How to Protect Your Electronics While Traveling
USE THESE TIPS TO MAKE SURE YOUR ELECTRONIC GADGETS (LIKE YOUR IPHONE AND TABLET) ARE SAFE, CHARGED, ACCESSORIZED, AND ORGANIZED WHEN YOU’RE ON THE GO.
Traveling with electronics can be useful but stressful, since these expensive little items can be easily lost, stolen, broken, or rendered useless by a misplaced charger. That said, it’s hard to imagine a journey without them. (How did we survive plane rides before tablets, easily record the beauty of sunsets before digital cameras or keep in touch on the road before smart phones?) Technology has forever changed travel, so bring your gadgets along for the ride—just be sure to protect them by following these four simple strategies.
1. Keep Them Safe One major fear while traveling is that someone might swipe one of your most valuable and useful possessions. If you’re staying in a hotel, store any gadgets you’re not using in the bedroom safe. In hostels, secure them in the provided lockers using your own lock. Laptops are sometimes too large or long for safes or lockers, but you can still prevent theft by using a cord lock that can be tethered to an object in any room.
When you’re in transit, use a bag with special pockets for a laptop, tablet, or smartphone—the extra padding will help protect it from damage. Don't forget about a dependable phone case, either! You'll be thankful for the extra protection when you inevitably drop it once or twice during your travels.
2. Keep Them Charged Even the most cutting edge piece of technology is only an expensive paperweight if it isn’t charged. Avoid headache and frantic shopping trips around town by checking that you’ve packed the correct chargers for each of your devices. Remember, spare camera batteries are affordable and handy to have as backups in your daypack. If you’re planning an international trip, bring an appropriate adapter. If you’re travel to more remote areas, make sure to pack a solar powered charger.
3. Keep Them Accessorized Plan ahead. If your destination is remote or international, you might not have access to the same plethora of electronic accessories that you do at home. Anticipate the minimum of what you may need and pack only that, whether it’s noise-cancelling headphones for your laptop on the flight, a waterproof case for your iPhone on the beach, or a fancy camera strap for toting your SLR around a big city.
4. Keep Them Organized All of your gadgets, chargers, batteries, and accessories can take up an entire carry-on if you aren’t careful. And they can easily get lost or scratched in a suitcase, if you don’t pack them properly. Use a packing aid like the Protect-It™ Cube to store the delicate gadgets, since the cube has structured, padded sides. Cords and plugs don’t need quite so much protection and can be rolled up into a smaller, softer storage space, such as a Pack-It Sac. Make sure you label each charger and cord with a piece of masking tape and a pen before you pack it, because it’s very easy to mix them up.
