\n<\/p>\n
W<\/span>hether you are visiting family in another state, driving up into the mountains for a scenic fall weekend, or embarking on an epic adventure spanning several weeks, road trips are an iconic American getaway. While it\u2019s certainly possible to hit the road with nothing more than your driver\u2019s license and a bottle of water, a few thoughtful gadgets and supplies will make for smoother sailing.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Guardian\u2019s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link.\u00a0Learn more.<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n I previously lived in a campervan while traveling across North America, and I still find myself trekking across the country multiple times each year, so I\u2019ve had plenty of seat time to test the best road trip gear. From entertainment options including podcasts and games to utilities such as a portable power bank and pet accessories, here are a handful of road trip essentials that will make your next excursion the best one yet.<\/p>\n All prices current at time of publication.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/span> Photograph: Jon Bitner\/The Guardian<\/p>\n Anker Laptop Power Bank<\/strong><\/p>\n $119.99 at Anker Since I travel with a bushel of electronics (many of which are used for work), I am always acutely aware of how much charge they have left. Most modern cars have built-in USB ports, but they\u2019re too weak for larger electronics such as laptops. Some hotels have broken or poorly placed outlets, and most camp sites have none at all.<\/p>\n To make sure I always have plenty of juice wherever I end up, I now bring my Anker Laptop Power Bank with me everywhere. It has two built-in USB-C cables that can charge a laptop at full speed, plus ports for other devices, and has enough capacity to fully charge my iPhone about four times.<\/p>\n If you have ever set out on a cross-country trek, you know you can only listen to music for so long before your attention starts to fade. The easiest way to break up the monotony is by mixing in podcasts and audiobooks. Audible offers the best selection, with access to thousands of audiobooks for $7.95 a month. But if you\u2019re already paying for Spotify Premium, you may not know you already have access to 15 hours of audiobooks every month, such as The Bomber Mafia from Malcolm Gladwell.<\/p>\n For a free option, consider the Libby app, which allows you to get free audiobooks through your local library. And of course, most podcasts are entirely free, including bingeable classics including Serial and S-Town.<\/p>\n <\/span> Photograph: Jon Bitner\/The Guardian<\/p>\n GoCube Edge 3×3 Speed Cube<\/strong><\/p>\n $49.95 at Amazon If you\u2019re traveling with companions, a few travel board games and puzzles can help whittle away the hours. Most of your favorite games are available in compact, travel formats \u2013 including Catan, chess and checkers \u2013 so your travel buddies can play while you drive, then settle down for a dedicated game night once you reach your location.<\/p>\n Want something that will truly keep you busy? Consider picking up the GoCube Edge, a Rubik\u2019s Cube that connects to your smartphone and teaches you how to (finally) solve all of its colorful sides.<\/p>\n Catan Traveler: Compact Edition<\/strong> Magnetic <\/strong>wooden <\/strong>chess <\/strong>set PlayMonster <\/strong>magnetic <\/strong>checkers<\/strong> <\/span> <\/span> Photograph: Jon Bitner\/The Guardian<\/p>\n Earth Rated <\/strong>poop <\/strong>bags<\/strong> Along with your dog\u2019s food and medication, don\u2019t forget to pack things like doggie bags for bathroom breaks, a collapsible water bowl to save space, and maybe even a seat cover if your dog has long nails or sheds heavily. I\u2019m using the affordable Active Pets Standard Car Hammock, which is inexpensive, durable and fits most vehicles.<\/p>\n Collapsible dog bowls<\/strong> Active Pets <\/strong>dog <\/strong>car <\/strong>hammock<\/strong> <\/span> Photograph: Jon Bitner\/The Guardian<\/p>\n Mini first-aid kit<\/strong> skip past newsletter promotion<\/p>\n A guide to buying fewer, better products.<\/p>\n Privacy Notice: <\/strong>Newsletters may contain information about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. If you do not have an account, we will create a guest account for you on theguardian.com to send you this newsletter. You can complete full registration at any time. For more information about how we use your data see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.<\/span><\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n This one is common sense, but a lot of people forget to regularly check their first-aid kit or replenish it after use. Many people forget to bring one entirely. Having a first aid kit in your car is a necessity for road trips, especially when stocked with pain relievers, bandages, allergy medicine and antiseptics. It\u2019s no fun getting a cut on your hand out in the middle of nowhere, only to realize you don\u2019t have a bandage \u2013 and the closest convenience store is hours away.