1. Stash backpack

This compact backpack folds and zips to the size of a thin, paperback book. Incredibly lightweight, it can hold 30 pounds. You’ll want this for collecting souvenirs you didn’t think you had the budget for. Okay, maybe you still don’t have the budget for it, but when’s the next time you’ll be in Auckland?

2. Reusable toiletries containers
Little bottles of complimentary shampoo and conditioner suck. They’re complimentary, too small and you know you’re going to have greasy hair no matter how many times you lather, rinse and repeat. Fill these reusable, 3-ounce or smaller bottles with your own products so you don’t look as gross as your jet lag makes you feel.

3. Mini survival kit
To those who are traveling through Southeast Asia or the Amazon, this is for you. For those studying abroad in Western Europe, this is also for you. You never know if you’ll decide to take a spur-of-the-moment hike, so whether you’re strolling along the Caminito del Rey in Spain or trekking up the Andes to Machu Picchu, you don’t want to be stuck without any form of first aid when you fall because your clumsy butt can’t handle another step. Alternatively, when you try to re-enact “The Lizzie McGuire Movie,” but instead fall into the Trevi Fountain, don’t get an infection because you have nothing but Roman fountain water to wash out your scrapes.

4. Motion sickness bands
Use the power of pressure points to alleviate you from your nausea. Apprehension over rickety bridges and train tracks, winding roads across countrysides, tilting boats and turbulence, begone!

5. Water bottle with a built-in filter
It’s important to hydrate, especially when you’re traveling. You usually start your journey in a dry airplane cabin and have to lug around your belongings, then expect your body to bounce back from a seven-hour time difference. Take a bit of stress off yourself and keep a refillable water bottle near you. If you’re wary of the local water sources, get a water bottle with a built-in filter, like one from Brita.

 

6. All-in-one adapter
Stop griping about not all countries having the same outlet as the United States and get an adapter. According to Co.Design, the UK uses the best designed outlet anyway.

7. Travel pillow and blanket
So you decided to take the cheaper flight with the five-hour layover so you could buy more souvenirs in Auckland? Good choice. But even when you’re groggy and miserable and want nothing but a nap, somehow putting your cheek down on the seat next to you where hundreds of people rested their own cheeks is still not appealing. Try something like the Nap Sac Travel Blanket and Pillow so you can rest easy.

 

8. Notebook
There are a million new experiences to be had across this beautiful planet. Photos are great, but there is something so special about being able to go back and read what you did and how you felt. Maybe you’ll even get to return one day, and wouldn’t it be nice to remember the name of that one café where you had the best latte and fell in love with the waitress because of her beautiful accent? Traveling is one of the best things you can do for yourself, so don’t you forget it.