The tech gadgets to pack that’ll save your holiday
There’s the seasoned traveller, who sets off with just a minimalist suitcase, and then there are those who find themselves sitting on top of their trolley just to get it to close, because ‘it’s better to take everything twice’. In both cases, there are essentials you simply can’t do without: swimwear, a charger, books, sun cream and documents. Then there are the tech gadgets, which won’t solve the major holiday dramas – like, they won’t find you a free parking space by the seaside in August – but when it comes to a few minor daily mishaps, they really can work wonders, making your holiday simpler, more relaxing and more enjoyable. Here are seven gadgets that deserve a place in your suitcase, one for every unexpected event that might crop up between setting off and coming home.
Let’s start with the most classic holiday worry: losing something. The beach bag left behind under the parasol, the keys to your holiday let gone missing by the second day, the suitcase that seems to have vanished into thin air at the baggage reclaim. The Xiaomi Tag tracker is the most affordable solution to combat that increasingly justified anxiety about losing things. It clips onto your keys, rucksack or suitcase handle and, thanks to Bluetooth, lets you find everything with a single tap on your smartphone.
Speaking of missing out on things, sometimes a smartphone just isn’t enough to capture it all. You need an action camera like the new GoPro Mission 1, the ‘cinematic camera’ designed to document what really matters: dives, mountain bike descents, kayaking or snorkelling, with smooth, detailed footage. This is thanks to its one-inch sensor with 50-megapixel resolution and video recording up to 8K. It’s not exactly tiny, but it’s waterproof to 20 metres without a case, and the 159-degree wide-angle lens lets you capture everything that really matters.
Of course, every device has a common enemy: a flat battery. It’s an unwritten rule of holidays that your smartphone decides to drop to 1 per cent just when the perfect view appears or you need to show your train ticket. That’s why a 20,000 mAh power bank like the Xiaomi 67W Power Bank can make all the difference. Fast charging of up to 67 watts gets your smartphone, tablet and camera back up and running at the same time; the built-in cable prevents your rucksack from turning into a tangle of wires; and the ability to charge multiple devices simultaneously means you can save the day for your travelling companions too.
For anyone looking to protect their hair from the sun, sea salt and chlorine, Rowenta’s ‘smart’ brush could be the ideal travel companion. Hair Therapist is the result of seven years of development and promises to keep hair soft and shiny even when summer puts it under strain. As you brush, it releases heat and steam at a rate of over 300 cycles per minute, helping to repair the hair fibre thanks to a thermo-active treatment.
