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Good insights here - will definitely look into compacts. While we're on the topic of electronics, I've notice a lot of people seem to take computers with them when they travel. How necessary is this in peoples' experience? I can see having a computer being useful but it's another thing that feels like it might become a bit of a burden.
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Sep 8, 2013 09:19
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cadenza posted:Good insights here - will definitely look into compacts. While we're on the topic of electronics, I've notice a lot of people seem to take computers with them when they travel. How necessary is this in peoples' experience? I can see having a computer being useful but it's another thing that feels like it might become a bit of a burden. Probably depends on the computer. I'm taking my 11 inch Macbook Air with me to Japan for two weeks. I'll have a single Tom Bihn Tri-Star bag and then a small cafe bag as a "day bag". The reason I'm taking the computer is I'll be keeping my itinerary and notes on it as well as communicating with family while traveling. However, if I were going somewhere more remote like portions of South America or Southeast Asia, I probably would leave the computer at home. Europe, Australia, or major cities in Asia, I'd probably bring it with me like I am for Japan.
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Sep 8, 2013 10:10
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I did 2 years in South america, only having a laptop with me when I was living somewhere, I'd never travel with one unless I was working or were doing some sort of project. I do think a little notebook computer would be really useful to have for Skype, Facebook, photo uploading etc. most hostels and hotels have WiFi you can abuse over night for that. Otherwise I can't recommend enough having an iPod touch or iPhone or smartphone. Music, web browsing and skyping with those can help fill in time or research stuff so much easier, and given the weight and size it's a no brainer.
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Sep 8, 2013 13:25
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Laptops really aren't necessary, but they do come in handy if you're going on a long trip because you can handle your photos and stuff a lot easier. It is a good idea to bring something wifi-capable, though - my iPod Touch was the single most useful item I owned for the two years I went backpacking. Whether you need something larger is mostly a question of your own personal habits. I would say I wouldn't recommend an iPad-style thing, though. IMO they're way more conspicuous and fragile than either netbooks or smartphones, and they can't do much that you can't do almost as easily on a Touch. If a handheld isn't going to be enough for you, that's when you consider just bringing an actual laptop.
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Sep 8, 2013 13:56
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I take a laptop/netbook with me. Somewhat for photos, but mostly because I just can't write in linear fashion (ie use a paper journal). I also normally travel by vehicle (car or motorcycle) these days, though.
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Sep 8, 2013 14:08
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My travel tech is a Samsung Chromebook and a Nikon Coolpix AW110 tough camera. It's a great camera and has been through so much poo poo, from dropped in the ocean to shat on by a native in PNG. Can plug teh SD card straight into the Chromebook and rip! Laptop lasts 9 hours or so with web browsing.
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Sep 8, 2013 14:38
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I always take a smallish laptop with me, my current machine is a X230 which is a nice compact size (not as small as a netbook but actually functions as a proper laptop and is comfortable to type on) because it's just so much easier to have a laptop with me. Since most gadgets nowdays can be charged by USB too, having a laptop means that you can get away with only having one outlet to charge all of your things. Just bring a power strip, you may say but when the outlet is in a lovely location and you have to use an adapter too, it gets unwieldy and it'll keep falling off  Only my camera can't be charged by USB but I carry around two batteries to swap them in and I use my phone as my primary photo device nowadays anyway. And I just googled and it looks like I could buy an USB charger for my camera battery too! If my laptop gets in a fire or something, my power strip has two outlets for USB charging and you can find the USB plug-in thingers dirt cheap anywhere so I won't be completely screwed.
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Sep 9, 2013 16:38
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Sup X230 buddy. How does it hold up travelling? Have you dropped it?
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Sep 10, 2013 12:14
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It's held up great! I've probably dropped it loads of times, I'm not that gentle and I shove it into my daypack without a case/sleeve (the pack has a laptop pocket at least) then toss the daypack around. I love the always-on USB slot (the yellow one) and make sure it's at the top when the laptop is in my daypack so I can charge up my phone or kindle or some other device if I want to. A corner somehow chipped off but I found a tube of superglue lying on the windowsill at the hostel I was at and repaired it There's another dent nearby but nothing that affects the operation of the laptop, just cosmetic damage. One of the rubber feet fell off and I tried to buy a replacement set from ebay and ship it to a buddy in Japan that I was meeting up with but it never showed up so I've been dealing without it. I lucked out and found a great deal on ebay with the 9 cell battery and holy poo poo, 12 hour battery life is loving amazing. That's with all of the battery saver stuff on, I normally end up with like 8-10.
