Ten of the Coolest New Travel Gadgets - Enjoy!

Just like washing machines made things easier for your mum in the days of yesteryear, travel gadgets are transforming the lives of backpackers. Here is a selection of the best labour saving devices from across the globe.

1. The Stash Card

This one has been around for a while but it’s still worth a mention. The Stash Card is a covert, spy like accessory that you slot into the unused PC Card slots on your laptop. It’s big enough to hide notes, credit cards and the all important travel insurance reference number. See it for yourself by dropping this link into your address bar - wirelessgarden.com/stashcard

Image courtesy of wirelessgarden.com

2. Padlocks

This one sounds simple but it’s a gadget that has been around for a while and it’s proved its worth. The benefits of attaching a small lock like this - to the zips on your hand luggage, backpack or wheelie suitcase are numerous. Pick pockets will be put off and immoral airport luggage handlers will be less likely to borrow that top. You can pick up a decent padlock for less than €2 in most hardware stores.

3. Camping Chairs

A little comfort is never a bad thing so why not make room in your backpack for this flat-pack chair? Officially these fold out, back supports are camping accessories but they work everywhere – even on hard, over crowded, airport lounges. Here’s a tip -they cost less if you can pick them up camping stores in France. Alternatively just drop the term: “Crazy Creek Original Folding Camping Chair” into a Google search and look out for your nearest vendor. Image courtesy of comfortchannel.com

4. Electronic Hammocks

These aren’t what they sound like. They are in fact tiny little hold alls that you can anchor to a plug socket - to support your otherwise dangling electronic gadgets. The odds are that the plug holes in your dorm room are going to be in an awkward place, way above the floor. It’s never a good idea to dangle your Fuji 8000 camera, two metres above the floor – suspended by nothing other than its charger cable and this is where the hammock helps you out. You’ll find these on fair-kaeuflich.de for €9.90, excluding shipping. Search for LOAD-DING charge station. Image courtesy of fair-kaeuflich.de

5. The 150-Country Auto-Detecting Travel Adapter and Converter

The gadget’s name is a bit of a mouthful so let’s just call it CADTAC. Now the CADTAC is no ordinary travel adapter. It converts all voltage into the correct amount of electronic juice for your devices, it adapts to more than 150 countries across Europe, America, Africa, Australia, Asia and the Caribbean, AND it has a USB port so you can re-charge iPods and digital cameras, wherever you are in the world. You can even charge AC and USB devices at the same time, and it can be yours for approximately €27 - from hammacher.com.

6. Coffee Soap

This isn’t a mechanical gadget per say but it still gives you a novel little kick. This cleanser froths up into a caffeine enthused broth and said caffeine is absorbed straight through your skin and into your blood stream. Each bar contains four and a half cups of coffee so it’s not a massive amount – but it is enough to make you wake up and pay attention in the early hours of the morning. Shower Shock Caffeine Soap Bars start at $3 or just over €2, from thinkgeek.com. Image courtesy of hinkgeek.com

7. Wind Up Phone Charger

If you think the wind up radio was something just wait until you get your hands on this. It’s a wonderful invention that can give your phone about thirty minutes of emergency charge, simply by converting your kinetic energy into battery charging electricity. All you have to do is vigorously wind the handle like a mad man for a few minutes and voila. The charger also comes with a built in flash light – just in case you fancy a bit of a wind without your phone. Pick this one up from gadgetshop.com for just €7.50. Bargain!

Image courtesy of gadgetshop.com

8. The Smallest Solar Powered Racing Car in the World!

This gadget is just a bit of fun - for those budget conscious days on the road, when you want to have some fun without paying for it. The dimensions of this tiny little toy are just 33 by 22 by 14 – millimetres! There is no battery, the car is powered solely by the sun, there’s no assembly required and strong artificial lights set it going too! It’s a tiny bit of a splurge at €15 but it’s all good fun. Trawl through ecotopia.co.uk for this miniature vehicle and more.

Image courtesy of ecotopia.co.uk

9. USB Back Massager

This little gadget has been slated as a useless invention but in all fairness it’s not that bad. Lugging a 70kg backpack across the planet is no mean feat and you will probably pick up a few injuries from this weighty task along the way. If this is the case then why not indulge in a little back massaging comfort - whenever you pop into a computer room? All you do is plug the USB connection into a computer, position yourself correctly and enjoy the tension busting vibrations. This gadget comes in at just over €50 from ubergizmo.com. Image courtesy of ubergizmo.com

10. Mankini Swimsuits

Just like the coffee soap this isn’t technically a gadget but it is funny and if you happen to be man who is brave enough to wear one, then it will make your trip very memorable! These are designed for comedy photos - not practicality, and the photographic evidence will definitely attract a lot of attention when you dig, Facebook or Twitter them! Get yours from gadgetshop.com it’s a bargain at €12.30!

Image courtesy of gadgetshop.com

What else do you think?

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Joseph Nguyen