The 12 Best Travel Tech Essentials of 2024

The one problem with traveling with tech gear is that you usually need to charge that tech gear, and when you’re on the go, a power outlet might be hard to come by. That’s why it’s crucial to carry a power bank with you, lest your phone run out of juice halfway through the day! So we always toss the Anker Nano 3-in-1 Portable Power Bank into our carry-on bags (not checked ones, as it has a lithium-ion battery!). 

This handy device makes charging on the go easy as can be, as it has a charging cord built right into it — there’s no getting tangled in your bag. “When you think of a portable charger, most of them seem so basic, but this one has the smartest design I’ve ever seen, and I bring it with me everywhere,” says T+L testing editor Jackie Cucco. “It has a digital battery display so you know when you need to charge it, a foldable plug so you can plug it right into the wall, multiple charging ports, and a built-in lightning charging cable that you can wear as a wristlet.”

Where do we begin with these headphones? Before we get into the tech details, let’s start with the colors. This pair comes in five elegant options, from traditional black to elegant ocean blue. But you’re not just here for the colors, you’re here for the sound. And these headphones have incredible sound. “I don’t know if I just never paid attention to what I’m listening in as much detail as this before, but everything sounds very detailed, like I’m immersed in the sound,” says Cucco. “It also has a spatial-awareness feature that works with virtual reality or video games. I tested that with a YouTube video, and it was really cool — the sound gets louder on one side of the headphones as you turn the screen of your device.”

But Cucco’s favorite thing about these headphones is their noise-canceling capabilities. “I wore these while walking through the chaos of Penn Station and while sitting on the train back to Long Island packed with people, and I couldn’t hear any of them,” she says. “I couldn’t believe what was happening — when I was sitting on the train home, I kept cycling through the different noise-canceling modes while listening to music and the difference was astounding.”

If you’re an iPhone user, you won’t find more convenient earbuds than the AirPods Pro (2nd generation). They instantly connect to your phone, making setup an absolute breeze. What makes the Pro version stand out from the standard model is the silicone tips that help the earbuds stay in place. “They stayed in my ears throughout the jumping jacks and only fell out when I vigorously shook my head,” says Taylor Fox, commerce outdoor gear editor at T+L.

Fox loved the quality of the noise cancellation, though. “The noise cancellation is really impressive for earbuds. Even when not playing anything, the silicone buds help block out noise,” she says. “I can see myself using these on planes/elsewhere without any sound playing just to block out noise. When music is playing, the noise cancellation helps keep all attention on the music.”

Wireless headphones are great for mobility, but they’re a drag during air travel — most airplanes don’t have Bluetooth-capable in-flight entertainment systems (though the feature is starting to roll out on some airlines!) That means you’ll need to either use the cheap pair handed out by flight attendants, or you’ll need an adapter. We found the Twelve South AirFly gets the job done.

T+L associate editorial director Morgan Ashley Parker won’t travel without them. “AirFly plugs into any headphone jack and links via Bluetooth, so you can even use it to pair two sets of earbuds to watch something together if you’re stuck with a buddy, an airport delay, and one screen,” she says. “Warning: these are real conversation starters so, be ready to provide product details to your airplane seat mate.”

Do keep in mind that the device needs to be charged — it has about a 25-hour battery life, though, so you’ll be covered for even the longest flights.

As much as you might love reading a physical book, there’s no doubt that packing multiple books for a long trip can be a pain. So for avid readers on the go, an eReader is a must-pack item. “The Kobo Libra Colour can store all of my books in one compact little tablet, and I love that I can use my library card to get e-books delivered right to the device,” says T+L associate commerce editor Anna Popp. That said, it’s not the most intuitive process to get library e-books onto it, but it’s still great that that’s an option.

What makes Kobo Libra Colour stand out from competitors is not the fact that it’s fully waterproof, but its color screen. “The ability to read books in color is also a huge plus since it gives the digital device a closer semblance to a physical book,” says Popp. “In terms of other useful features, the ability to doodle and write is super helpful for taking notes.” Note that the Kobo Stylus 2 is sold separately, though.

Keep an eye on your luggage even when it’s not in sight with the Eufy SmartTrack Link tracker. Using Bluetooth connections from the cell phones of passersby, you can triangulate the location of your luggage anywhere in the world (provided there are people with cell service nearby). The device is a slim tile of plastic with a hole in the corner through which you can loop a keychain, or you can simply toss it in your checked bag. We picked this over Apple AirTags because they performed quite similarly, but the Eufy tracker is much cheaper.

