Seeing the World With a Backpack

I've traveled a lot on business, but have always been intrigued by the idea of traveling the world for fun.  A couple of sets of friends of mine have done just that:

• Tom Andrus took his whole family around the world on a very reasonable budget, which you can read about on his  "Six In The World" site;
• Warren and Betsy Talbot not only did the same thing, they have written books about how to go about it, which you can find out more about via their "Married With Luggage" site.

When you think about international travel - even on a smaller scale than that of Tom, Warren, and Betsy - one of the big questions is how to travel affordably. After all, anyone who has been on vacation recently knows it can be an extremely pricey experience.

In order to see the world in a more budget-friendly way, many people are intrigued by the idea of embarking on a backpacking adventure. Instead of staying at hotels, urban backpacking trips typically involve staying in hostels, which can save travelers thousands of dollars. But before you call the airlines and book your flight to Europe or wherever your case of wanderlust inspires you to go, it’s a good idea to take a little time beforehand and consider how backpacking and hostel vacations are different from a suitcase and hotel excursion.

Traveling Suggestions

The first thing to decide is if you want to travel alone or with a group. While having the freedom to go where you want and see what you want is appealing, there's also safety in numbers. Speaking of which, travelers should make it a point to protect their identity while they're away; for example, signing up with Life Lock before heading on vacation is a good idea, as is investing in a money belt and keeping your passport well-protected.

Most hostels will have lockers, but it doesn't hurt to pack some security accessories. Pacsafe Locks both cover and secure your pack to keep it from being stolen or tampered with.

Packing a Backpack

Packing a backpack for a vacation takes time and preplanning. As an article on the Wild Backpacker website noted, the first order of business is to purchase a backpack that'll fit all of the clothing, supplies and other gear you'll need. Even if, you already have an older backpack that will hold a lot of items, the article suggests investing in a newer, more lightweight model that will still hold a ton of stuff while also saving your back.

In order to pack everything properly, travelers should lay out everything they intend to bring in one spot. For instance, if you're going outside of the United States, you’ll probably want to bring a travel adapter, as well as a headlamp, at least one pair of extremely comfortable yet sturdy shoes, and the correct kind of clothing, for the climate you’ll be visiting. Once you have everything you need gathered together, the Wild Backpacker article suggests loading your pack with the lightweight items at the bottom, than medium-weight, and then finally the heaviest items. Fill all empty spaces with your smaller items like a GPS, snack foods, bug spray and toiletries.

For anyone who is unsure about what to expect, an article that appeared in the Huffington Post offers a first-hand account about the many benefits of staying in such affordable accommodations. In the author’s experience, hostels are clean, welcoming and hospitable places to stay, filled with friendly staff and guests. Many hostels tend to have staff on-site 24 hours a day, which helps with security. Hostels are also extremely easy on the wallet, costing as little as a few dollars a night.

With a little preplanning and a sense of adventure, it's certainly possible to get out and see the world for far less than a typical vacation.

Travel Survival Tip: Dealing with blisters on your heels

On more than a few occasions, I've worn new shoes on a business trip and been miserable because my heel(s) developed blisters because the shoes weren't broken in yet.  It makes for a miserable trip.  Fortunately, you don't have​ to suffer.

Moleskin to the rescue

Several years ago, I discovered that there was a great solution to this problem: Moleskin (not to be confused with the Moleskine notebooks - they are a completely different thing).​ Before discovering moleskin, I used Band Aids, but they just didn't stay on very well.

Moleskin is a felt-like fabric with an adhesive coating on one side.  You can find it at most pharmacies, or stores with pharmacies in them (such as many grocery stores and Target).​  It is in the foot care section, along with show inserts, corn pads, and things like that.

To use it, simply cut a square that will cover your blister (or the red area where a blister or "hot spot" is developing), apply it directly to the skin over the blister, then put your socks and shoes back on.

If you already have a blister, it will still hurt, but it won't get worse, and it won't hurt as much.  If you don't have a blister yet, moleskin can keep one from developing.​

Each day, replace the square with a fresh pad.  I find that the moleskin is easier to remove if I take it off after my shower - it's waterlogged anyway at that point, so it is a great time to apply a fresh pad.​

Keep putting it on there until the blister is healed, or your shoes no longer hurt your feet.​

​Plan ahead for more pleasant travel

With moleskin, it can pay to plan ahead.  You see, moleskin is sold in larger sheets or rolls so you need to cut it -- that can be challenging these days, since it is difficult to travel with scissors.

I buy moleskin and cut it into small squares (roughly 1" square, or 2.5cm square) and put them into my laptop bag so I have some handy if my shoes begin to irritate my feet. This has helped me on at least 4 occasions I can remember, and I make sure moleskin is a permanent part of my travel gear.

Hands-on Review: iPad Mini vs. Normal iPad 3

I've been an iPad user for a long time.  In the past, I've written here about how I use my iPad to be more productive with a Zagg keyboard and Evernote.  I've had the original iPad, the iPad 2, and the iPad 3;  the the iPad 3 is the main basis for my comparison here.

