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travel

Ricoh Announces Updated Version of My Favorite Travel Camera

by admin August 21, 2025

With pocket camera popularity on the rise, Ricoh has announced the GR IV, an updated version of its excellent, diminutive (and quite old) GR III. It’s a fixed-lens camera that can easily fit in a pocket, but inside is a big APS-C image sensor — far larger than what you can get in a phone. Larger image sensors typically mean better image quality compared to smaller sensors.

I really liked the GR III and picked it as the best point-and-shoot camera for travel. The images it captured were better, especially in low light, than most of the other small cameras I tested. However, it felt quite dated. The new GR IV, on paper at least, seems to improve on many of the GR III’s more aged aspects but keeps the vast majority of the camera the same. That’s generally a good thing.

Big sensor, little camera

Ricoh

25.7-megapixel images (6,192×4,128)
18.3mm f/2.8 lens (28mm in 35mm equivalent)
1080p/60 video
5-axis image stabilization
Faster startup compared to previous GR cameras (claimed to be 0.6 seconds)
Built-in ND filter (2 stops)
53GB internal storage (also microSD)
Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.3

The two benefits of the GR III and its predecessors carry over to the GR IV: It’s an extremely small camera with a big image sensor. The body is 4.3 by 2.4 by 1.3 inches, which is roughly the same width as a smartphone, thicker but shorter. It should fit easily in most pockets. The IV is very slightly smaller than the GR III.

Again, inside is a new APS-C-sized image sensor, though it’s the same size used in the GR III and basically the same resolution. Ricoh says it has “higher sensitivity and reduced noise” compared to the sensor in the GR III. It would have been great to see a higher-resolution sensor, allowing for more detail when cropping in on an image, considering the GR IV has a fixed, wide-angle lens.

Ricoh

That lens is an all-new design, with an 18.3mm focal length (equivalent to 28mm). That matches the GR III, as does its f2.8 aperture. This is on the narrow end of what’s typically considered a wide-angle lens, but it’s similar to the field of view of the main cameras on most smartphones. Ricoh says the lens’s glass elements allow for “edge-to-edge sharpness.”

The GR IV has 5-axis shake reduction, up from 3-axis on the GR III, to help reduce blurriness during longer shutter speeds. Ricoh says this offers up to six stops of stabilization. This, along with the higher sensitivity of the image sensor, could mean the GR IV does really well in low light.

Ricoh

Along with the launch of the GR IV, Ricoh has announced several accessories, most notably a compact flash that connects via the hot shoe on top of the camera. After years of cameras trying to reduce the need for flashes, the resurgence of retro digital cameras and their aesthetic is bringing them back. Additionally, there will be some cosmetic alternatives, including a metal hot shoe cover, plus a wrist strap (pictured in the top image) and a lens adapter to fit the GW-4 wide conversion lens that’s currently available for the GR III.

Should you wait for the GR IV?

Ricoh

On paper, the updates to the GR IV seem fairly mild. Same overall design, same resolution, same focal length. However, there’s definitely an “if ain’t broke, don’t fix it” aspect to all of that. The GR III worked great, creating high-quality images in a pocket-size camera. It’s often said the best camera is the one you have with you, and it was very easy to have the GR III with you.

The new lens, image sensor and stabilization could be solid upgrades. I won’t know until I test the GR IV (likely next month when it launches). I’m a little disappointed it’s not higher resolution. That’s not a huge deal, but I’ve been using a fixed-lens camera for several months now as my main camera, and being able to crop in on the 40MP images has come in handy. Then again, if I were in a situation where I wanted to capture something in the distance, I’d usually just use the telephoto on my Pixel 9 Pro.

If you’re interested in a GR camera, I’d recommend waiting a few weeks if you can. Either the GR IV will be a worthy upgrade and worth getting, or it will just be a minor improvement and the older, and likely cheaper, GR III will be the better option. The Ricoh GR IV will be available in mid-September for $1,500.

Ricoh

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August 21, 2025 0 comments

Gaming Gear

The Ultimate Google Maps Cheat Sheet for Smarter Travel and Exploring

by admin June 20, 2025

Whether you’re heading across town or across the country, a navigation app like Google Maps can be essential to easier travel. It can help you steer clear of heavy traffic, accidents, toll roads and other unexpected delays. It can also show you the best places to eat and visit when you’re exploring a new place.

Want to get even more out of Google Maps? We’ve rounded up some useful tricks and lesser-known features that can enhance your experience.

