5 Favorite Pieces of Travel Gear

I like to travel light, and typically only bring along carry-on luggage (in fact, we each only travel with one piece of carry-on luggage and a small backpack).

Because of this, I’m especially careful about any new purchases. If I buy something new, it usually means I have to get rid of something else.

But these are five unconventional items that I’ve found useful while traveling. Let me know in the comments below your favorite travel items!

1) Bose QuietComfort 20 Noise Canceling Earbuds
These headphones are a lifesaver while traveling. I use them pretty much every single day, especially when I’m working or if I’m on a plane.

2) Pacsafe Wallet
This wallet is specifically designed to prevent theft. Fortunately, it also provides plenty of space for money, credit cards, coins, and other items.

3) Columbia Silver Ridge Convertible Pants
These light-weight pants easily transition into shorts. Two pieces of clothing in one! Plus, they fold up great in your luggage.

4) Bose Soundlink Mini Bluetooth Speaker
This speaker packs a very good quality sound in a very small package. Great to have around the house or rental when you want to listen to music.

5) Kindle Paperwhite
I love having the ability to access millions of books in one small device while on the road. It’s easy on the eyes in daylight or in the dark.

 

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Transcript

Hey, Brandon Pearce here! I want to take a few minutes today to show you five of my favorite pieces of travel gear that I take with me wherever I go.

I don’t have a lot of stuff. I usually travel with carry-on luggage and I’m careful about my purchases, because if I buy something new, it usually means I have to get rid of something else.

But these are five things that I’ve found very useful (I’ve also touched on this topic a few years ago in this post). These are not obvious things, like a computer or a phone. We won’t cover those here. See if you find these useful, too.

1) Bose QuietComfort 20 Noise Canceling Earbuds

First, we have the Bose QuietComfort 20 Noise Canceling Earbuds. These things are a lifesaver to me! I use them pretty much every single day, especially when I’m working or if I’m on a plane.

These are great because they not only cancel the ambient noise that’s around me, but they play great quality music and sound. And it really helps me focus when I want to shut out what’s going on around me.

There are a few cool things about it. This is a very small package, first of all, which is great for a traveler. It charges via USB—just stick it in here and plug it into your computer or whatever and you’re charged. The battery lasts up to 15 hours!

Let me show you how it works as it’s the easiest way to explain it. We’ve got the earbuds, which you stick in your ear. You’ll notice with the headphones in that my voice is kind of muted, although we haven’t turned it on yet.

Once we turn it on, you should hear almost nothing. I’m going to play some music for you now. Once the music is going, you can’t hear my voice.

But, if I hit that blue button you can hear me just as clear as if you didn’t have headphones in at all. This is fantastic if your kid comes in and wants to talk to you while you’ve got your music or something going and you don’t want to take the earbuds out. Instead, you just push the little button and you can talk. Push the button again and you’re back in your own little world. I love that about these headphones.

These are also great if I’m riding a motor bike around town. I can still hear all of the cars and everything. Or if I’m walking so I don’t get too distracted.

Bose QuietComfort 20, or 20i if you have an iPhone (as the remote is slightly different for Android versus iPhone. I love these headphones.

2) Pacsafe Wallet

Next we have the Pacsafe Wallet.

They recently changed their model. They used to have this trifold one, which I really liked. You can see why I got a new one. It’s really beat up as I’ve had it for several years.

It has two compartments for currency, which is great. Plenty of spaces for credit cards and such. And like other Pacsafe products, it has a chain, or on the new model, it has nylon strap, to help prevent theft. Simply put this around your belt loop. and then if somebody tries to take your wallet they won’t be able to as easily. Or, if your wallet sometimes slips out of your pocket, which mine has done before, it stays attached.

The new model has a similar idea. It’s got two pockets for currency. One you can zip up, which is also great when you are come across those traffic cops who want a bribe. You can say, “Look, I only have a tiny little bit of money,” rather than them seeing all of the money you got in there.

I usually put all of my small money—they call it small money here in Bali—in the little pocket, and then my big money in the zipper pocket. Sometimes I’ll have a little divider in there with different currencies.

There’s plenty of spaces for credit cards and such. And a coin pocket in the back for these funky coins.

That’s the Pacsafe Wallet. I really like Pacsafe products. I’ve used other products of theirs before and they are all very good.

3) Columbia Silver Ridge Convertible Pants

Next, a piece of clothing here. These are the Columbia Silver Ridge Convertible Pants.

Maybe you’ve seen convertible pants before somewhere else—other brands make them too. I like them especially on those days or in those countries where you never quite know what the temperature is going to be like. In the morning it might be cool, in the afternoon it might be hot, and then get cool again in the evening.

Well, this lets you unzip the bottom portion of your pants, (or your trousers, depending on where you are from) and it turns them into shorts. So you can be a lot cooler during the day.

I just fold the bottom section up, stick them in the pocket, and it looks great and feels great. And it allows me to be cool throughout the day.

It’s made of a really thin, light material that dries really fast, and they fold up great for luggage.

4) Bose Soundlink Mini Bluetooth Speaker

These are the Bose Soundlink Mini Bluetooth Speaker. They are this size and they pack a very good quality sound in a very small package. Most of the small travel speakers that I have seen have a very tinny quality, where this is very rich and full.

They are a little bit heavy, so I don’t actually take them everywhere. Sometimes if I’m going on a shorter trip, I will leave them at home. But I like to put them up around the house—have some music at dinner time or when we are going to bed. Throughout the day it’s nice to have a little music around the house or when we’re talking sometimes.

I love this charger. Look at how thin that is. And you just pull the plug right out like that. Beautiful, eh? Very well designed.

5) Kindle Paperwhite

And finally, this one may be obvious to many of you, but the Kindle.

This is a Kindle Paperwhite. I don’t think mine is the latest model, but I love having the opportunity for millions of books in less than the size of one book. You can see it clearly in daylight or in the dark, and it’s easy on the eyes.

It has the option to look up words, highlight things, take notes, and then be able to go back to review later. I usually do this from Kindle’s website, where I can copy my notes, stick it into another document, and review it. It’s a great way for me to remember what I’ve learned and what I’ve read.

Those are my five favorite pieces of travel gear! I didn’t mention my camera, although I could do another video of all my camera gear which has accumulated over the years.

I hope you have found this interesting and helpful. Thanks for watching. Remember to live well and enjoy life now.

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