I absolutely love travel gadgets of any kind. If there are gizmos out there that can make my travelling life easier, so that I can spend more time enjoying myself or be more relaxed, then I want them! On our recent trip to Vietnam, we took several new purchases with us in the hope that they would make the trip even more enjoyable. Here is a quick run through of some of the things we brought with us and how they fared:
Lifeventure SoftFibre Words Print Travel Towel Review
On every trip, we’ve been on recently Vicky and I have squabbled over who would use the Lifeventure OS Map Print Giant Travel Towel which I wrote about last year. It was with this in mind (and the fact I always lost the squabble) that we got another Lifeventure travel towel. The reason we always argue over who uses the Lifeventure towel is that it is significantly softer than all of our other travel towels.
We had got the Lifeventure SoftFibre Words Print Travel Towel which has an awesome design on it. It is a map of the entire world which is created using the names of countries – very apt for a travel towel. Although it measures in at 150 x 90cms, it weighs just 280g, making this is a very lightweight travel towel which folds up into a really compact and pack-able bundle.
Despite its petite size, amazingly it can absorb 9x it’s own weight in water. This makes it great for carrying with you on your adventure. A common problem when on the move is that you don’t want to have to pack up a wet towel. Luckily, this towel dries 8 times faster than a normal beach towel meaning that it is always dry by the time you go to use it again. A final great feature of the towel is that it is treated with Polygiene permanent odour control this meant that even with two weeks of regular use the towel still smelt the same as on day one.
Go Travel Bag Packers – Packing Cubes Review
If you haven’t tried them yet, packing cubes are incredible. They will revolutionise the way you pack your gear. We got these Go Travel Bag Packers for our trip to Vietnam. This is a 3 piece luggage organiser set which contains a small, medium and large packer. They are brilliant for organising your clothes and gear as well as getting them packed down compactly without giving them loads of creases.
What I really like about these zipped packing cubes is that they are made of a very light weight breathable material which means that these don’t add unnecessary weight to your backpack. They also have a great see-through window for easily identifying what’s inside your packer. A final great thing about the Go Travel Bag Packers is that they are available in four colours, this is really useful for couples or if you are going on a long trip as it makes the cubes really distinguishable.
Go Travel Zip Cubes – Packing Cubes Review
Go Travel don’t just make the above Bag Packers they also make another packing cube called Go Travel Zip Cubes. These light grey packers differ as they are expandable. I love this feature as it means you can double the capacity if you need to fit more into your bag.
I prefer the finish of these over the Bag Packers as I think they feel a bit tougher, although they come in packs of two, whereas the Bag Packers come in packs of three! You get a small and a large pouch per pack and like Go Travel’s other bags, they’re made from breathable and lightweight fabric.
I really think packing cubes are an awesome and very useful addition to any travellers kit. I find it really helpful to be able to group my clothes and have it stored in neat bundles. This makes emptying your kit or locating that particular garment you’re after very quick and easy. You don’t even need to use them just for clothes, I have used them for keeping my electronics or even snacks, separate and organised.
Go Travel Worldwide Adaptor with USB Review
Let’s face it – foreign plug sockets are neither cool or exciting. They are, however, confusing and a minefield when it comes to connecting your electronics abroad. That’s where the Go Travel Worldwide Adaptor with USB comes in to simplify things. This is an earthed adaptor with twin USB ports which works worldwide.
It has multiple connectors and can be used in over 150 countries. This means that this plug should be able to fulfil most of your travelling electronic device needs. It has a button on the top which when you depress you can then slide out the relevant pins for the country you’re in and you’re away. It even has a detachable Euro adaptor which will convert 3-pole earthed plugs to fit most European sockets.
One of the best features is the ability to connect & charge devices simultaneously. On the bottom of the plug there are twin USB chargers which have a 2.4A auto-regulating power output, so when dual charging, this keeps your devices safe and charging properly. I am always wary connecting my expensive electronic devices in foreign countries and having a device like this that is safe and easy to use does make charging and plugging in your devices much simpler.
Go Travel – Travel Bag Light Review
The final item that we took with us to Vietnam and found incredibly useful was the Go Travel Lightweight foldaway travel bag. This is a foldaway bag similar to the Riutbag Crush however this is a holdall style bag and expands to become a massive W 58cm x H 31cm x D 20cm. A really great piece of design is how the pocket that it folds into, when unfolded, becomes a usable pocket on the side of the bag.
We found this incredibly useful when we set off for the Sapa Mountains in Vietnam, as we wanted to leave some of the kit that we didn’t need in the mountains back at our base in Hanoi. We were able to expand this bag, fill it with all of the gear that we didn’t want to be carrying in Sapa and leave it in Hanoi. For the rest of the trip, it only weighed only 316g and was barely noticeable at the bottom of my pack. A final great feature of this expandable bag is that it is very strong and durable and can even be used as a cabin bag. This makes it great for bringing back any unexpected purchases or large souvenirs from your travels!