A few weeks a go, I received my iPad Mini (it took a couple of weeks for Apple to ship it - well worth the wait) and have been using it regularly long enough to share my experiences.

By the way, I have the iPad Mini with AT&T LTE broadband, and 64GB of memory - I went with the larger memory because I download a lot of movies to watch on business trips, and they take a lot of room.  I chose the broadband because I am often in high-security buildings where I cannot get on WiFi and I need another option.

Summary of my experience

Size

I wasn't sure what to expect from the iPad Mini, but I must say that I was very surprised at how much smaller, lighter and thinner it feels when you carry it.  It is comparable in size and weight to my Kindle Touch e-Reader, which means I don't have to think twice about whether to bring it with me or not (I sometimes left my iPad 3 at home on long trips to save weight and/or free up space in my laptop bag.  

Not only does the iPad Mini fit well in my laptop bag, it is small enough to fit in the pocket of my jacket - I love that.  Since I use the iPad for so much of my note taking, list making, etc. for my productivity habits, it is a huge benefit when I can take a device almost anywhere.

Screen and on-screen keyboard

The screen has a much lower resolution than my iPad 3, but the lower resolution works well due to the smaller dimensions of the iPad Mini. The screen is plenty bright when you turn it up, and I end up turning it down pretty far for normal use (which also saves battery life).

I didn't have trouble using apps normally, and haven't yet found any apps that don't adjust correctly to the iPad Mini screen.

One thing that required adjustment:  The on-screen keyboard.  in Landscape mode, the screen is now too narrow for me to try to mimic touch-typing (I have big hands) but in Portrait mode, I can now thumb-type very well.  As a side effect, for quick notes using the on-screen keyboard, I rotate it to portrait mode and jot things down in email or Evernote.

After a week or so of thumb-typing I ended up ordering Zagg's keyboard case for the iPad Mini, (right) as well.  This is the little brother of the keyboard I reviewed previously.  Zagg makes a 7-inch keyboard case that is the same width as the iPad Mini, but I went for the slightly larger 9-inch keyboard because I have larger hands.  Even the 9-inch version is plenty small to pack or carry, and I have been very glad that I bought the Zagg keyboard.

Battery life

In spite of its much smaller size, the battery life is comparable to my larger iPad and meets the claimed 10-hour battery life Apple claims.  This means I can use it to take notes  and check email all day, I can watch movies on flights, and I can look things up online without having to worry much about when I'll be near a power outlet.  

Miscellaneous

• I have the Apple Smart Cover for the iPad Mini but I don't like it nearly as much as I like the Smart Cover for the iPad3.  The smaller size isn't as stable when using the cover as a stand, and the new magnet mechanism doesn't hold on as firmly as on the larger iPads (Apple covered the magnets in rubber rather than leaving them exposed, which I think leads to a weaker connection).  Therefore, I rarely use the Smart Cover, and tend to use the Zagg case most of the time.
• The iPad Mini is another one of those devices that uses the new Lightning connector.  This is fine for me, since I already have an iPhone 5 and had to go through the pain of getting extra cables and adapters for my old docks and accessories to work with the new connector.  If you already have a sprawling ecosystem of chargers, cables, and docks from your older iPad, factor this into the transition process.  
  • I highly recommend getting a short adapter to convert your older, 30-pin connections to Lightning.  I prefer the kind with the short cable rather than the all-in-one adapter that is a solid block of plastic - I find the short length of cable makes it far more useful.

Net-net:

Pros of the iPad Mini:

• The size is perfect for everyday use, and much more practical than my larger iPad.
• The battery life is great.
• Cameras (front an rear) are very good (and you don't look quite so foolish taking a picture with this one, like you do with the larger iPad.
• Screen is bright and very usable for email, reading, note taking, movies, and games.
• Huge ecosystem of existing apps works great with the iPad mini.

Cons of the iPad Mini:

• On-screen keyboard is not great for extensive text entry.
• Smart Cover not as useful as on the larger iPads.
• Accessory ecosystem still limited (but this will improve once this device has been around longer).
• Pricey.

The bottom line?  I really like the iPad Mini.  If I were buying today, or I could only have one iPad, I'd choose the iPad Mini.

Travel Light: I've got the power [Updated}

Update:  When I last reviewed this travel gadget, it was about 6 years ago.  Recently mine broke so I started looking for another one.  It was then that I realized that the one I was linking to on Amazon was no longer available.  Fortunately, I found an alternate item - it is the same product, just with a different label.  I still love it and just bought another one.  The original review is below, with a few tweaks and updates.  Enjoy!

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I was in the UK last week, and got some "Ooh's and ahh's" over my latest Travel Light gadget:  A Universal Plug Adapter. This is the second time I've used it, and I'm very pleased with it.

The APC adapter is a "McGyver" looking device that packs flat so it's easy to stow in your laptop bag. It can be reconfigured to fit just about any power plug combination you'll find in the world (input or output). In other words, it's great for any traveler - not just those from the USA.