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Sep 10, 2013 14:35
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With the SD card reader accessory I go iPad, phone and camera now. The iPad is so much lighter and takes up less room [especially factoring in the tiny power brick] and you don't need to take them out at security. If I was trying to go hardcore lightweight I could probably make do with an iPad mini but I like the bigger screen. I'm considering a keyboard stand to encourage more writing though.
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Sep 10, 2013 17:02
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cadenza posted:tl;dr is it practical/worthwhile to take an SLR around the world for a year or should i just take a compact The real thing you really need to bring is this http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Exposure-3rd-Edition-Photographs/dp/0817439390 No point debating on what to bring if your photos are crap  I kid, I kid. cadenza posted:Good insights here - will definitely look into compacts. While we're on the topic of electronics, I've notice a lot of people seem to take computers with them when they travel. How necessary is this in peoples' experience? I can see having a computer being useful but it's another thing that feels like it might become a bit of a burden. Definitely spring for the RX100 if you can. Think there's a newer model coming around the block. But backup your pictures properly when you are on the road! SLR or no, what you really want is a small tripod for your night photos. If you want be that super cool kid then you should bring a Medium format or shoot 135 slides  The thing about an SLR is the type of lenses and flash units you can carry with you so it really depends on what you like to shoot. If you are just doing the usual travel pictures and food shots, then yeah go for a compact like the S120. In terms of electronics, it's really a personal preference. Most of us would like to carry a laptop because all of us paid :tenbux: to post in an internet forum. But for the weight/fun ratio item, it would be a GSM smart phone. You can make calls, surf the net, check for maps, pull up screenshots, apps and dictionaries, budgeting apps, movies, etc... I think I'm one of the worst offenders hopelessly addicted to the internet: I just message goons where ever I go and hang out with them so it helps to have a smart phone and sim card  My first trip month trip across South East Asia I brought 21 pounds of photogear and a dedicated backpack and tripod where as only 10 pounds of clothes Nowadays when I go on trips I just bring one body + one lens + flash unit and use my phone for casual pictures.I would bring em, who cares if you break them, Electronics turn to slow pieces of poo poo after 2 years anyways. If you can afford being a glorified bum for a long period of time, you can afford a new toy in the future. It also depends on your travel style too. It's good to be mobile and being alone makes you more mobile but if you travel for a long period of time, you won't be zipping around and would pace yourself. Maybe it's just me getting old/change of habit, but the "day time explore city and then hop into a night bus/night train" style gets tiring pretty fast. If you go to cool places, you would probably spend more than a day and when you have lots of time, then there's no rush! Which means that you don't need to be mobile as possible and shave all that weight. Just drop your poo poo temporarily at a restaurant/cafe/hostel/train station for the afternoon. caberham fucked around with this message at 18:04 on Sep 10, 2013 |
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Sep 10, 2013 18:02
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Hola poo poo yes. Seconding backing up your photos. I've lost several 2-3 month chunks of my trip photos due to water damage ('Waterproof' cameras are often not waterproof). I paid the  a year for flickr. Once they've been uploaded they keep the metadata and original resolution on the server forever (in theory). Totally worth it.
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Sep 11, 2013 11:56
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Thanks everyone, this has been really useful! I think I'm probably going to leave in the first week of January now, so I'm expecting to ask a whole ton of other questions before then. I want to be as flexible as possible once I've left and not have to plan anything ahead of time, which I think means I'm going to need to try and take a small number of versatile things. Did a consensus ever get reached on the ideal trousers for traveling? On the assumption that I'm only going to take one pair it's something I really want to get right.
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Sep 15, 2013 19:35
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cadenza posted:Thanks everyone, this has been really useful! I think I'm probably going to leave in the first week of January now, so I'm expecting to ask a whole ton of other questions before then. I want to be as flexible as possible once I've left and not have to plan anything ahead of time, which I think means I'm going to need to try and take a small number of versatile things. Did a consensus ever get reached on the ideal trousers for traveling? On the assumption that I'm only going to take one pair it's something I really want to get right. I like the Prana Zion pants for most everything and traveling especially. http://www.amazon.com/prAna-Stretch-32-Inch-Inseam-Medium/dp/B005W4MSWW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1379284101&sr=8-1&keywords=prana+zion They are super comfy
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Sep 15, 2013 23:29
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Khul makes good hiking pants that don't look entirely stupid for day wear.
