Whether you’re a city break gal, a two-week holiday hell raiser or a long-term backpacker - anything that makes your life easier when travelling is only a good thing in my book. I’m always looking for any new addition to my collection that will help my travels run smoother, safer and more efficiently. Some of my favourites over the years have been travel towels and waterproof cameras, both have made such a difference to my travelling experience and are something I never leave behind. Just before I headed off on my holiday to Santorini, I was asked to review a few products and thought what better time to test them out? I’ll be continuing to trial them throughout my travels in Eastern Europe and Australia over the next few months, but as always all opinions are my own! These products are fantastic for all kinds of travellers and will make a huge difference to both living the experience, and capturing it - whether you’re a travel blogger or not.
First up are a couple of products from what is quickly becoming one of my favourite brands - Juice is an ethically sound, high quality company that works to create the best electronic accessories. Everything you could need to charge, protect and complement your devices and plenty of affordable additions that will not only look super cute but will make your life a lot more streamlined and easier when you travel.
Juice Universal Travel Adapter
Something we all need when travelling is a reliable adapter that will fit with sockets in every country. It doesn’t matter if you’re off on a short holiday to one country or you’re crossing several borders, you’ll always need to charge your phone, iPod, or turn on your straighteners. If you’re the kind of girl who can’t go out without taming her mane, you’ll know the absolute annoyance when you can’t plug in your bloody hairdryer after a long flight. It’s one of those boring things your dad always has to remind you about, but really could make or break the holiday if you arrive without - you can’t get good replacements everywhere even in the modern world! One of the newest additions to the Travel Juice range, the Universal Adapter even comes in a range of cute colours!
My bright pink set definitely won’t be forgotten when I’m in a mad rush to pack my bags next time before a flight, and if my phone, MP3 or iPad cuts out I know the Travel Juice Adapter is equipped with FASTcharge and has three slots so I can charge all three at the same time. The set comes with four interchangeable plugs which are compatible with sockets in over 150 countries - now I’m only on 25 countries so far but I’m determined to trial the charger in as many as possible. If you’re sick of rubbish, cheap quality adapters, this is a good one to invest in for the long term, and best thing yet - it’s still a budget buy at £22.99 so you can keep your money for your holiday! Not yet available from the website, you can find it in-store in Sainsburys and it will soon be available from Tesco and WHSmith.
Juice Power Station
I've been in need of a power pack for my phone for a long time, let's be honest no-one's battery ever lasts long enough when you're Instagramming your holiday snaps, Tweeting your pals back home and catching Pokemon. When you're backpacking and need your phone to survive a 50-hour bus journey so you can use maps at the other end, it becomes even more important to be able to recharge. The Juice Power Station is a high capacity power bank which can recharge your iPhone 6 not once, not twice, but over six times.
It also works with your iPad or tablet and you can charge two devices at once, on a long journey, that could be one hell of a saviour and I sure could have used it when I was constantly on my phone in my sales job. With the same rapid charging function, it's very efficient at giving your phone the boost it needs - trust me, I tried it out at a blogging event and a week later I was still able to use it to charge up my phone - it's very good. The LED lights on the top let you know at a glance how much power is left in it. The hot pink means it's never going to get lost in your bag, and if you prefer another colour it comes in any of 13 options. Costing £29.99, it's a great investment and available here to buy.
Ordel GoPro Accessories
Another fantastic brand for travellers of all types is Ordel, they've got something to suit all your electronic needs and their range of GoPro accessories is amazing! Before I set out on my 18 month travelling adventure, I invested in a Go Pro - everyone had one and I kept reading they were just the best camera to take backpacking. I already had a waterproof compact camera at this point but was convinced I would use a GoPro as well - I was wrong. I barely used it in the time I was away and actually posted it home in the end. Since being in Santorini, I’ve rediscovered it thanks to Ordel who sent me some awesome accessories including the Monopod and a body and head harness. Having these really showed me how easy the camera is to use and the fantastic quality of the photos I can get that give a totally different perspective to those I’m used to. As someone who loves photography and is constantly trying to improve and capture images in a different way, I think it’s great to be able to take such wide images of the landscape.
I’ll be honest, I’m not a selfie stick person. I’m the kind of person who finds the crowds of tourists with them so irritating when I’m trying to watch the sunrise at Angkor Wat on no sleep. BUT, when you’re a travel blogger, a solo traveller, or just someone who loves a good photo - they are a fantastic addition to your travelling gadgets. Plus the Monopod is much slimmer and more streamlined than many of the other selfie sticks I’ve seen previously, much more subtle, and at £4.95 it's a bargain! I have some great pics from the top of an active volcano and a mountain I climbed during the holiday, plus some great underwater videos from snorkelling. I loved that the pack also came with a head and a body harness - I haven’t yet had the opportunity to try these but they’re coming back to Oz with me for the ride! If you’re looking for a cheap and good quality kit to help boost your Go Pro pics - look no further than Ordel. You can also find the kit here on Amazon.
Any other travelling gadgets you’d like to recommend? If you’re a brand interested in sharing your products for a review - email absolutelylucy@hotmail.com
