These are the 7 gadgets and tech accessories I wouldn’t travel without

By Brandt Ranj, Insider Picks From Business Insider

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vacation relax
Oli Scarff / Getty Images
I’ve written about gadgets you should consider picking up before the next time you travel, but after spending a few days on vacation, I decided to point the spotlight on myself and discuss what I actually brought.
Unsurprisingly, there’s a lot of overlap, but these are the specific pieces of gear I found myself bringing and using while either in transit or during my stay.

Some allowed me to bring some of my creature comforts from home, while others let me get some work done between seeing my family.

An iPad stand

Amazon
Simple, basic, small. Those are the three biggest selling points for TechMatte’s iPad stand. Its foldable back serves two functions; the first is that it can lay flush with the front part of the stand for easy storage. The second is that it lets you change the viewing angle of your screen. While it’s meant for an iPad, I’ve also used this stand with an iPhone 6 Plus. It’s far from high-tech, but it does its job well and works well with other accessories on this list.

Best of all, this stand is so small, it allows me to set up shop on an airplane tray with no fuss.

TechMatte stand, $8.99, available at Amazon

The iPad Pro

Amazon
Since the iPad Pro has become my primary computer for most tasks, it makes sense that I decided to bring it instead of my MacBook Pro. I didn’t have too much work to do while away, but I was still able to write two quick posts from the desk in my room.

I’m used to working on a larger screen at work, but at 12.9 inches, this iPad gave me more than enough room to work with. Like I mentioned with the stand, the iPad Pro is airplane-tray friendly — much more so than a laptop. When I wasn’t doing work, the iPad kept me occupied by remaining the best way to read articles on the web and digital magazines.

iPad Pro 128GB, $859, available at Amazon

Bluetooth headphones

Amazon
These are the best wireless headphones I ever used. While traveling, I mostly stick to earbuds because of the hassle of big headphones and cords. Packing them away in a backpack can be a bother, but it wasn’t a problem here. These headphones are small, light, sound incredible, and are loud enough to drown out the drone of an airplane. Now that I’ve gotten a taste of traveling with these, it’ll be hard to go back to anything else.

Bang & Olufsen BeoPlay H8 Bluetooth Headphones, $449.99, available at Amazon

A portable USB battery

Amazon
I’ve recommended these power bricks before, and I was reminded why when they saved my bacon during one of my recent flights. While the flight itself was only three hours, the plane was stalled for over an hour on the tarmac. During that time I kept myself occupied with my iPhone, and since it was broad daylight outside, the brightness was up pretty high. During the flight I realized I was draining battery fast — mostly due to heavily using the in-flight Wi-Fi. Thankfully I just popped this battery out of my backpack and was good to go.

I used this battery throughout my trip to both top off my phone’s battery and charge my B&O headphones when they ran out of juice.

Anker Astro E3 Ultra Compact Portable Charger, $25.99, available at Amazon

An Apple Watch and iPhone charging stand

Amazon
As an avid Apple Watch user, I’ve used this stand for months. While it doesn’t offer a tremendous amount of support for your iPhone, the Apple Watch can wrap around a charger on its side. You’ll still have to buy both an Apple Watch cable and Lightening cable to make full use of this stand, but it’s nice to have all of your devices in one place, fully charged.

It doesn’t hurt that this stand looks nice, too. I left it at my mom’s place, so the next time I visit all I have to do is plop my devices down and they’ll charge.

Aerb Rose Wood Charging Stand, $10.99, available at Amazon

A multi-port wall charger

Anker
Working hand-in-hand with that charging stand is this multi-port wall charger. While there are some models that can charge up to six devices simultaneously, for my purposes two USB ports are sufficient. There’s not a lot to say about this device, but it’s definitely smarter to pack one of these than worrying about taking up multiple outlets with single-port adapters. Travel smart!

Anker 24W Dual USB Wall Charger, $10.99, available at Amazon

Amazon
A Bluetooth keyboard

Not everyone will want to pack one of these, but if you’re planning on doing a lot of work and want to live an iPad-centric life like I do, it’s essential.

Typing on glass is great on a phone, but can be cumbersome on a large-screen device; this Anker keyboard lets you type while traveling and not skip a beat. It’s the third component in my three-part iPad writing kit (the other two are already on this list), and its slim profile doesn’t make it a bother to slip into a backpack.

It’s a niche product, but whether I was writing articles, Facebook comments, or tweets, the Anker keyboard was in front of me when I did it.

Anker Bluetooth Ultra-Slim Keyboard, $13.99, available at Amazon

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