For most people, one of the first things that comes to mind when traveling is taking pictures. And hopefully good quality pictures. A professional DSLR camera is great, but it’s not an ideal option if you enjoy traveling light. Personally, we often stick to the camera on our iPhones, but after some research we upgraded to the Olloclip lens – it’s small, light and does a great job.
If you rely heavily on your phone/tablet/laptop when you travel, you probably worry about your battery life and want to be sure that these devices can be charged whenever necessary. Typically this won’t be an inconvenience in large cities, but you could run into some issues in small, rural areas. A power bank is a good backup for those instances – there are plenty of different kinds, sizes and colors. The Anker Astro is a good option (there should be a newer version now) – it’s compact and light enough so it won’t cause any headaches when packing.
When flying, it’s a good idea to try to avoid checking luggage whenever possible – it saves time. A LOT of time. And there is a high chance your luggage won’t get lost and you won’t end up without ski clothes on a two day ski trip to Colorado (oh the memories!). In order to avoid checking bags you obviously have to pack light, but finding a good carry-on luggage is just as important. My choice for travel lasting more than a few days is the Osprey Porter 46 Travel Backpack Bag – I’ve taken it on 10-12 day trips to Uruguay, Japan, a road trip to Europe and some others. It has very good reviews on Amazon and I’d give it 5 stars as well. Normally the price is on the higher end, but you can find it for under $80 if you look hard enough. My brother swears by the Tortuga Travel Backpack – he’s taken it on the same trips and says he wouldn’t change it to any other backpack. I’ve borrowed it from him and the only issue I had is the price – it costs $199.
Also, when I travel overseas for a longer period of time, I almost always take a packable daypack with me – it’s small, light and doesn’t take much space. It can be used as an “emergency” bag in case you end up buying too many souvenirs or as a daypack to carry some snacks, a rain coat or a sweater while exploring a new city. There is a wide selections of those – I have the REI Stuff Travel Daypack, my brother has the Tortuga Packable Daypack.
