Sep. 12, 2023 at 8:08 am

Everything We Use In Our Travels

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We often get asked for suggestions on products for various situations. To answer these questions we’ve put together a list of everything we use while traveling.

The Most Requested Item

By far the most requested item we get is the charger we use in our videos. We have been using this one for the last year and love it! If you are going on a long trip, don’t go without this travel adapter!

This box will charge 4 regular USB devices at once. It will plug into the single outlet in an Amtrak Roomette and let you charge one item from a regular plug and 4 USB Items at once. Problems solved! They come in packs of 1 or 2, you really only need 1.

Packing

Backpack that Allie uses

Backpack Rob Uses

This backpack serves several purposes for us. First of all it is waterproof, so it holds our most valuable gear, including cameras, drones, and computers. Secondly, it has a hard shell on the top and the back, so there is added protection if it gets bumped or falls. The hard shell also doubles as a drone launch and landing pad if you carry one! Most importantly though, this backpack is large. If you are riding in coach you’ll want to keep all of your valuables with you when you leave your seat, and this backpack will fit everything you need and more.

Rob carries this backpack and loves the comfort and durability it has shown so far.

Lowepro Camera Bag

Allie carries this smaller camera bag for her GoPro and Nikon Zfc Camera. Even though we both carry a GoPro, we use the one she carries for almost all of the filming we do, since it is easily accessible. This bag has proven to be a valuable addition to our luggage. She loves just taking this bag down to the observation car or even the dining car to take take some pictures and videos.

21 Inch Suitcase

When we first started riding Amtrak we both were using the large 26 inch suitcases, and they were just too big for every situation. If you are checking your bags or are going to leave them in the storage compartment on the lower level of a Superliner Sleeper Car, those will work, but they can be difficult to get up the steps on Amtrak trains.

Instead we now use the 21 inch suitcase and it is much easier. In general these bags are much easier to manage than our older, larger bags. If you are doing a long trip, each person should have one, but for a trip of just a few days, you could get away with just one.

Travel Duffle Bag

The exact bag we use is the Columbia 30L collapsible bag. We couldn’t find it online, and we bought it at an outlet store in Las Vegas. This is the closest bag we could find that does the same thing.

Wellness

Allie has motion sickness so we use these items to help eliminate that. They do a good job.

Ginger Chews

If you think you might have a problem with motion sickness on the train, these could help. Allie uses them and says they do help to settle her stomach if she is experiencing any type of motion sickness.

For more severe cases on cruise ships she takes these.

Mini Massager

We bought ours in a store while we were in Japan when we realized we needed it. This was a great purchase for us.

Electronics

We carry an extensive amount of Cameras and accessories while we travel.

GoPro Hero 12 Black

The best way to capture video while you travel is with a GoPro. The newest version out as of this writing is the Hero 12 Black. We each have one while we travel.

INUI Portable Charger

Ok, so you bring a lot of electronics with you on the train. We do too! We also carry a larger charger that will charge two USB devices at once. Great for a tablet, phone or computer. This one doesn’t need an outlet to charger your devices so it really helps out when your battery is running low.

Amazon Kindle Oasis

Allie loves to read on a train as she enjoys the passing scenery. She’s tried most of the Kindle’s and this one is her favorite. It is easy to hold and easy on the eyes.

Xbox Series S

Surprisingly, this fits in Rob’s backpack above, and is the best video game system to travel with due to all the entertainment apps you can use with it. This is how we watch ESPN, MLB, NFL, NHL, Paramount+, Disney, Apple TV, Prime Video, Netflix, Peacock and more.

Cables

This HDMI female to female adapter is a life saver if you get to a hotel where you need to extend your cable. Often you’ll need or want to hook up your computer to a TV to watch something you are streaming, but there won’t be a table or ledge to set your computer on close enough. This lets you combine 2 HDMI cables together and keep your computer at a safe location while streaming. They are so cheap you should just pick one up now, as you won’t be able to find one on the road.

This cable is necessary if you want to hook a laptop up to a TV and watch shows or movies. If your laptop doesn’t have an HDMI port, which most travel laptops don’t, you can still stream through the USB C port with this cable. Again, this will be impossible to find on the road, so just pick one up now and you’ll be happy when you need it.

Computers

Allie has the better computer, lets just get that out of the way. But, she does edit most of the videos so it is justified! She uses this ASUS ROG tablet due to the graphics card inside it and the portability.

Rob has a very portable computer because he is also carrying an Xbox in his backpack! It is not quite as powerful as the one Allie has, but it is much lighter and thinner.

Beryl Travel Router

We can’t live without this one. You may not know it, but there are tons of US websites that you can’t access while outside the US. The only way to get on them is to use a VPN. You could setup a VPN for every device you own, or you could do it once on this router and then just connect your devices to it. The other advantage is that not all devices can get on a VPN by themselves, such as an Xbox. But, with this router you can connect your xbox that you use to stream shows to your VPN.

It can be complicated to setup if you have to tech knowledge, but there are good video tutorials out there.

UPDATE: The Beryl router we use is about 2 years old now, so this is the new and updated version. Same color and looks pretty much the same. Still highly recommended.

VPN Service

We pair the Beryl router with our favorite VPN, NORDVPN. It has worked well for us over the last 4 years. There are many VPN’s you could choose, but this one has been great for us.

E Sim Cards

We use Airalo to buy our sim cards before we get to any country. You can buy them for 1 country, a region, or the entire world. They are easy to use and cost effective. Since we started doing this, we haven’t looked back, it has been amazing.

Get an Airalo sim card here

Tablet

Rob has a Samsung tablet and Allie carries an iPad with her on the train. It is good to download a few movies because on the long distance trains you won’t have WiFi or cell service in some places.

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Robert Marmion

Rob is married to Allie and together they have been traveling the world for the past 5 years. Rob is one of the most published photographers in the world, having published over 1 million images in the last 20 years. He enjoys doing landscape and astrophotography while on the road.

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