Comments on: Electronics while Traveling… A Burden or a Blessing??

By: davendeb

davendeb — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 21:33:44 +0000

@gourmantic Thanks for stopping by. I understand that it is difficult to get to the Internet while traveling. That is our fear as well. That we are going to lose touch with a lot of people, but we are going to do our best to stay in contact!
We will keep you posted on the electronics and camera’s and how everything is working out.

By: Gourmantic

Gourmantic — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:59:12 +0000

After a hectic 5 week long trip, I cursed the electronics then we kissed and made up. The laptop was invaluable, and so was the external hard drive (same brand as yours) not just for back ups but for when I almost ran out of hard drive capacity on the laptop!

You’re brave for leaving the Canon equipment behind. I took a long zoom lens as well as 2 other lenses but it only got used 3 times. While it was worth it, I may invest in an all in one zoom (shudder) for the next trip.

I look forward to reading about the iPhone and how you can out it to use during your trip.

Please accept my heartfelt thank you for all your visits, comments, tweets and recommendations while I was travelling. I was very touched! Internet time was very limited so I couldn’t reply or return the favours. Thanks again for your encouragement and support
Gourmantic´s last blog ..Tweeting the Trip

By: The Travel Tart

The Travel Tart — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 05:23:56 +0000

Hi Dave and Deb, I face the same dilemma when I go travelling. I must admit, I’ve upgraded to the SLR and I will never go back to a compact camera simply because of the speed and image quality offered by the SLR.

With regards to other technology, there are sometimes limitations such as internet speed in 3rd world countries (most of the gadgets would be useless in some parts of Africa), but it’s all about compromise.

I try to keep my backpack weight down to about 12-13 kilos, which means more room for gadgets and more recycling of clothes

Some people can go overboard with gadgets as well, such as The ‘Gadget Geek’ Personality Type whcih appeared in my post about ‘Travel Personalities Explained’

http://www.thetraveltart.com/travel-personalities-explained/

Anyway. happy travels!
The Travel Tart´s last blog ..The Top 10 Signs That You’re Caught in a Tourist Trap

By: Essential Packing for Long Term Travel Abroad | The Planet D: Around the World Adventure Couple

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 13:47:07 +0000

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By: Anil

Anil — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 21:49:39 +0000

I don’t travel without a laptop, period. I also have a range of gadgets on me at any given time although I don’t like to overdo it. One thing I always have are a number of cords and cables that come in handy – USB connectors, ethernet cables, and audio/video connections plus a few others. Ok, I’m a traveling nerd but think that technology on the whole can be a great enhancement for travelers.
Anil´s last blog ..Adventures On The Road, Imagine: A Vagabond Story

By: davendeb

davendeb — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 12:38:21 +0000

Hi Robbin, Dave had a great recommendation as well. I answered for him, so when he gets back in town, I will have him answer you. We however have downsized quite a bit and are not using a camera gear specific case this time. But I will have him get back to you tonight. Akila also had a great recommendation. Good luck!

By: davendeb

davendeb — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 12:36:43 +0000

Hi Akila, thanks for the info. We used to use the SanDisk SD as well and they were great. Now that we have switched formats, we are using the SDHC cards by PNY. SanDisk makes these as well, but PNY is much cheaper and just as fast. They are the same rate speed.
Great to know about the Kata DR-467. Since we have downsized everything, we don’t need anything fancy anymore. Our day packs can hold everything and the hard case for our Macbook was excellent in Africa. It kept out desert sand and survived being thrown from the roofs of trucks with bags piled on top. Highly recommended and quite compact and form fitting. We are carrying our macs in them and then they can go anywhere with out looking too conspicuous.

By: Akila

Akila — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:29:06 +0000

This really gets me thinking that I need to post my electronics gear list soon. We use the Kata DR-467 digital rucksack to hold all our electronics gear. It’s a heavy pack but I really love it. We looked at the Computrekker bag too but didn’t feel like it would be as secure. If you haven’t purchased it yet, look into the Kata bag. It’s really a good one.

