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I'm
not selling any of these products, this is only a collection of impressions
about some of the things I have traveled with, or plan to travel with.
As I use them, I will add updates. Remember that not all items are appropriate
for all travels, and the importance of packing light cannot be overstated:
when in doubt, leave it out! Where practical, I have added
links to manufacturers or retailers for anyone who wants more information.
Text
in GREEN has been added since my latest trip.
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Portable
Digital Storage
iDrive |
Digital cameras are a truly great invention, but
what to do with all those picture files? The field of digital image
storage devices is expanding and evolving practically daily, so it was
difficult to decide which to choose. In the end, I waited too long,
and didn't have much choice, since I had to buy something only days
before departure. Overall, the iDrive worked pretty well for the needs
of my last trip, but has a few major drawbacks that are sending me out
on a new search for something better. While it copied all my photo cards,
there is no way to confirm successful transfer on the road,
and about a dozen images were corrupted, so I was glad to have
made back-up transfers to CDs as well. Also, it often turned itself
on in my pack, running down the battery and spinning the hard drive
while in transit (an invitation to damage the drive).
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Calculator
Filofax |
Solar-powered and only slightly larger
than a credit card, this calculator is small enough to carry
around all the time, and very handy for things like dividing the check,
figuring out tips, currency exchange, and metric to English measurement
conversions.
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Battery
Charger
PowerEx |
The MH-C401FS 100 Minute
Cool Charger looks like a winner: can charge AA or AAA NiMH batteries,
either quickly (4 in about 100 minutes) or more gently but slowly (about
5 hours). It charges each battery independently, so it will not over-charge
any cell. Comes standard with a car charger, and I bought it in a "Worldwide
Travel Edition" that includes lightweight auto-switching adapter
(100-240V, 47-63HZ). This worked flawlessly for
about two months, but then mysteriously starting acting strangely. With
a lot of experimentation, I was able to get it to charge again, but
only on the "slow" (5 hour+) speed. I will contact the company
and see what can be done, because in general I thought this
a very good product.
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Rechargeable
Batteries
PowerEx |
High capacity, quality
NiMH rechargeable batteries, these MAHA PowerEx 2000mAH AA and 700mAH
AAA are rated very high both for the amount of charge they can
hold and their battery lifetime (500 charges or more).
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Headphones
Philips |
Spent a lot of time looking
for a pair of headphones to use with the minidisc recorder... they needed
to be compact, inconspicuous, durable, and give decent sound. These
Nike psa-flight by Philiips were designed for runners, so are
sweat-proof and light, with sensitivity rated at 104db, quite
good for something under $20.
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Film
Camera
Olympus |
I bought the Olympus Stylus
140 zoom mere days before my big Italian
Adventure, and if you want a sample of its output, every Italy picture
on that site was taken with this camera. Things I love about it: weather
resistance, rigid sliding lens protection, zoom & macro functions,
small size and low profile (not a theft magnet). Am considering upgrading
to the Olympus 170 which has both active auto focus and more zoom.
I did pick up the 170, and I did enjoy the additional zoom (and the
quickness of its operation). But the digital camera is just
so much more fun to use, and can give me immediate feedback
about whether I got the shot or not, so I found myself not using this
much afterall. In the future, I will travel only with digital, and not
weigh myself down with all those rolls of film, and give up worrying
about damage from all those security x-ray machines.
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Camera
Case
Eagle
Creek |
Eagle
Creek calls this a "Data Pod" and intends it for use with
PDAs, but it fits my little digital camera well,
and its padding provides good protection. I
ended up using this to store the extra SD cards and the card reader
as well.
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Digital
Camera
Minolta |
The
Minolta Diamage F100 features four megapixel resolution and 3x optical
zoom, wrapped in a tough, compact all-metal body. It has goodly array
of both manual and automatic controls, and can take AA batteries (easy
to find just about anywhere). This camera performed
like a champ through extremes of temperature and humidity, taking
great pictures, especially in low light situations. It is small enough
to take everywhere without weighing me down. It goes through batteries
pretty quickly, so I plan ahead by carrying 2-4 extra rechargeable
AAs. All my Picture of the Day photos
are from this camera, so you can judge the quality for yourself.
