The Top Travel Gear of 2018 (Incomplete List)

Dr.meter Luggage Scale 110lb/50kg

This is probably my favorite device on this list. At around $10, it also happens to be one of the cheapest. That’s a small price to pay to ensure you aren’t charged overweight baggage fees. A portable luggage scale that gives relatively accurate readings. You can change units to kg or lb. It has a back-light and is fairly sturdy. It measures up to 110 pounds but lets be honest; unless you’re smuggling bars of gold, you would never have a bag weigh that much. You aren’t a gold smuggler are you?

Bose Quiet Comfort 35 Noise Cancelling Headphones

I’ve been a fan of Bose noise cancelling headphones for a while now. Though I may cringe at the price-tag Bose is accustomed to, I am always pleasantly surprised when I receive my headphones. The sound quality is what you would expect from Bose. As always, Bose does a good job with dulling the ambient noise around me. Offering wireless capability, NFC connectivity and the ability to recharge the headphones is a quantum leap from the previous QC 25 series. Not fumbling with wires and packing extra AAA batteries is a major plus for me. For those of you who want to watch your in-flight movie, the QC 35 does come with an audio cable. All said, Bose delivered a quality product in exchange for my hard earned dollars.

TSA Approved Cable Luggage Locks

Your bags will exchange many hands through the course of being loaded and unloaded from the aircraft. Theft does happen, and it is always wise to secure your bags as much as possible. Locks will not guarantee total security, but it is a deterrent. When buying luggage locks, I look for 3 things.

  • Cable – they are thin and flexible enough to fit through standard zippers
  • Combo – A combination lock means less keys for me to keep track of.
  • TSA Approved – TSA approved means TSA will have a master key to unlock the bag. Otherwise TSA would be authorized to break the lock to gain entry.

Most TSA locks on the market do not need to be re-locked by a TSA agent after their inspection is completed. With Forge TSA luggage lock, the agent has to re-lock the bag to remove their key.