The 5 Things I'll Be Charging Before My Trip to Banff

The night before a trip always feels productive.

The clothes are folded.

The toiletries are packed.

The suitcase is sitting by the door.

But before I zip it closed, there's one routine I never skip.

I charge the things I'll depend on the most.

It takes less than an hour.

And every single trip, future me is thankful I did it.

Because running out of battery halfway through a flight—or standing in front of one of the most beautiful places you've ever seen with a dead camera—isn't something you fix once you're already there.

It's something you prevent before you leave.

My Raycon Earbuds

These Raycon Fitness Earbuds are one of the first things that go on the charger.

Long travel days become a lot more enjoyable when I can disappear into a movie for a few hours or pick up where I left off in an audiobook.

I usually pair them with my iPad Pro so I can watch downloaded shows on the flight and catch up on reading through the Kindle app.

By the time boarding starts, I already know my entertainment is ready to go. I keep them in the pocket of the blazer I’m usually wearing so they’re readily available when I sit down.

It's one less thing to think about on travel day.

My iPad Pro

For personal trips, my 13-inch iPad Pro has quietly replaced three things I used to travel with.

Books.

Magazines.

And, most of the time, my laptop.

It's where I watch movies on the plane, read on the Kindle app, organize travel reservations, and relax at the end of the day without hauling around another computer.

A full charge before I leave means it's simply ready whenever I reach for it.

My Portable Power Bank

If you've flown enough, you've probably had this happen.

You finally settle into your seat.

You plug your phone into the outlet.

Nothing.

That's exactly why I never travel without a fully charged power bank.

It's rescued my phone, iPad, and even my laptop more times than I can count when airplane outlets didn't work, airport charging stations were full, or I spent an entire day taking photos.

It's one of those products I hope I won't need.

Until I do.

Then I'm incredibly glad it's there.

Every Camera Battery

Banff isn't a conference trip.

It's one of those places where I know I'll constantly have a camera in my hands.

Before I leave, every battery gets charged.

Then I charge the backups too.

I travel with extra batteries and dual chargers for both of my cameras, so I can charge two batteries at the same time while I'm traveling.

My Nikon Coolpix P950 has an incredible built-in 83x zoom lens with stabilization that's perfect for wildlife and distant mountain peaks.

My Sony Alpha A6100 is almost the opposite.

It's compact, lightweight, and the camera I naturally reach for while walking through Banff, Lake Louise, or wandering around town.

Together, they give me everything I need for the way I like to travel.

The last thing I want is to miss an incredible moment because I forgot to charge a battery.

My Travel Toothbrush

This is one of those little systems that quietly makes traveling easier.

I actually own multiple AquaSonic toothbrushes.

One stays in my bathroom at home.

The other never leaves my travel toiletry bag.

I don't have to remember to pack it because it's already there.

The only thing I have to do before a trip is charge it.

One full charge easily lasts my entire ten-day trip, so once it's packed, I don't think about it again until I'm back home.

Sometimes the best travel systems are the ones you never have to think about.

Future Me Is Always Grateful

I've realized that good travel habits usually have very little to do with packing.

They're the small things you do before the trip even starts.

Charging these five products isn't exciting.

But neither is realizing your camera battery is dead just as wildlife walks into view.

Or discovering the airplane outlet doesn't work halfway through a five-hour flight.

Or opening your iPad only to find the battery nearly empty.

Those little frustrations are completely preventable.

Future me never remembers spending forty-five minutes charging everything the night before.

She just remembers that everything worked.

And that's exactly the kind of travel routine worth repeating. -LME

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