Packing is stressful enough as it is. Why not make it easier with a few additions to your suitcase?

I absolutely hate packing for trips. No matter how much I try to pack in advance, I’ll always stress over every single thing. Do I have enough clothes for the trip? I remembered to pack my passport, right? How can I get all this into a carry-on (because who wants to pay that extra charge)? For me, it’s a low-key nightmare.

However, some things make it all easier, especially when it comes to tech gear. These three items never leave my suitcase, and they make packing so much easier.

Keep All of Your Wires in One Place

If there’s one thing I’m most worried about when it comes to packing, it’s forgetting some sort of cable or charger. Whether it’s a USB-C cable, a wall wart, or something to charge my Apple Watch, it’s stressful to remember them—especially if you’re using said wires until the last minute. Even if I have packed them, I still need to check five times to make sure, as well. It’s not a fun situation!

But there is a far easier way than just remembering and hoping for the best. A small wire organizer like FYY’s Electronic Organizer, can make packing your important wires incredibly easy. All you need to do is pack whatever wires you need into the organizer, throw it into your suitcase, and never worry about cables again. With this all packed and ready to go, it’s one less thing to stress over.

If you don’t happen to have enough of your necessary cables to fill the organizer, now would be a good time to pick up a few extras—most common wires are inexpensive, and the additional $10 or so when you’re picking the organizer up is worth the price of peace.

Power Banks With Built-In Stands Are King

A power bank is a must-have when traveling, but you might not think about whether it has a stand when you pick one. While this seems like a frivolous feature, if you’re using your phone as entertainment for a long flight, you’ll soon find how annoying it can be to hold it at an angle you can see.

So why deal with it, or deal with your phone battery dying, for that matter? A properly equipped power bank can make your life that much easier. One with a built-in stand will keep your phone up at a proper angle while charging your device. It’s a win/win for long plane rides.

Most of these power banks are MagSafe compatible, so the pack will easily prop up your iPhone (or Android phone with a MagSafe case). Those without MagSafe, however, can get something like Nllosa’s portable charger, which plugs into the USB-C port and props your phone up in landscape mode.

• 

  Brand

  Ugreen

  Ports

  USB-C (one)

  Weight

  8.1 ounces

  Dimensions

  4.2 x 2.7 x 0.8 inches

  The UGREEN Uno is a wireless magnetic power bank that attaches to Qi2-compatible phones and has an adjustable stand so you can prop the phone up while charging.

  
  

Sometimes You Need More Ports

Finding a free A/C port in an airport can be difficult, even if they seem to be everywhere. Some don’t work anymore, while others can be in very inconvenient places, especially if you’re trying to charge something with a shorter cable. This can be less of an issue in bigger airports, but I know in the small airport in my city, a working A/C port is hard to find, and it’s typically taken up by a traveler already.

But even if you’re in an airport with an excess of A/C ports, there are other problems to consider—you can only charge one device at a time, and generally, there isn’t a variety of ports to take advantage of. If you don’t happen to have a wall charger adapter, you’re generally out of luck. Sometimes you can get lucky and find an outlet that also has USB-A or USB-C ports, but it’s far from a given.

Such problems can usually be solved by power strips or surge protectors, but whipping out a full-sized power strip at the airport would look ridiculous, not to mention take up a fair amount of space in your suitcase.

This is where a portable power strip comes into play. These tiny devices have a decent number of ports, plug into A/C outlets, and most importantly, are extremely compact. This makes them indispensable anywhere you’ll have a limited number of ports available, whether that be in the airport or your hotel room.

Anker’s GaNPrime 65W Portable Power Strip is on the higher end for this sort of product. However, this power strip comes with surge protection (not common for power strips of this size), and Anker is a reputable brand when it comes to powering devices. It’s well worth spending a little extra in this case—though the Anker GaNPrime 65W goes on sale a lot as well, so it’s easy to lighten the hit to your wallet.