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Sep 16, 2013 02:31
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Outrail posted:Khul makes good hiking pants that don't look entirely stupid for day wear. This is exactly the problem with so many of these types of clothing. Why is it so difficult to make a garment which is breathable and quick-drying but doesn't make you look like a total goon?
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Sep 16, 2013 09:28
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Asking that question makes you pretty goooooooony Really though, people see it as a unnecessary cost/addition? People live in cities and just wash their clothes, even if your clothes were "quick dry, breatheable" - they will still stink if you don't wash them. Yes, people in SEA wear jeans and sweat but cities in the world are modeled after modern living like air conditioning/house hold appliances etc. And ultra utilitarian clothes/fabrics are not seen as fashionable - that's a major reason why people buy new clothes and that none of us are wearing grunge or bell bottoms pants. From what I read from the OP, the idea is not to be so caught on a specific kind of stuff and just buy/bring whatever when you need. That mentality helps you pack light immensely. So you don't have those awesome pants, or that mac book on the road, just make do with whatever because it's easy for you to be mobile and not get dragged down by a suit case. If you are traveling for a year, your clothes will probably look raggy and you will probably look like a roughened raggy tourist anyways. And it also depends on where you are going too because not all countries enjoy USA shopping goodness. caberham fucked around with this message at 16:10 on Sep 16, 2013 |
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Sep 16, 2013 16:05
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There's no single answer for clothing, I know people like to min/max everything here but the "best" pants are the ones that fit you and are versatile enough for the situations you're going to be in when you're traveling. I usually take one pair of Quicksilver coolmax jeans, one or two pairs pair of something dressy-ish [cotton/poly blend chinos or a pair of Nike golf pants that look like slacks] and one pair of "outdoor" pants like Kuhl Jeans which, due to the construction, contrast stitching and most of all the fact that they make noise are definitely "outdoor" clothing]. I mean they're dressier than ExOfficio zip-offs but still.
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Sep 16, 2013 16:32
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Someone posted this earlier in the thread: http://bluffworks.com/ Pricy, but I got a pair and it works for me. No crazy stitching -- it just looks like a normal pair of khakis (although the color is slightly more yellow-ish than an actual khaki color) but made of a quick-drying material. The model in the pics has them kind of baggy and his pants could use some further hemming (and the weird poses don't help) but it fits pretty well if you order your correct size.
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Sep 16, 2013 18:19
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I got this sleep mask a while back and it's easily the best  I've spent on travel-related stuff. Hell, might start wearing it at home. Earplugs are also really nice to have.
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Sep 17, 2013 02:31
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That looks like some sort of kink/sensory deprivation thing. Cool. I never travel without a buff. I use it as a blindfold for sleeping when it's light out or I'm on field trips.
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Sep 17, 2013 02:43
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I have another question. Maybe I should just make a "Tell me about traveling around the world for a year" thread or something, but here we are. Can anyone recommend credit or debit cards which do not have additional fees for international payments or withdrawals? I've had a brief look around online but I'm not sure how essential this kind of thing is. Anyone got any experience or advice?
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Sep 23, 2013 20:00
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cadenza posted:I have another question. Maybe I should just make a "Tell me about traveling around the world for a year" thread or something, but here we are. Can anyone recommend credit or debit cards which do not have additional fees for international payments or withdrawals? I've had a brief look around online but I'm not sure how essential this kind of thing is. Anyone got any experience or advice? If you get a debit card from a bank in the Global ATM Alliance (Bank of America/Barclays/BNP/Deutschebank/many others), you can use it at all the other banks' atms without paying withdrawal fees, and the network covers most of the world except Africa and southern Asia. The fees are really steep if you use it outside the network, though. AFAIK there is no card that doesn't involve some kind of international ATM or currency conversion fee, although some of them hide it by giving you a lovely exchange rate rather than owning up to it and actually calling it a fee. I've heard that Capital One gives the best exchange rates in credit cards, but it's also not accepted nearly as universally as Visa. And generally speaking, debit is a way more reliable method than credit, because virtually everywhere on Earth has atms but significant chunks of the world have no way to charge credit cards. If you bother with credit at all, bring it in addition to a debit card.
