Gadgets Gizmo’s and Lounge Access
With our extended travel this time for two months and only with carry on luggage we have tried to find a few gadgets to make it all a bit easier. Here are some of the things we have discovered.
Multi Power Adaptor
Together we have accumulated individual PowerPoint adaptors and travelled with a power pack. This is great but there are a lot of them and this is bulky and today you really just need USB ports rather than actual points to plug items in. Our computer is the only thing we need an actual point for. Camera, battery packs, and mobiles only need USB.
So I came across a Kick Starter item that was a power point converter that basically covers all power point options in the world all in one gizmo plus best of all it had 3 x 18 volt USB slots. Bingo. All the gadgets can charge at once. No further adaptors required. Prongs slide in and out, a bit pulls off the back and it has a built in fuse – it is magic. Here is link to a newer better one. Weighs quite a bit. But when it replaces so many other items it is okay.
Multi end USB cord.
The next thing we stumbled across in a small supermarket was a USB chord that has three separate phone plugs at the other end. Which can charge my iphone my wife’s oppo phone and the camera all at the same time! Add this to the adaptor gizmo at the airport and you are mates with everyone. As you just turned one elusive power point into 5 usb outlets and someone can still plug their power chord in the back of the adaptor plug!
Mini flexible Mobile tripod with remote.
Found this nifty little tripod on eBay with bendy legs that wraps around things that any mobile can snap into. Plus you can get it with a Bluetooth remote all for about $8 delivered to your door! Link here. This is great for that selfie shot you want lined up right and need some extra distance. Or for that still shot you want to get. Best yet, it weighs nothing.
Separate Camera
The latest model phones take excellent pictures and for 90% of the holiday snaps you take for social media they are more than sufficient. But if taking night shots or trying to get a proper long exposure shot, they will not cut it. If you are a pro you will pack your SLR no questions. But for the picture buff like me and intent on skinning my luggage right down, the SLR didn’t make the cut. I did find a nifty add on camera for the iPhone though. The DXO One. It is a fully manual or auto camera that uses the phone screen as its view finder and simply plugs into the charger slot. It is only a bit bigger than a matchbox but packs a 24MP camera and even has its own battery, memory card and tiny viewfinder so you can in fact use it by itself (that bit is a bit awkward though). But it packs quite a punch for its size and saves RAW and jpg for the buff to tweak the pics on the computer. It doesn’t have an optical zoom and is a bit expensive at over $400. But I have found it quite good.
Next time I might go with a small snap camera that has a big lense, is fully manual (and auto) and has a good optical Zoom (also good reviews). But this does make for quality selfies! The night shots are ten times better and the remote with the stand works with it so a good little investment.
Battery Pack
You don’t get too far from home and you realize that you are using your phone a whole heap more and the battery dies half way through the day. Reading books, checking fights, checking maps, watching movies taking pics, checking social media, checking work stuff, reading the news feeds from home, editing pics and a whole lot more. So if you didn’t have a charger pack then get one!
I had a tiny promotional giveaway one that was in fact quite handy as it could easily fit in my pocket to top up my phone by at least half which would get me out of trouble. However, with the extended days out and all the rest I ended up buying a decent second one that was 20,000mah. This has been great. It will recharge all our gizmo a few times over before it needs to be charged and was always in our day backpack as we headed out plus with the multi USB adaptor chord we were fine to charge anything any time and never have battery anxiety again!
Water Bottle
A metal insulated water bottle whilst a bit heavy is a godsend. Buy one 2 litre bottled cold water from a shop and pour into your metal container – your water is cool for the whole day. Best of all you can wave away the annoying street hawkers trying to sell you expensive water when you are out. Order a drink with a meal that has sliced lemon with it and guess where that goes! Good shake and double thirst quenching.
Lounge Access
Now this is a real winner for some of those long layovers. Chances are like me you don’t fly enough with one airline to justify lounge access. That is no longer a problem. It can be fixed a couple of ways.
Buy a Priority Pass membership that gives you access to a wide range of thousands of airport lounges that are Airline agnostic. It can be a bit Exy. But not as much as just membership to the Qantas lounge. I was told recently that if you get a diners card this now includes Priority Pass membership and entry is included for their annual fee of about $150. Which would make it worth getting the card for nothing else other than this.
The other even simpler is to check online with the Aussie developed app Lounge Buddy and you can just book any lounge for around $20-30 in any airport on the spot. Giving you fast WiFi, food drinks and most importantly a shower and some quiet away from the hustle and bustle of the airport. Not always worth it of course. In those cases where you are stuck overnight or for extended periods in an airport they are well worth the dollars.
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