Travel Accessories
The Best Universal Power Plug Adapter for Travel with Fast-Charging USB-C
In our years of travel we’ve tried out loads of too-flimsy or too-bulky power adapters, and have always been hungry to find the one plug that could do it all without weighing us down. It’s the key travel gadget that makes all other travel gadgets possible. Sure, you can stop at any electronics store or …
Review of the Osprey UltraLight Zip Organizer—After Years of Constant Travel with it
I have used the Osprey UltraLight Zip Organizer for over four years of nearly constant travel, and yes, in that period I have frequently brushed my teeth, shaved, and even showered. This small toiletry bag has stood by me for all of those adventures, storing and organizing my implements for self-care while keeping my clothes …
My Favorite Portable Second Screen So Far: Review of the Mobile Pixels Duex Pro
I was certainly sceptical of the the as a second screen for laptops, but also desperate to find a travel monitor with a quality image and that would work as part of a portable standing desk setup. And so I arrived at the Duex Pro. The fact that it actually attaches to a laptop and …
The Best Way to Hang Purses, Daypacks, Etc in Bars, Cafés and Anywhere While Traveling
The Heroclip holding up an Osprey Farpoint Fairview Travel Daypack in a café Want to keep your trekking pack from getting dirty on the ground in a train station? Need a way to hang your small toiletry kit so as not to take up your host’s limited bathroom space? Want to attach a travel water …
The Travel Water Bottles that Collapse Down the Smallest—Reviewed
I get thirsty, but I hate buying plastic bottles of water. And I hate taking up extra space in my pack; I’m a minimalist travel packer, after all. The solution is collapsible water bottles. I’ve tried a number of them and nothing is perfect, but there are some good options to recommend, depending on your …
The Best Multi-Duty Head/Body Hair Trimmer I’ve Found for Travel
I’ve tried out various hair clippers over the years, and they all put up with abuse on the road. I’m happy to finally have found one that I can write about and recommend here for you minimalists, who want the few things you take to work well, and serve multiple purposes. Contents What We Look …
The Coolest Flask/Wine Skin/Road-Drinking Companion/Picnic Wine Vessel: The Bota!
Sure, you could take a bottle of wine on a picnic in Italy, on a flask of vodka on the overnight train from Saint Petersburg to Moscow. But the best road drinking gear comes from Spain: the bota. These drink sacks are made from leather with an inside lining of goat bladder, pitch or — nowadays …
How I Set Up a Dual-Screen Standing Desk That’s Actually Portable
After a bit of failure, here’s the portable standing desk setup that I’ve finally arrived on, designed to go anywhere and still work while standing up with good posture: the monitor at eye height and the keyboard just below elbow height. My requirements for a portable standing desk were: Two monitors (for vastly improved productivity) …
The Best EU- and TSA-Compliant Travel Corkscrew for Opening Wine While Travelling
At this point we’ve spent decades on the road — as well as decades uncorking wine. It was finally time to take a good hard look at our road uncorking options. All too often we have wound up in some cheap tourist apartment, hostel, or campsite sans that most basic of basic necessities: the corkscrew. …
Stuff we’re currently testing—the good, the bad, and the we dunno yet
Not everything that we test we find interesting enough or useful enough to include in our main packing lists, or review. This article details some of the things we love (but that don’t merit inclusion on a minimalist’s packing list), we hate (and didn’t even want to bother reviewing), or that we’re just not sure …