When you leave on a trip you never know what you could run into. For this reason, it pays to be prepared. Now you can’t prepare for every situation imaginable, your backpack would be enormous! But you can bring the right travel gear for the likely ones, and you can try to cover your bases.
Below I’ve assembled a list of the must have travel gear you should keep with you for all occasions. If you’ve got all this, you’re ready for anything that comes your way.
A Good Multi-Purpose Day Pack – AmazonBasics Slim Carry On Travel Backpack
For starters, you’ll need something reliable to carry it all in. A good daypack will be good for a lot of purposes. It can serve as your carry on, your personal item, your day bag, or even your suitcase! There is of course an important decision to be made about size. Backpacks come in all shapes and sizes. I recommend a good midsize, like my example here.
Nail Clippers – SZQHT Ultra Wide Jaw Opening Nail Clippers
I would recommend a multi-tool, but the TSA frowns on those. Multi-tools are massively useful, but hard to travel with. It’s true that multi-tools without blades are TSA-compliant. But, they don’t always follow their own rules. And you can bet anything that if you try to argue, they’re going to search you for anything else. And they search everywhere. For this reason, nail clippers are a good solution. They’re good for cutting a lot of things and can be handy for a lot of things.
Travel First Aid Kit – General Medi Mini First Aid Kit
A First Aid Kit is always a good thing to have. It doesn’t need to be fancy. It just needs to be enough to patch yourself up in case of small accidents. If anything serious happens, there are always doctors. Just make sure there aren’t scissors in it as the TSA gets a little testy about those, too.
Water Bottle – HYDAWAY Hydration Travel Pack | 25 oz
Having your own water bottle is always nice. You won’t be able to take it on the plane full but you can fill it up after the security checkpoint. When you’re travelling about, especially outdoors, you don’t always know when the next convenient drink will come around. Having your own water bottle will let you fill up and take your hydration into your own hands.
Travel Towel – Rainleaf Microfiber Towel
Travel towels are compact and they come in clutch. You never plan on needing an emergency towel. But it’s for precisely that reason that they’re so useful. They fold up small and are super handy. Plus, in a pinch, they can double as a soft place to put your head on a plane!
Compact Travel Blanket – Comfort Plus 3-in-1 Premium Travel Blanket
You’ll also want a travel blanket. Some of them fold up to be very small! They’re always useful for a little warmth or a slice of home on a cold plane, train, or bus. By keeping this with you, you ensure that you’ll always be able to get comfy!
Universal Charger – Unidapt Universal Charger Power Adapter
This is a lifesaver for traveling abroad. You want to have a charger for your phone, it might as well be universal. A universal plug will let you charge anything using any outlet. This is one that people often forget about until it’s too late!
Power Bank – Anker PowerCore 10000 Portable Charger
A power bank will also help you stretch your devices! It’ll give you a backup supply of power for when you really need it. I actually recommend having two power banks. You can use one all the time, and save the other for emergencies, so you’ve always got a plan!
Pocket Notebook – Five Star Fat Lil’ Pocket Personal Notebook
I’m still a big believer in pen and paper. I think there’s value to writing things down and I think it’s a lot easier than phone notes. Not to mention it’s classier than phone notes and you can rip off and use pieces of paper. You should definitely pick up a little notebook and pen for your travels.
Compact Umbrella – SY COMPACT Travel Umbrella
Finally on my list of must-have travel gear, always plan for a rainy day. A compact umbrella is a great low-weight low-space way to do that! It’s a little easier than carrying around a bulky jacket or a poncho and it’s super easy to use and put away!