Note that this device doesn't convert power, but it does make the plugs compatible. Since all of the devices I travel with (laptop, iPad, iPhone, Nintendo DS Lite, Kindle,  etc.) have chargers that can handle 110v or 220v AC, all I need is a way to make the plug fit. This adapter fills the bill perfectly.

In the picture at right, you'll see what it looks like in its "default" mode, which is the most streamlined for travel (and can be used for central European, 2-pronged outlets).

By separating the two sections of the adapter and connecting it in different configurations, you can use it for other countries' adapters. For example, in the picture at left, you see the configuration I used last week, so I could plug into those big, honkin' UK dryer plug outlets.

Note that there are two prongs sticking out of the top in the photo -- have no fear, they aren't "hot" in this configuration, and have no current going through them when you plug this into an outlet.

I used to have a different kind of power adapter, but it was a bit thick and bulky for my tastes, so I moved to this new, lighter adapter. If you travel internationally and want to be prepared to power up in any country in which you may find yourself, then I highly recommend this Universal Plug Adapter.

TouchFire is a lightweight keyboard addition for your iPad

Earlier this year, I heard about a Kickstarter project for an iPad add-on called "TouchFire."  The idea sounded intriguing:  A flexible silicone-ish keyboard that magnetically attached to your iPad screen, providing tactile keys that worked with the iPad's soft keyboard.

I investigated, and decided to get in on the project, which entailed "investing" some money in the project for an opportunity to reserve one of the units when they began shipping.  I put my money down.  About a month ago, I received my keyboard and it is pretty cool.  But it isn't perfect and it probably won't be a hit for everyone so I decided to write a brief review of my experiences here.

What you get

For $50, you get a TouchFire keyboard, a carrying case (it folds up pretty small and fits nicely in the case), and some adhesive magnets that attach to your smart cover, if you have one - more on why you need those magnets in a second.

How the TouchFire works

The TouchFire keyboard has strong magnets built into it, and it "snaps" on to your iPad, and aligns itself much like Apple's smart covers do - this makes it easy to get the keyboard into the right position over the on-screen keyboard.  

This also makes it easy to flip the TouchFire down (toward you) if you want to temporarily gain access to your full iPad screen such as when you want to draw on the screen or use your fingers to perform operations.  Then you can simply flip it back up over the screen when you want to type.

Another cool aspect of the TouchFire's flexibility and ease of removing the keyboard is that it can fold up inside your smart cover to completely get the TouchFire out of the way without risking that you'll leave it behind.  This is where the adhesive magnets I mentioned come into play.  

• When you first get your TouchFire, you go through a short process to position and mount a couple of magenta to the underside of your smart cover.
• After that, if you don't want to use the TouchFire, you simply lift it with the smart cover the next time you open it up, and the magnets will hold the keyboard against the smart cover, as shown in the picture at right (you can see larger versions of these pictures at the TouchFire site).

Typing on the TouchFire is pretty nice - you get exactly the same layout as the iPad keyboard, but how you have tactile keys that can help you type more quickly, especially if you are a touch typist.  You will need to experiment a bit to see if you like to type flat or if you like to type at an angle, which you can achieve by propping it up with the smart cover.

The TouchFire seems pretty durable so far, and you can easily wash it if it gets dirty (I've washed mine once after I got a bunch of dust on it).

There is one complaint I have about the TouchFire.  Apparently, I "drag" my fingers over the top of the keys ever-so-slightly when I type and it took a while to get used to raising my fingers up higher - the jelly-like feel of the TouchFire's keys grabbed my fingers enough to slow my typing down and annoy me.  I don't have that issue with "normal" physical keys.

On a related note, you may find the TouchFire to be very sticky at first.  Give it a few days and that stickiness calms down, in my experience.

By the way - if you're interested in seeing it in action, I encourage you to watch the video that got me excited about this:

Pros and Cons

Here are the pros and cons from my perspective.

Pros:

• Very lightweight
• Easy to "install" and remove (clear instructions are provided with the TouchFire)
• Nice carrying case, and extra magnets are provided
• Enables touch typing using Apple's touch keyboard, which means spellcheck / autocorrect work the same as with Apple's keyboard
• Integrates with Apple's smart cover
• No batteries or other moving parts

Cons:

• Jelly-like feel of keys may not work for your typing style (see my notes above).
• When you switch to alternate symbols on the keyboard, sometimes it's hard to see which key is which since they soft keys are now covered by the TouchFire.  You can kind of see through the TouchFire, but it's not completely clear.

For me, the bottom line is that I am happy I bought a TouchFire, because I regularly use it when I'm trying to travel very  light.  However, for productivity and typing speed, I still find myself gravitating back to my Logitech keyboard case - even if it weighs more and has to be recharged once a month.  

Another aspect I like about the Logitech - when I'm taking notes with it, the iPad screen is upright kind of like a laptop screen, which means I can take notes without allowing others to read what I'm typing.  Obviously, typing on a near-vertical surface just isn't practical using the onscreen keyboard.

If you end up getting a TouchFire, let me know how you like it - I have two friends that absolutely love the TouchFire, and would like to hear more from other people.