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Sep 23, 2013 20:17
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duralict posted:If you get a debit card from a bank in the Global ATM Alliance (Bank of America/Barclays/BNP/Deutschebank/many others), you can use it at all the other banks' atms without paying withdrawal fees, and the network covers most of the world except Africa and southern Asia. The fees are really steep if you use it outside the network, though. AFAIK there is no card that doesn't involve some kind of international ATM or currency conversion fee, although some of them hide it by giving you a lovely exchange rate rather than owning up to it and actually calling it a fee. This. I read about this alliance in this thread six months ago when I realized I had the opportunity to live in Italy for a year. I have an account at BOA to draw money from. In the small city I live in (~100,000 people), I have four bank branches (BNL d'Italia, which is owned by BNP Paribas) to go to.
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Sep 23, 2013 22:57
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Def shop around for a good card. I was a dumbass and spent a fortune on withdrawls. Like probably hundreds of $$$over several years. If you do get fees i reccomend taking out as much as you can, like $500 at a time to avoid fees. Even if you factor in getting mugged once a year (which I wasn't, but I just assumed i would) if you do the maths it still comes out cheaper than making lots and lots of withdrawals. vv: That's true, I had issues finding the HSBC's in Latin america. Outrail fucked around with this message at 10:41 on Sep 24, 2013 |
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Sep 24, 2013 03:53
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Charles Schwab refunds you ATM fees at the end of each month. Also every country has a low fee/free ATM, you just need to research and withdraw as much you can from those ATMs you can if they're tricky to find.
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Sep 24, 2013 09:42
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USAA is good about that too, if you can get it.
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Sep 24, 2013 11:25
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Tomato Soup posted:Charles Schwab refunds you ATM fees at the end of each month. Also every country has a low fee/free ATM, you just need to research and withdraw as much you can from those ATMs you can if they're tricky to find. Also as far as no foreign transaction fee credit cards go, I'll go ahead and recommend the Chase Sapphire.
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Sep 25, 2013 10:45
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stik posted:I like the Prana Zion pants for most everything and traveling especially. http://www.amazon.com/prAna-Stretch-32-Inch-Inseam-Medium/dp/B005W4MSWW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1379284101&sr=8-1&keywords=prana+zion I tried on a pair and ended up buying two. Because of the stretch fabric they are way more comfortable than the REI Adventures pants I had previously, and they are water resistant whereas the Adventures are not.
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Oct 3, 2013 23:13
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NoDamage posted:Holy crap, thanks for this recommendation. I looked at Prana's site and found the Brion, which appears to be a variant of the Zion without the cargo leg pocket, so it looks completely like a normal pant. But the fabric is still stretchy, quick-drying, and water resistant. Yeah they are really fantastic pants, I bought 3 pairs and I'm going to get a couple more. I'll check out the Brion as well. Glad you like them.
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Oct 6, 2013 04:09
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duralict posted:If you get a debit card from a bank in the Global ATM Alliance (Bank of America/Barclays/BNP/Deutschebank/many others), you can use it at all the other banks' atms without paying withdrawal fees, and the network covers most of the world except Africa and southern Asia. The fees are really steep if you use it outside the network, though. AFAIK there is no card that doesn't involve some kind of international ATM or currency conversion fee, although some of them hide it by giving you a lovely exchange rate rather than owning up to it and actually calling it a fee. I wouldn't use a debit or credit card as the fee really can rack up, particularly if you are travelling extensively and need multiple currencies. These days you can get a specialist pre-paid card for use overseas that is visa or mastercard logo bearing and accepted both at point of sale and in ATM's. Most of them you can top up online via bank transfer. I recently found one in the UK that you could load with up to 14 currencies - not sure if it is issued in the US though. The other thing to bear in mind if you are using overseas ATM's is to look for ones which will dispense local currency but charge you in your home currency. These are called dynamic currency conversion machines and are most often found in ports and airports - almost always cheaper than using a high street ATM.
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Oct 8, 2013 20:09
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Fideles posted:The other thing to bear in mind if you are using overseas ATM's is to look for ones which will dispense local currency but charge you in your home currency. These are called dynamic currency conversion machines and are most often found in ports and airports - almost always cheaper than using a high street ATM. Somebody is going to make money on every FX transaction, my operating assumption is that the fewer middlemen the better.
