor travelling, allowing you to book buses/trains/flights/hostels on the go, as well as looking up directions for getting from paints A to B to Z.
While travelling, it can often be a good idea to take a cheaper mobile phone than the device you normally use at home, especially if you are visiting countries where the cost of your normal Phone could feed a family of 6 for 6 months and where phone crime rates are particularly high (Thailand, Brazil etc). Think how you would feel if your £1200 iPhone or Samsung got stolen or damaged?
That said, if taking a cheaper mobile phone than you normally use at home, you want to make sure you are taking one with all of the features your require, as well as a great camera.
On that basis we recommend the Honour Magic 6 Lite. We have used Honour phones while travelling for a few years now, and they come with a standard android operating system, all associated tools, Dual sim & eSim, large long-life battery capacity and very high (108) megapixel cameras.
Wifi Hotspot
We have been using this one for years. We never go on a longer or multi-destination trip without it, and it has saved us literally THOUSANDS in international roaming fees. For us this is an essential for multi-destination & multi-country trips!
Solis' founders identified a common pain point for all smart device users: getting on-demand, fast, secure, reliable mobile Internet connections anywhere in the world.
After years of investment in R&D to solve this problem, Solis (formerly Skyroam) now delivers fast, secure mobile Internet in over 135 countries worldwide via patented virtual SIM™ technology. Solis delivers mobile data on-demand through multiple network partners for one flat rate—no contracts, no SIM cards, and no surprise data charges or fees, and has the best coverage we have found from any other provider.
The Solis Hotspot & powerbank allows you to stay connected on the go, connecting 10-16 devices to the one 4G/5G hotspot. Regional and Global Wifi Plans are available, keeping you connected as you move from country to country with no additional roaming fees. Daily, global pay-Per GB and monthly/unlimited data subscriptions are available. A major benefit of Solis is that your hotspot automatically switches carriers (even in a single city/country) to ensure you get the best service at all times, coupled with automatic network performance automation.
The Lifetime Data Plan is now included with every Solis hotspot, which is a game-changer. This revolutionary offering gives you seamless internet access with a minimum of 1GB of global data every month. All coupled with an intuitive app to help you manage your data and subscriptions.
Tablet
We generally always take a tablet with us to keep connected, plan the next stage of our trip, book accommodation or watching movies or tv shows on Netflix or Amazon Prime while travelling. Due to their size, there generally more practical for using on Planes, trains and buses.
We always recommend something compact and lightweight, and therefor we recommend packing a tablet over a laptop (Unless you need it for working while travelling).
he key thing is having a device with a larger screen. Phones are great, but sometimes you just need something that offers you a a bit more visual real estate.
Tablet Sleeve
When travelling all our bags get thrown about a bit, including out backpack where we keep our most important, and generally fragile items. So we recommend packing a tablet sleeve for keeping your tablet in when not in use.
We recommend the TiMOVO 9-11" Tablet sleeve, as this will fit almost all tablets, one of the cheapest and most effective items we have found. We use this for both travel and every day use, so its a really useful and versatile item.
Cable Storage
Cables are essential, but generally a pain in the arse. They are messy and somehow manage to tie themselves in the weirdest knots possible.
So we thoroughly recommend getting yourself a cable storage pouch. We recommend the flexible and light weight Woodland Cable Bag and Cable Organiser Bag. You can get yours here for £6.99!
Earbuds / Headphones
When traveling, you are definately going to want a decent pair of earphones for passing the time listening to music or watching something on your tablet.
We generally recommend ear pods over the overhead earphones because they are bith lighter, and take up significantly less space. We recommend the Soundcore by Anker earphones, both for travel and every day use.
These are the ones Richard uses every day for work and pleasure. They are some of the best earbuds we have found, and oddly, also the cheapest (And significantly better than Apple Eapods, which we have switched from to these!).
Phone, Tablet & eReader Charging Cables
An obvious statement, but make sure that you back all of the cables you need for changing your phone, tablet, eReader and anything else you are packing. Ideally all of your devices will use the same type of charging port (eg: USB-C) to limit the number of cables you need to pack.
Keep your phone charging cables in your backpack/bag, to make sure you have easy access to them when you are in airports, or need a top-up from a power bank.
Keeping your Universal Adapter in your backpack/bag will ensure you can top up from a mains supply, so that you don't have to use your power bank when a mains supply is available.
All Airport lounges, both airline and pay to use offer power points and charging facilities. Some more modern airport Lounges, both airline and pay to use have wireless charging facilities, but this is the exception rather than the rule.
It also never hurts to have a spare in your Cable Storage bag, so that you have have one in your hotel, and one with you on the go for use with a power bank.
Be sure to cover your bases and have charging cables you can use with both plugs, adapters, power banks and laptops.
Camera
Smartphone cameras are great. Handy for everything, quick pics, selfies in front of a site, and quickly uploading to social media. BUT, that said, we throughly recommend travelling with a decent camera. There is just something about the picture quality and clarity of colour in photos captured on a proper camera.
Again, when travelling you want something light-weight and more compact.
We thoroughly recommend a mirrorless camera with a full DSLR sensor to get the best picture quality when travelling. A prime example of this is the Sony Alpha series (Richard has been using this series for years and swears by them).
Camera Cables, Batteries, Battery Charger & Spare memory cards
Make sure that you pack all of the cables you need for your camera, particularly your charging/laptop connection cable. Most Battery chargers, similar to the one shown in the photo will fit nicely in your cable storage bag, along with any spare memory cards to keep them safe.
As Cameras and batteries, particularly lithium-Ion batteries need to be carried in hand-luggage, we recommend packing your camera and spare, charged batteries in your day bag (that you can pack it in your backpack/bag) and have it ready to go for when you arrive.
We also recommend packing a lens cleaning cloth in your day bag, as humidity and insects can necessitate cleaning your lens on the go if you don't want to ruin that perfect picture with strange marks!
Power Bank
We recommend the Anker Large Capacity power bank for a number of reasons.
First and foremost is the ultra-large 27000 mAh charge capacity and Fast-Charge functionality. It has slots for USB-A and USB-C devices, and can charge up to 3 devices at the same time, and small enough to comfortably fit in your day-bag.
It also has a built-in power gage to see how much charge you have left, as well as a torch - Useful for finding items in your backpack/bag in dark places like night trains and buses.
This is the main power bank we all use when travelling, and due to the large capacity is one of the best power banks we have used.
Kindle / eReader
A fairly standard one. We love physical books as much as the next person, but when travelling, saving weight and space is key, and for that reason, we cannot recommend a Kindle enough.
Before you go and or move between destinations, make sure you download the books you are wanting to read, to make sure they are saved to the device, rather than cloud storage (We have been caught out by questionable airport wifi a few times), to make sure you avoid airport/plane/train/bus boredom!