<\/p>\n <\/span> Photograph: Jon Bitner\/The Guardian<\/p>\n RTIC <\/strong>Road Trip <\/strong>cooler When even a Big Mac can top $7, it is shocking how quickly the costs of food and drink can add up on the road. Everything seems to be more expensive the closer you are to the highway, but you can beat these inflated prices by packing a cooler. I\u2019ve been using the now-defunct Moosejaw Chilladilla for years. Along with stashing away fruit, cans of sparkling water, and sandwiches, its durable construction means I don\u2019t have to worry about damaging it if I want to take it on a short hike or out to a nearby picnic table.<\/p>\n While the Chilladilla is no longer on the market, the RTIC 16-Quart Road Trip Cooler has a very similar hard-sided design. If you need something that\u2019s easier to cram into a packed vehicles, the RTIC Everyday and REI Trailgate coolers are popular soft-sided options. While I can\u2019t vouch for these firsthand, when I\u2019m ready to upgrade, I\u2019ll be looking at all three.<\/p>\n RTIC Everyday cooler REI Trailgate Weekend <\/strong>cooler <\/span> Photograph: Jon Bitner\/The Guardian<\/p>\n BOOX Tablet Go 10.3<\/strong> Beyond my laptop, I always like to have a second form of entertainment on hand. In most cases, that\u2019s my BOOX Go 10.3 tablet. The slim e-reader not only carries hundreds of books, but it also lets me take notes, draw, or pull up Word and PDF files. Being able to read, write and work from the same device makes it easy to justify bringing it on any vacation, especially with its tiny footprint.<\/p>\n For movies and games, a simple iPad is a better option. It comes in four different flavors, but if you just need a travel companion, the basic iPad offers an 11in screen, plenty of power, and all-day battery life for a reasonable $349.<\/p>\n <\/span> Photograph: Jon Bitner\/The Guardian<\/p>\n Sony WH1000XM4 wireless noise-canceling headphones<\/strong><\/p>\n $198 at Walmart Though you shouldn\u2019t wear headphones while driving, they are a great way to pick your own tunes as a passenger. You\u2019ll need to invest in a pair with superior noise-cancellation skills, allowing you to fully block out the car radio and nearby conversations. I have been using the Sony WH-1000XM4, which excels at noise cancellation and churns out some pretty impressive audio. For even better noise cancellation and sound quality, check out its successor, the Sony WH-1000XM6, which features a sleek new design and enhanced specs.<\/p>\n Sony WH1000XM6 wireless noise-canceling headphones<\/strong><\/p>\n $448 at Amazon Jon Bitner is a writer covering travel, outdoors and technology for outlets including GameSpot, Digital Trends and Islands. He is an avid hiker and loves exploring the Rocky Mountains from his home in Boulder, Colorado.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Whether you are visiting family in another state, driving up into the mountains for a scenic fall weekend, or embarking on an epic adventure spanning several weeks, road trips are an iconic American getaway. While it\u2019s certainly possible to hit the road with nothing more than your driver\u2019s license and a bottle of water, a<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23583,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[52],"tags":[5982,4519,7099,7037,6186,3740,1377,4040,3816],"class_list":{"0":"post-23582","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-technology","8":"tag-accessories","9":"tag-chargers","10":"tag-fly","11":"tag-miles","12":"tag-phone","13":"tag-podcasts","14":"tag-road","15":"tag-trip","16":"tag-trips"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23582","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=23582"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23582\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/23583"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=23582"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=23582"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=23582"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Portable power bank<\/h2>\n
$119.99 at Amazon<\/p>\nPodcasts and audiobooks<\/h2>\n
Travel-sized board games<\/h2>\n
$69.95 at Particula<\/p>\n
$51.99 at Kohl\u2019s
$51.99 at Toys R Us<\/p>\n
<\/strong>$39.99 at Amazon<\/p>\n
$11.52 at Amazon
$11.99 at PlayMonster<\/p>\nPet accessories<\/h2>\n
$7.99 at Amazon
$7.99 at Chewy<\/p>\n
$5.59 at Amazon<\/p>\n
$24.57 at Amazon<\/p>\nFirst-aid kit<\/h2>\n
$9.99 at Amazon<\/p>\nCooler<\/h2>\n
<\/strong>$99 at RTIC
$105 at Walmart<\/p>\n
<\/strong>$39.98 at RTIC
$39.98 at Walmart<\/p>\n
<\/strong>$129.95 at REI<\/p>\nTablet or e-reader<\/h2>\n
$409.99 at BOOX
$409.99 at Amazon<\/p>\nHeadphones<\/h2>\n
$228 at Amazon<\/p>\n
$449.99 at Sony<\/p>\n\n