Setup is fairly easy, and the device works with Apple’s FindMy app and Google’s Find My Device app — but you need to make sure you buy the right tracker for your mobile device. “You do need an external app and to make an account, but then you use FindMy to track, so I ended up not using the app at all throughout the test,” notes Fox. “I don’t see the point in its external app.”

Headphones are great for solo listening, but if you’re with a group, you’re going to need a portable speaker. We love the Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 3, first and foremost, for the small size and loud, crisp sound, but second, for its waterproof and dustproof nature. That means it’s perfectly fine to take this on a more rugged journey into the woods or to a beach party, or toss it in a backpack without concern.

If you want to amplify the noise, you can connect it to multiple Wonderboom speakers, though we found the process a little bit complicated. On the plus side, though, pairing your own phone with the speaker is very intuitive, and it takes hardly any time at all. As for battery life, this speaker lasts up to 14 hours on a single charge. “It can last for a super long time after not much charging,” notes T+L senior commerce editor Lydia Price. So even if you’re limited on charging time, you’re still good to go!

Need to work remotely on your travels? A Wi-Fi hotspot can come in handy. The Simo Solis Lite connects to 4G networks in more than 135 countries around the world — and it comes with 1GB of free data per month for the full lifespan of the device. There’s no messing with sim cards here; all you have to do is turn it on wherever you are, and it connects to the fastest 4G network available.

“I traveled to five different cities in India and always had fast service, even in rural areas. I’ve also used it in Japan and all around the U.S.,” says Price. “It’s great to use in groups as well because you can have 10 devices connected to the hotspot at once. You get 250MB of data for free each week, and after that, you can buy day passes, pay per gigabyte, or set up a monthly subscription.” You can purchase that additional data via an app.

Many remote workers like using two monitors instead of a single laptop screen, but lugging around a second screen is less than ideal. Fortunately, portable monitors exist, and the SideTrak Solo Pro Touch FHD is one of the best. “This monitor is so slim and lightweight that it fits inside my laptop case with my actual laptop in there so it takes up no additional room as a separate item,” says Parker. “It has a built-in kickstand, and I love that it’s a touchscreen unlike a regular monitor, as there are times when I’d rather swipe around versus use the touchpad.”

As for setup, it couldn’t be easier. “You simply attach a USB-C or mini-HDMI cable for the monitor to work as an extended display and it draws power from the computer itself, so there’s no need to plug it into a wall outlet either,” says Parker. This is, without a doubt, one of the easiest portable monitors to use while traveling.

A travel adapter is a must-have tool for all international travelers, since socket shapes vary in different parts of the world. This one by Epicka is our tester favorite — it can be used in more than 150 countries, making it a practical all-in-one device. It has an impressive six ports for charging: four USB-A, one USB-C, and 1 AC socket. And it also comes with spare fuses and two USB-C to USB-A adapters. No matter what type of charger you’re using, you’ll be able to plug it into this device.

It’s also powerful! “The adapter was not only adept at charging smaller devices such as my Apple iPhone and Apple AirPods, but could also handle powering up my Amazon Fire Tablet and my boyfriend’s DJI Mini Drone’s four batteries and remote controller without a problem,” says T+L updates writer Asia Palomba. “Best of all, it could handle charging up both smaller and high-powered devices at once.” As a bonus, it comes in four colors so you don’t have to choose the standard black of so many tech items.

No one likes tangled up cords. And despite having wireless devices, we so often still have cords to charge them — lots of them. Keep them nice and tidy in the Bevegekos Small Cable Organizer Bag, which has a pocket for just about everything. “The smaller mesh pockets are convenient for storing my charging cables and wireless earbuds, and the larger pockets are great for items like my laptop charger and portable power bank,” says T+L senior commerce editor Jasmine Grant. “I bring this bag on every trip, and I also toss it into my work bag every time I commute into the city for meetings. It ensures that none of my precious tech accessories gets left behind.” The bag also comes in 16 colors and two sizes, so you can pick your favorite style.

If you need an everyday backpack to stash all your gear, we recommend the appropriately named Everyday Backpack by Stubble & Co. The bag has a sleek, minimalist exterior — the front of which is waterproof, though the back absorbed water during our tests. “A lot of waterproof backpacks can have a sporty or utilitarian look to them, but I love the sleek look of this one — perfect for commuting to work without looking like you’re hiking into the wilderness,” says Cucco. 

The backpack has plenty of space inside with a 20L capacity, including a padded laptop sleeve that fits up to a 16-inch device. “I especially love how the main compartments have a variety of pocket sizes and shapes so that all different types of items have their own little home, like one for a notebook, one for sunglasses, one for a passport, one for a phone, one for a chapstick,” says Cucco. “I would love to separate all of my belongings like this instead of throwing them all into a black hole.”