The Best Gear For Travel

Traveling well can be one of life’s great pleasures, whether you’re alone or with family and friends.

But what does it mean to travel well? We’d say that along with traveling safely (of course), traveling well involves avoiding hassle, carrying a single bag (if possible), and bringing only the necessities.

“Traveling well is a fine balance between finding inspiration in the unknown while being grounded in something,” said Wirecutter founder Brian Lam. “Sometimes that is a memory of home, a family, a significant other, friends, etc. Sometimes it’s just the familiar, reliable stuff in your bag.”

Over the past 10 years, we’ve spent hundreds of hours researching and testing dozens of products to find the most dependable items that will help you travel well. On top of that, we sought the advice and wisdom of Doug Dyment, author and creator of OneBag—a traveling businessman and public speaker, he has logged millions of miles over the past few decades—as well as travel-gear reviewer Eytan Levy, the Snarky Nomad.

And we relied heavily on the experiences of Wirecutter staff, an especially mobile group of individuals. Our staffers have worked remotely from every continent except Antarctica—the five most frequent flyers among us travel about half a million miles in any given (normal) year.

If you’re traveling by car

• The Best Gear for Your Road Trips

  After hundreds of hours of research and 1,500 miles behind the wheel, we’ve singled out the gear that’s absolutely essential for your next journey on the open road.