My Travel Essentials
I made a couple vids showing some of my travel & video gear. I think this would be a better place to go more in depth on my travel essentials, and why they are essential. If you have not checked out my channel – you should. I am much more active over on YouTube than I am here. Tito Tim’s Videos https://www.youtube.com/c/titotimvideos.
Today I will show some of my travel essentials. These are my top “must have” items for every trip.
Outdoor Master Backpack
First is my Outdoor Master Backpack. https://amzn.to/2Wl1WZ3 I have gone through so many backpacks until I found this one. It seems smaller than I would normally buy, but surprisingly it holds everything I need for a 1 week trip! It holds 50 liters – It is bigger on the inside…
My sister-in-law recommended it to me; she used hers on a 2 month US/China/Philippines trip. Lots of pockets to stay organized. A laptop pocket, numerous attachment points, and even a built in rain cover. For under $40 it is my new favorite backpack (and I have way too many ha ha). I have had mine almost a year and could not be any happier with it. Very well built, and roomy.
JLabs J4 Earbuds
JLabs J4 Earbuds https://amzn.to/2WlnNzv I bought my first pair of J4s about 8 or 9 years ago. They are still working great! I bought a new pair when I visited the US last year, just as a backup set. I have not needed them yet. These are crazy sturdy. The ‘neighbors’ are so damned loud I end up sleeping in these 3 or 4 nights a week. They stay in my ears, are comfortable enough to sleep in, and sturdy as hell. When I say sturdy I ain’t kidding – these bad boys have kevlar reinforced flat cables. The J4 comes in a hard shell carry case, and includes 7 different size earpieces. You can get them with or without a mic. About $25 and worth much more.
Xiaomi Mi Band 3 Fitness Band
I was interested in a fitness band but they are crazy expensive in the Philippines, and buying in the US would involve very expensive shipping to the PIs. So I found a cheaper Chinese made fitness band to try as a test. The Xiaomi Mi Band 3 Fitness Band https://amzn.to/2wiWVl6 I bought the Mi Band 2 about 2 years ago and upgraded to the Mi Band 3 this year, while visiting the US. I bought this one just as a test, and it works so well I have no reason to spend more on any other brand.
It does pretty much everything I need (and more). Step counter, workout tracker, heart rate monitor, sleep monitor, displays text & messages from phone… The software it comes with works well enough but I use Notify & Fitness, a 3rd party app that cost about $4. It tracks so much more than the Xiaomi app. The band is waterproof up to 50 meters. I wear while showering, swimming, and snorkeling. For diving I wear a dive computer, not a watch. The Mi Band 3 is rated IP67. The bluetooth connection is flawless and does not use much phone battery. The Mi Band does require its own special charger but the charge last 20 days! An amazing fitness band for under $30 (cheaper in the PIs).
Huawei Nova 3i – My Youtube camera
Of course who can travel now without their smartphone? I was using a Samsung J5 http://amzn.to/2h7tpb4 for the last 3 years and was very happy with it. I recently upgraded to the Huawei Nova 3i https://amzn.to/2M7Nz6B and am blown away by the difference.
Much longer battery life. 128 Gb ROM and 4 Gb RAM. It has dual sim slots, one is a nano sim, one is a hybrid slot (will hold a nano sim or micro SD card). It has 4 cameras. The back camera is 16 MP/2 MP. The selfie camera is 24 MP/2MP. The camera app does more than I will ever need. With the 3Dmojis, filters, backgrounds, editing suite, slo-mo, time lapse, and tons more, I no longer need any extra apps while filming. The fingerprint scanner is on the back, which is different for me, but I am getting used to it (the fingerprint scanner works much better than the Samsung scanner).
I do have a lot more travel gear but these are my must haves, and current favorites.
