I’m constantly refining the list of gadgets I bring with me when I travel. I’m trying to find just the right balance of weight, convenience, and functionality. I’m always finding something new, or discovering a new need or desire while traveling. On my last trip, I tried out 3 new gadgets. After spending a week in Mexico using these gadgets, I can now highly recommend them.

WonderBoom 2

The WonderBoom 2 is a portable bluetooth speaker with a remarkably big 360-degree sound. It reminds me of some the much higher priced Bose speakers I’ve heard. I spent much time around a pool this trip, and this was the perfect companion. It’s waterproof and it even floats! In fact, there’s a special boost mode that is designed for when you are listening to music while it’s floating.

It also has an astonishing 10-hour battery life. I took it to the beach one day and listened to music all day on one charge. It is also quite durable. I dropped mine a few times and other than a few scuff marks, it worked perfectly fine.

The only thing I might change about it the color. I got the black version. If I was going to spend a lot of time outdoors in the sun, I might get it in another color that didn’t absorb as much heat. Mine got quite warm spending all day at the beach.

I highly recommend this as a lightweight travel speaker.

You can check it out here on Amazon: WonderBoom 2

The next gadget turned out to be perfect for warm climate areas like Mexico. This is especially true because we often would spend the entire day at the beach, or hiking, or by the pool. And, with all the photography and video I was doing on my phone, the battery would drain fast.

Riapow Solar Charging Bank

The Riapow Solar Power Bank was so convenient on this trip to Mexico. It’s a little bigger than my iPhone, so very portable (although it is heavier than a phone). It’s rated at 26800Ah which I had no way of testing. But I know that one day at the beach it charged 2 iPhones which were at about 50% to full and still had plenty of charge left over. The company that makes this charger claims in can charge an iPhone 8 times over with one full charge. This charger has 2 USB and 1 USB-C ports. The USB-C port is both an input and output port. It also can do wireless charging from its backside. This is another huge bonus since it means not having to remember a charging cable when going out. I was going to test if it could charge my MacBook, but haven’t tried that yet. It also comes with 2 LED lights on one end, They’re quite bright, but I haven’t had the need for them yet. This has been a great addition to my travel gadgetry. You can check it out here on Amazon: Riapow Solar Power Bank

Wireless Headphones

The last gadget is a pair of wireless headphones. Really the only time I use headphones when traveling is on the plane, maybe on the occasional long train ride. Before, I would use my Apple Airpods. But they don’t fit my ear particularly well and they’re small and easy to lose. I found this pair on Amazon. The sound quality is great, they fit my ears perfectly (they come with various size buds), and they have a small strap which prevents them from falling if one or both were to come out of your ear. And they are less than $25 on Amazon.

You can check it out here on Amazon: Wireless Headphones

Well there you have it. These 3 items are now part of my “must have” travel gadgets. Let me know if you have your own essential travel gadgets.