The 5 Travel Gadgets Our Tech Expert Won't Fly Without

This little guy is about the size of a credit card, but it can deliver enormous power to all of your USB-C gadgets, including the iPhone 15 (and newer), as well as compatible iPads, Samsung devices, and more. It has a handle that doubles as a USB-C cable, so you don't need to pack one with you. We've all been in situations where we're rushing out the door, and we don't have time to power up our devices. In just an hour, this portable power bank charges my dead devices up to 50 percent.

Keep in mind, though, that it's a bit more dense than it looks. But that's the trade-off for having this much reliable power at your fingertips.

My MacBook Air could survive any flight, but laptops have to go away during take off; iPads do not. Also on one flight the passenger in front of me reclined and almost crushed my MacBook Air. Lesson learned.

Now I travel with the powerful and battery-efficient iPad mini 7 (and this compatible keyboard). It fits the tray table comfortably and still leaves room for the terrible food that's served to me in economy.

I had my doubts about the Apple AirPods Max case—it exposes the mesh headband and looks more like a purse than protective case—but I've come to love it. It's got a slim, space-saving profile that slips right into my personal travel bag, and it's more than enough protection for your audio investment.

Thanks to the solid active noise cancellation, you can silence cabin chaos in seconds. Plus, the audio is heavenly. Battery-wise, it will last your whole flight and then some. One downside to consider, though: They're notoriously heavy. Another alternative to consider is the Sony XM6, which is comfier and lighter (but its case is quite bulky). The benefit to that weight, though, is that the AirPods Max are quite comfortable if you want to rest your head on the cabin next to you.

You never think a lost luggage nightmare will happen to you; then it does. I learned the hard way when my North Face backpack vanished en route to Iceland. Beautiful trip, but it was soured by the missing bag.

Now, I tag every piece of luggage I own has an AirTag in it. If something goes missing, Find My shows me exactly where it is. If you have an Android phone, Tile is your best alternative.

Seat-back entertainment just doesn't do it for me. I'll spend 30 minutes scrolling through bad movies before falling back on familiar shows I have saved on my tablet.

That said, I've always praised the Asus ROG Ally X as the best for travel gaming, but it's got a hot new successor: the new ROG Xbox Ally. It has longer battery life (about five hours versus the previous gen's 3-hour runtime) and powerful performance that handles intensive gaming. Plus, the new Xbox-inspired grips are super comfortable. The only downside to consider is that Windows 11 underpins this PC handheld, which means setup isn't exactly plug-and-play.

Out of the box, you'll need to wade through Windows updates, driver installs, and app logins before you can actually start gaming. It's powerful, yes, but it still feels like you're navigating a mini laptop instead of booting up a console.

Still, this minor flaw doesn't take away from the ROG Xbox Ally being a top-notch PC gaming handheld.