One problem that has just developed recently is that when the batteries
are spent, the camera loses any custom settings (including date, time,
and picture size/quality) and reverts to the default settings, which
is most inconvenient.
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GSM
Mobile Phone
Ericsson
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The R520 phone has many cool features, comes
with sim card with worldwide roaming, works in 140 countries, even
has built-in modem that can network wirelessly with my Palm Pilot
to send email back home, although I never took
the time to figure out how all that works. Even so, I found it to
be a most convenient device to have along. I saved money by
buying new sim cards in each country I stayed in for two
weeks or more, so incoming calls were often free for me. The
downside of this phone: the battery must be charged nearly everyday,
it drains so quickly, even when it's turned off.
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Digital
Transfer
Device
Zio |
This tiny, handy gadget
accepts flash memory from my palm pilot or digital camera,
and can allow transfer of that data to any Mac or PC with a USB port.
No cables or power supplies necessary, it's a simple and efficient solution
for moving information. This proved helpful in
many countries, though sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't (depending
on the cybercafe's system). It was helpful enough of the time to justify
its inclusion.
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Data Case
Jansport |
A
very handy item, it fits my Palm Pilot and its folding keyboard
in separate compartments, and there's even a zippered mesh
pocket for the Zio, memory card and extra batteries.
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MiniDisc
Recorder
Sharp |
Even though Sharp doesn't make this model anymore,
it's still called "one of the most desirable portable MD recorders/players
ever produced." Its rugged silver aluminum body features jog dial
control, illuminated remote control and a rechargeable lithium ion battery. I
first used this two years ago to capture sounds of Italy, and I'm looking
forward to collecting lots of exotic new sounds to share on this site.
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Mini
Discs
TDK |
These disks can record 74 minutes of stereo sound
or double that for digital mono recording. I'll take some pre-recorded
with favorite music, and record over them with sounds collected from
the places I visit.
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Microphone
Sony |
The Sony ECMMS907 microphone offers digital stereo
sound, and is made especially for use with minidisc recorders. Powered
by a single AA battery, I'm hoping it will prove to be a great tool
for collecting both ambient sounds, music and interviews as I travel.
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Travel
Pouch
Eagle
Creek |
A
very useful gift from my brother, this travel pouch nicely fits my
minidisc recorder, microphone, extra disc and batteries, and has a
thin strap (not shown) that allows me to sling it over my neck and
shoulder for hands-free operation (a godsend when I want to shoot
photos and collect sound simultaneously).
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Mini-radio
has AM and FM reception, is powered by 2 AAA batteries.
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Headlamp
Princeton
Tec |
Three white LEDs provide
lots of light (300 hours for 3 AAA batteries), and the headband provides
hands-free convenience. Plus it's waterproof.
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Mini
Flashlight
Princeton
Tec |
I couldn't resist this,
it's so tiny (about the size of a US quarter) and light (7 grams) that
I'm sure it will come in handy at some time.
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Lithium
AA Batteries
Eveready |
These batteries
are a lot lighter than traditional alkaline ones, and last 3-5x longer.
The downside is they cost a lot more, and I imagine they're hard to
find off the beaten track. I'll be taking some with me for backup in
situations when the rechargeables have been temporarily exhausted.
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CR-V3
Lithium Battery |
Extra battery for digital camera (which
can take AAs, but this lasts a lot longer). |
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Otherwise
known as "digital film" these postage stamp size cards are
a miracle of miniaturization, and are a lot easier to transport than
the many rolls of film they replace (no worries about x-ray machines,
either).
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Electrical
Adapters |
I needed just two for this trip, one three-prong
UK and one two round prong for Europe. Because I was often staying in
hostels where power was not always easy to come by, it was helpful to
have an extra adapter, so I could charge my phone and my camera batteries
at the same time.
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LIZ'S
TOP PICKS - EQUIPMENT
- ELECTRONICS - CLOTHING - PERSONAL
CARE - HEALTH -
SUPPLIES - LEFT
BEHIND
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