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Oct 8, 2013 20:34
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qirex posted:Um, they all do this, at least American banks do. How can you get a euro debit on a USD or GBP account? I've actually got very good rates from ATMs in Europe, my bank (Wells) charges $5 but the rate is good so if I take out 200 euros at a time it's not bad at all, at least not compared to the hassle of other methods. (This is for US ATM cards by the way, getting cash off of a US credit card will always be incredibly expensive) There are 2 basic machine types. Type 1, the machine dispenses local currency and charges you in local currency. Your bank will receive a debit request in the local currency but charge your account in your home currency. They usually charge an admin fee for this and the exchange rate is typically ok at best. The other machine type (the dynamic currency conversion) will dispense local currency but charge your card in the your home currency. The ATM operator will set the exchange rate and will typically not charge an admin fee. Usually (but not 100% of the time) the exchange rate is also preferable. In this case you are effectively cutting out the middle man as your bank just see a debit from your account in home currency for which they will not charge. Some shops in Europe now also offer this feature so if you are making a purchase on a card and the sales person asks you if you wish to be charged on your card in USD this is almost always the cheaper option. Credit cards on the other hand should never be put anywhere near an ATM when you are on holiday - you may as well take out the money and set fire to it whilst you are at it.
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Oct 8, 2013 21:01
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Fideles posted:Credit cards on the other hand should never be put anywhere near an ATM when you are on holiday - you may as well take out the money and set fire to it whilst you are at it. Holiday or not, I don't think you should put a credit card into an ATM. I live in Asia, but from my time spent in Canada and traveling USA, I have never seen any appealing advertising for using your credit card linked to your bank account.
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Oct 9, 2013 02:40
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caberham posted:Holiday or not, I don't think you should put a credit card into an ATM. I live in Asia, but from my time spent in Canada and traveling USA, I have never seen any appealing advertising for using your credit card linked to your bank account. Definitely shouldn't be used routinely, but it's good to have as many options for emergency cash as possible while traveling.
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Oct 9, 2013 03:01
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Midjack posted:Definitely shouldn't be used routinely, but it's good to have as many options for emergency cash as possible while traveling. I couldn't agree more, a back up plan is essential. I think that's one of the reasons I like the prepaid cards; some of them now have the emergency cash feature whereby if your wallet is stolen you can call a helpline and they will give you a code to type into an ATM for an emergencey cash withdrawl to tide you over whilst waiting for a replacement card. Not all cards offer this service so it is worth shopping around. I don't know if they still offer the service but certainly a few years back some of the travellers cheque issuers had a similar solution. Fideles fucked around with this message at 10:10 on Oct 9, 2013 |
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Oct 9, 2013 09:57
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Fideles posted:There are 2 basic machine types. Type 1, the machine dispenses local currency and charges you in local currency. Your bank will receive a debit request in the local currency but charge your account in your home currency. They usually charge an admin fee for this and the exchange rate is typically ok at best. The other machine type (the dynamic currency conversion) will dispense local currency but charge your card in the your home currency. The ATM operator will set the exchange rate and will typically not charge an admin fee. Usually (but not 100% of the time) the exchange rate is also preferable. In this case you are effectively cutting out the middle man as your bank just see a debit from your account in home currency for which they will not charge. When I was in London past weekend I could choose to use the ATM rate or my own banks rate. The difference was 7 euro (on a 120, so more than 5%) in favor of my local bank. Maybe my bank is just not an rear end in a top hat (there is no admin fee for example), but for me it's clear that the type 1 devices are preferable
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Oct 9, 2013 14:36
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From my experiences, a Schwab debit card and a no foreign transaction credit card is the best way to travel.
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Oct 9, 2013 15:26
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Hashtag Banterzone posted:From my experiences, a Schwab debit card and a no foreign transaction credit card is the best way to travel. To piggy back: One of the better non-"foreign transaction fee" credit cards around is the Capital One Ventures card. The catch: You need excellent credit to get one. That said, I love mine. Paid for a good portion of my honeymoon with the rewards.
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Oct 9, 2013 16:48
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Rojkir posted:When I was in London past weekend I could choose to use the ATM rate or my own banks rate. The difference was 7 euro (on a 120, so more than 5%) in favor of my local bank. Maybe my bank is just not an rear end in a top hat (there is no admin fee for example), but for me it's clear that the type 1 devices are preferable As I said, it is usually better to use DCC but not always, it does vary from bank to bank which makes comparisons difficult.
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Oct 9, 2013 16:56
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