10 Pandemic-Era Products You’ll Want to Travel With From Now On

These days, there are various health declarations and forms that travelers need to sign to visit other countries. Many are online, but you never know when you’d need to pick up a pen at immigration or passport control. So, keep your own with you. This Space Pen is used by NASA astronauts in space, so you know it’s reliable and long-lasting. It’s also pretty cool to have a fancy pen with your name on it (you can customize it). Look out travelers who are finding it hard to write while standing in line, the Space Pen can hold itself well in uncomfortable situations. It can write upside down, underwater, or in zero gravity, which hopefully you’ll never have the fortune to try, but it’s always nice to know you have the option. There are plenty of designs to choose from. Check out the original AG7 that was used on the Apollo 7 mission.

In 2021, you can keep track of all your belongings thanks to Bluetooth. With Tile trackers, you can locate lost products if you’re within the Bluetooth range (or if other Tile users are). When traveling, it’s a double reassurance to have extra security for your wallet, passport, laptop, and bag, just in case you misplace something important. 

Tile products come in different shapes and sizes, like a Sticker for your camera, a Slim for your passport holder, and a Mate for your bags—all convenient to use and light to carry. Tile uses a free app to help you track whatever you have attached it to. Check out the essential combo.

If you love Away’s suitcases, then you’ll probably like The Mini, which is a seven-inch case made with the same polycarbonate shell as seen in its other products. The mini suitcase is perfect for your small travel essentials, but with $10 more, you can get the limited-edition Travel Wellness Kit, curated with the pandemic in mind. The Travel Wellness Kit includes a blush pink mini case, a hand sanitizer, 30 dissolvable soap leaves, 10 sheets of anti-bacterial wipes, and a reusable silicone mask with five filters. 

As glamorous as traveling can be, it does involve a lot of sitting—waiting to board, long flights, long road trips—that can lead to tingling or swelling. That’s where compression socks jump in. They squeeze your legs and keep blood circulation going. If you have a long day of travel in front of you, it makes sense to keep them handy in your carry-on. These Comrad Compression Socks are knee-high, comfortable and made of soft, breathable fabric. Pick up a pack of three recycled cotton compression socks and feel better as soon as you land.

New York is making vaccines mandatory for indoor activities. France has already done it. Countries also require travelers to be fully vaccinated before they are allowed to enter. If you’ve received your doses, you know that your vaccine certificate is going to get a lot of exercise in the coming months. So, it’s a good idea to think about its protection.

You may want to hold off on laminating because more information may be added to your card, so a clear protector like this may be more convenient–it comes in a pack of five you can share the rest with your family members. You can also check out cutesy protectors and vaccine holders on Etsy like this foldable card holder available in different patterns or a leather passport holder with a slot for a vaccine card.

All travelers entering the US, even those who are vaccinated, need to test negative for COVID for a test taken within three days of boarding. If you are traveling internationally, it’s something to keep in mind because you will need to know local testing centers. As a backup, you can also bring at-home COVID test kits with you to your destination to make the process easier. The CDC has given a thumbs up to home tests so long as they meet its criteria, so you can DIY.

BinaxNOW COVID-19 At-Home Test Kit has FDA approval. A telehealth provider takes you through the whole process of self-testing on a video call—make sure you have a good internet connection—and the result takes 15 minutes. You can get a pack of six BinoxNOW At-Home COVID-19 Test.

When it comes to audio products, Sony is difficult to beat. The WH-1000XM4 noise-cancellation headphones are one of the best over-the-ear headphones in the market. These are light, foldable, and comfortable. You can control ambient sounds if you want to listen to an announcement and the Atmospheric-Pressure Optimising feature adjusts sound to high altitudes. The battery lasts for 30 hours, which is enough time for you to land and get to your hotel.

If the count of gadgets in your life is increasing, then the clutter in your bag of chargers and cables will be a sight. It can get pretty messy to travel with a phone, smartwatch, tablet, laptop, e-reader, earphones and all the other devices, so an organizer is a must-have. This one by Incase is waterproof and comes with mesh compartments, pockets, and elastic loops, so you can secure your chargers and cables tidily and access them when required.