paper – This year we were so excited to fly to Sanibel Island in Florida (our favorite place on earth) for a real vacation. We usually go every fall, but have been going since 2018 because in 2019 we were remodeling our house, moved into an apartment and couldn’t justify paying rent without being there. No. Then 2020 and COVID happened. I decided to go this year no matter what and made all my travel arrangements in April. Well, we all know what happened to Sanibel Island and much of Florida two weeks ago… Hurricane Ian. Our vacation was apparently canceled due to the damage on the island, and I am heartbroken about it (not for me, but for the island and its people).
I had all the ambitious plans to leave my MacBook at home and take an iPad Pro instead. However, I ended up selling my iPad to a friend a few weeks ago. We talk about all of this in his first two episodes of The Gadgeteer video podcast, but TLDR’s version is that he didn’t want to take the MacBook out because it’s bulky, and in the end it was a little crazy, and Samsung I bought a Galaxy Z Fold 4. Try it instead.
However, our trip to Florida didn’t go well, and it’s a bit early to make all new travel plans at this point, so our plans are to do a day trip around here (Southern Indiana).
So let’s see all the gear I use. I was going to I will take it with me on vacation this year. We also cover the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 and what happened in that test.
Apple AirTags
I already had one AirTag, but Jeanne wanted me to get another one so I could put one in each suitcase. We constantly check our luggage and still have problems with lost bags but you never know and we want to be prepared just in case so I thought it was a good idea and the second I purchased from Amazon for $28.99.
Orbitkey Slim Case AirTag Holder
The great people at Orbitkey kindly sent me two slim cases for the AirTag. This makes it easy to clip the AirTag to a bag or luggage loop instead of just zipping it into your pocket and losing it. It’s also great as a keychain that you can always find. These “cases” are very easy to use and only $14.90 from Orbitkey.com.
Orbitkey Nest
Orbitkey also sent me the Nest gear organizer that I reviewed in 2020, but since it was an early sample, I had to send it back at the time. Read the Orbitkey Nest review for all the details.
I was excited to use Nest to keep all my small items perfectly organized and in one place. I love that you can customize the Nest with your gear instead of customizing your gear with your Nest. For this trip, I planned to keep my tech gear to a minimum, so here’s what I did.
Here’s how to pack your nest: I turned it into a journaling kit rather than a tech kit. I take a journal with me on vacation and enjoy documenting all my adventures.
I really like that the Nest can be customized with plastic Velcro tabs and that it doubles as a wireless charger. Orbitkey Nest can be purchased for $109.90 directly from Orbitkey.com or Amazon.
Tribit Flybuds C1 Pro Wireless Earbuds
I’ve been using the 1st generation AirPods Pro earbuds for a while, but at $249, I didn’t want to update to the latest. When Tribit offered me to try out the Flybuds C1 Pro earbuds, I figured a flight to Florida would be the perfect test of their active noise canceling capabilities. You can’t do that, but the Flybuds C1 Pro wireless earbuds still feel better in your ears and sound great than the AirPods Pro earbuds. I also like that the case has a built-in battery charge indicator. We hope the case can be wirelessly charged with a Qi charger.The Tribit Flybuds C1 Pro Wireless Earbuds are $129.99 on Amazon.
RapidX Modula5 Wireless Charger
I bring a lot of gadgets that need to be charged frequently on vacation, so I also bring a charging cable and AC adapter. To make things easier, I started with the RapidX Modula5 wireless charging system. The system consists of a charging pad and an Apple Watch charger. They are all magnetically connected, and the nice thing is that you can connect up to 5 modules with a single USB cable. I use two Apple Watch chargers and two regular wireless chargers for other items like my phone and his AirPods. The RapidX Modula5 is available on Amazon, with prices starting at $14.44 and going up depending on how many modules you need.
Kobo e-book reader
I was planning a vacation in Florida and wanted to relax by reading a book on the beach. . I was going to have a Kobo aura 1 and Jeanne a Kobo Libra H20. Really enjoying the experience. We talked about this in our last video podcast. If you’re interested in Kobo eReaders, you can buy them on Amazon starting at $99.99.
open sea leather wallet
Now that I no longer carry large amounts of cash with me wherever I go, a small wallet like my new favorite works well. This is an open sea leather topsider mini wallet. I like how the rawhide color changed after 6 months of carrying it around. Check out our review of the Open Sea Leather Topsider Mini Wallet and compare how it looks now with what it looks like out of the box (pictured above).
Waterfield crossbody pouch
I like my purses to be as minimal as possible, and I like my bags just as much. The WaterField Crossbody Pouch is the perfect little bag to comfortably wear/carry all day long while still being big enough for your essentials like a wallet, cell phone, sunglasses, lip balm, pens and a small notebook. Like all WaterField bags, this bag features an iconic orange interior that makes it easy to find items on the bottom of the bag. The Essential Crossbody Pouch has a spacious interior with an open-top exterior pocket, an exterior zippered pocket, and an open-top pocket on the back large enough to hold an iPad mini, allowing you to store your items can be used for basic organization of The WaterField Crossbody Pouch comes in a variety of color accents and is available directly from WaterField for $89.
Keto Chow Meal Replacement Shake
I love going on vacation and trying new foods, but I am pre-diabetic/insulin resistant and tend to keep my carb intake as low as possible to prevent blood sugar spikes. eats a lot of keto-friendly meal replacement bars. I also enjoy low-carb meal replacement shakes. My all-time favorite meal shake is the Keto Chow Shake. Each shake is 1/3 of the daily level of a bundle of vitamins, and you can customize how many calories each shake needs by adding the amount and type of fat you want. ), melted butter, or even oil or avocado. I mostly use heavy cream and my favorite flavor of chocolate (there are so many flavors available) is like a thick, rich shake that tastes more like a dessert than a meal. Become.
Keto Chow comes in 21 serving bags or individual pouches, making it easy to pack into your luggage. Simply open the pouch, add the powder to a shaker bottle filled with 16 oz of water, add desired amount/type of fat and shake. You can drink it right away, but it will taste even better if you chill it in the refrigerator for about an hour.
When I travel, I like to take some keto chow and a few shaker bottles. If you want to check out Keto Chow for yourself, you can visit ketochow.xyz and purchase individual packages for $5.50.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 smartphone
As I mentioned at the beginning of this article, I purchased a Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 to use as my phone and “laptop” while on vacation. Received about 2 weeks before scheduled departure. It was good that I had time to test it before the trip in the beginning.
When I first tested it and was speaking on a video podcast, I complained that Gmail didn’t give me the same desktop experience as my MacBook. This was a big problem for me because I spend hours each day dealing with email and consider myself a power user of he Gmail. I use stars, labels and multiple inboxes to stay productive. I couldn’t get the same “look” with the Fold 4… at least not at first…
After deciding to return it (which I didn’t really need as I wasn’t planning on going to Florida), I figured out how to get Gmail and web pages like the one above in desktop view.
The Fold 4 is very slippery and I was always afraid I would drop it. This expensive device definitely needs a case.
I also tried the Fold 4 with a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse, which worked very well to round out the whole laptop replacement scenario.
So while I could have used the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 as a laptop replacement while on vacation, I probably wouldn’t have liked the experience because the Fold 4 was too bulky and intimidating to carry around as a mobile phone. .Take me to the beach with you. I ended up not using it so I returned it.
I hope you enjoy this look of gear you’ll be taking on vacation. I’ll see what I decide to take when I actually go to Florida and other beaches next year.
