In the 21st century, leaving the house without your favourite gadgets can feel a bit like embarking on a polar expedition with little more than a raincoat and a packet of biscuits. It’s not that you don’t need the raincoat, it’s just that it’s not the most helpful and necessary item on the kit list; there are all the other factors to consider, like navigation, emergency contact, a digital camera and the means to upload your photos for all your friends to see as soon as you’ve taken them. But which gadget would we find the most difficult to part with?
The Smart Phone
Potentially the most vital of all gadgets, the Smartphone has rapidly made the transition from an exclusive luxury for the elite to a virtual necessity, providing the lucky owner with anything from internet banking to an app which can make your voice sound like an alien. A wonderful traveling companion, it can guide you around foreign cities and translate a menu for you, so there’s no need to worry about accidentally ordering octopus in a far-off fishing port on one of your world cruises.Pros: Can be virtually all of your gadgets in one.
Cons: Potentially fragile. Requires a charger.
GPS
For those without a Smartphone, those looking for something a little more specialised, or those who have trouble navigating their way around a supermarket, the GPS is just the ticket. Coming in all shapes and sizes, the GPS can tell you exactly where you are on our big blue planet and can even work out your altitude and plot it on a handy and technical looking graph for you. Amusing on a skiing holiday, helpful on a walking holiday.
Pros: Can help you out of many a sticky situation.
Cons: Can lead you into the occasional sticky situation if not used with an ounce of common sense.
Digital Camera
Whether you’re an aspiring model, a professional photographer or just snap-happy, there are very few people who will leave the house without a digital camera, let alone go on holiday without one. They are the embodiment of an age of rapid archiving, with photographs becoming published memoirs seconds after being taken, and range from the cheap disposable to the professional costing thousands of pounds. If you forget it, however, there is of course, the Smartphone.
Pros: Can provide you with glorious pictures and hilarious memories.
Cons: Can detract from the experience itself. Photos can sometimes delete themselves inexplicably.
Kindle (other brands of reading device available!)
While perhaps not yet considered an essential, the Kindle is sneakily making its way into every kind of public transport. Perfect for English students and travellers alike – and sometimes a combination of the two – the Kindle (or Kindle app) allows you not only to carry an entire library in your rucksack, but also to annotate, highlight, and search key terms to your heart’s content.
Pros: An entire library in a tiny space.
Cons: Requires a charge every now and then. A little bit more of a problem than a paperback if you fall asleep on the lilo.
Torch
While not exactly a recent invention, the torch is one of the few useful gadgets which has not been usurped by a Smartphone. While some mobile phones have attempted to provide a built-in torch, and we all attempt to use the backing light of a phone to find the fuse box in the dark, it just doesn’t compare to a torch.
Pros: There is nothing that compares when trekking across a campsite to find the compost loos at 3am.
Cons: Can be a little bit bulky. Requires batteries.
Laptop
The laptop has long been in development, and there were fears that it would become obsolete with the advance of Smartphones, but the laptop has held its ground. With many more capabilities than a Smartphone, including general ease of use when it comes to doing anything more advanced than uploading a photo or sending an email, the laptop can usually be relied upon to deliver.
Pros: More reliable than a Smartphone.
Cons: Far too big for most handbags, manbags and rucksacks.
Card Reader
It’s only small, but it’s incredibly useful. Whether you’re on a world cruise and your daughter asks for a quick cash injection to help her out of a difficult situation, or you realise you forgot to pay a loan before you left , the card reader will be there for you, securing your internet banking and allowing you to pay anyone in the world from anywhere else in the world.
Pros: It’s only tiny but very, very useful.
Cons: It’s only tiny and easy to lose.
Solar Charger
The gadget your gadgets could not do without. Charge your Smartphone in the middle of the Sahara so you can download a picture of some water.
Pros: It will allow you to charge your other gadgets anywhere.
Cons: Not likely to work on a campsite in Wales, on account of the likely lack of sunshine.
Adapters
You go through all the effort of writing reminders to pack your charger on brightly coloured post-it notes and sticking them all around the house and then realise when you get to Europe that you forgot to pack an adapter. Another gadget your gadgets could not do without.
Pros: An essential addition to your charger.
Con: Easy to forget.
MP3 Player
As the Kindle provides you with a library at your finger tips, the MP3 player provides you with a festival and more. It will keep you entertained on a long journey or block out the screaming baby on the train.
Pros: Provides you with an enormous selection of music.
Cons: Can make choosing what to listen to very difficult. Requires charging and headphones that work.