As far as SD cards, we are madly in love the SanDisk SD cards. If you haven’t purchased them yet, consider buying one. They are way faster and better than any other SD card we’ve tried.
Akila´s last blog ..the whitsunday magic: semi-magical

By: davendeb

davendeb — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 02:34:25 +0000

Hi Nora, I agree with you. It can be daunting carrying all of those electronics around. for the first time, we bought a Pacsafe PacSafe Backpack . So if we stay in any dodgy places, we can lock our packs to the bedpost and leave our electronics behind. We aren't going to use it regularly, because I think that it just screams "I have something valuable in my pack" but I think that it will give us piece of mind. I will let you know if and when we use it. We also think that the pacsafe will be good for trains. I have woken up in the middle of the night and caught people checking out my bags, so to lock them up might be a good idea sometimes.

By: Robbin

Robbin — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 02:28:53 +0000

I’ve been curious about unlocking my 3G in Italy next year. Do let me know what advice you have on that!
Robbin´s last blog ..Route map updated, hail in Siena

By: davendeb

davendeb — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 02:28:02 +0000

Hi Audrey. I love hearing that you carry two laptops. You two have been traveling so long and running an amazing blog so we know that it must work! Yes, it will be scary sending DVD’s home. We sent slides home from Thailand years ago and held our breath. But they made it luckily. We are definitely going to look into online storage too.

By: davendeb

davendeb — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 02:26:20 +0000

Hi Amy, We have unlocked our phone and we are going to by sim cards as we go. We know that in India, we can buy a data plan on the pay as you go cards. We will definitely be blogging extensively about how the iphone and electronics are working out.

By: davendeb

davendeb — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 02:25:15 +0000

Hey Shannon, We shall see if we struck a balance or not with our electronics and gadgets. At least everything is small so that is a plus. We will keep you posted. Our packing of clothes is lacking I must admit:)

By: davendeb

davendeb — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 02:24:14 +0000

Hi Robbin, it is the regular pack. But for walking through the market, we normally just use something that will blend in. Keep a small case for the camera and then throw it in any bag. This time we are using our Saloman adventure racing backpacks. We are keeping our cameras in a soft case (since we have downsized) inside the packs. We have a hard case for the computers and our bags don’t look like the type of bags that carry electronics at all. So we won’t stand out (at least we hope) Good luck and let us know if you have any more questions.

By: davendeb

davendeb — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 02:18:56 +0000

Hi Trisha, Great to hear that we are going to love the SD cards thanks for the words of encouragement. Love to see other Mac users out there, I am just lost on PC’s (this is Deb speaking not Dave) We will keep you posted on how we like everything.

By: davendeb

davendeb — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 02:17:22 +0000

Awesome that you have the same hardrive. I guess we made the right decision! I agree about the smaller camera, that is why we downsized from the SLR to the Panasonic. We should see a huge difference not having to lug around the heavy body and extra lenses.

By: Nora

Nora — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 22:21:28 +0000

Nice list! I’ll be taking a closer look at your video camera (nice and small!)….and again with the iPhone…it keeps nagging me to own one….but I also find carrying too much technology to be stressful – I’m not comfortable leaving it in rooms etc most of the time, but sometimes I just want to go out touring without an entire backpack full of laptops/cameras/external HDs/cords/etc/etc/etc.

I’d almost rather carry crappy phones and other “disposable” technological devices that won’t break my heart to see broken/stolen/damaged.

How do you guys cope with carrying all your gadgets on the road?
Nora´s last blog ..A Week-In-The-Life of Corbett: Free Pursuits

By: Audrey

Audrey — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 20:36:13 +0000

I’m with you on bringing two laptops and making sure you have the equipment you need to properly document your journey. Everyone tells us we’re crazy to carry two laptops with us on our trip, but we joke that it helps to save our marriage An added “benefit” of sending backup DVDs is the cultural experience of post offices around the world. They are not all as efficient as back home…but nothing has gotten lost yet. I look forward to seeing the output of all this equipment when you get started on your journey!
Audrey´s last blog ..7 Treks That Made Us Gasp

By: Amy @ The Q Family

Amy @ The Q Family — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 20:22:14 +0000

Great post. I will be very curious to know what your thought once you are on the road about your new camera. And yes, you can’t NOT have iphone. I love mine but never use it outside the US yet. Would love to hear what is your game plan on international calling and other plans.
Amy @ The Q Family´s last blog ..Best 10 Free or Cheap Things to Do with Kids in Los Angeles

By: Shannon OD

Shannon OD — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 17:28:15 +0000

That little video camera looks really neat – I agree with Trisha, I just might have to look into that I think that you guys have struck a nice balance of technology here I can’t wait to see how the iPhone goes for you – is it a regular one or a cracked one?
Shannon OD´s last blog ..a little review…ah, saturday