For more travel advice, see the best time to shop for airline tickets and how to find cheap flights.

Google Maps tricks you’ll want to use ASAP

Google Maps is packed with features that aren’t always obvious, but CNET has uncovered some of the best ones. These are tips you’ll want to keep in your back pocket.

Google Maps tips for food lovers

If you’re someone who loves checking out new restaurants or planning nights out, these tips are for you. Even seasoned diners might discover something new.

Google Maps tips for frequent travelers

If you’re constantly on the go, knowing how to use Google Maps to your advantage can make your travel days smoother. These features are especially handy while on the move.

For more, see our traveler’s prep checklist and how to improve your odds of not having your flight canceled or delayed.

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June 20, 2025 0 comments

Heipi 3-in-1 Travel Tripod W28S folded away, in the hand

Product Reviews

Heipi 3-in-1 Travel Tripod W28S review: sturdy support for multiple types of gear in multiple ways

by admin June 19, 2025

Why you can trust TechRadar

We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.

Heipi 3-in-1 Travel Tripod W28S: two-minute review

Ask around, and most enthusiast photographers and creators are familiar with the accessory maker Peak Design, but newcomer Heipi? Nope.

Well, I have a welcome surprise – Heipi’s carbon fiber 3-in-1 Travel Tripod W28S beats the Peak Design Travel Tripod in just about every regard, plus it’s cheaper too. Three-Legged Thing’s Punks Brian 2.0, however, provides stiffer competition for standard use – I explain why, below.

The W28S replaces the W28 – which I described as one of the most relevant and best travel tripods today in my in-depth review – delivering several refinements for a virtually complete and highly versatile three-legged support, in three ways.

Heipi 3-in-1 Travel Tripod W28S: key specs

Swipe to scroll horizontally

Total weight

3.04lbs / 1.38kg (including ball head and mini tripod)

Max height

59.8 inches / 152cm (with center column fully raised, or 47 inches / 119cm without)

Legs sections

Packed length

17.7 inches / 45cm

Max capacity

Up to 44lbs / 20kg

Heipi 3-in-1 Travel Tripod W28 price and availability

The Heipi 3-in-1 Travel Tripod W28S with ball head is available now, from $399 / £325 on the Heipi website and from $399 on Amazon US or from AU$735 at Amazon AU.

There are also optional accessories such as a QR plate, and a different type of ball head in a pricer bundle. Heipi also sells clamp arms, an add-on phone clamp, plus a hammock for stowing accessories or even a weight to increase stability.

Heipi 3-in-1 Travel Tripod W28: Also consider

Should I buy the Heipi 3-in-1 Travel Tripod W28S?

(Image credit: Future)

Buy it if…

Don’t buy it if…

How I tested the Heipi 3-in-1 Travel Tripod W28S

I’ve used it over several months
I’ve extensively tested its 3-in-1 features
I’ve attached various mirrorless cameras and smartphones

I’ve had the Heipi 3-in-1 Travel Tripod W28S for several months, and it’s been my go-to camera gear support during this period.

It has ably supported beginner, mid-range and pro mirrorless cameras, although I’ve drawn a line at the larger sports-focused bodies and bulky telephoto lenses.

I’ve also used the phone clamp to attach a variety of smartphones, the largest of which was an iPhone 15 Pro Max, and I’ve tried out optional extras, including clamp arms for an external monitor.

I’ve tested the mini tripod as thoroughly as the main tripod legs. Generally I’ve used the gear in fair weather, but it has also withstood moderate rain and use on sandy beaches.

First reviewed June 2025

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June 19, 2025 0 comments

Game Updates

Travel back to the days of cable TV with Blippo+, a time-hopping FMV game about… I’m not entirely sure, actually

by admin June 11, 2025

We don’t really get to write about Playdate, that bespoke games console with a built in crank, here on RPS very much because it is very much not a computer (though former EIC Katharine did review it back when it launched). Well, not in the way we need it to be for our purposes. But I have an excuse to do so today! Over the weekend at the PC Gaming Show, a trailer for the Panic-published, faux-streaming service Blippo+ was shown off, one that captured my attention quite quickly.

You see, Blippo+ is technically already available as part of Playdate Season 2, releasing 1-bit dithered versions of fictitious TV episodes one week at a time, just like in the good old days. The version of Blippo+ shown over the weekend however, is a full-scale FMV game that recreates the feeling of channel surfing through off-cable TV, filled with budget productions featuring all sorts of shows like the news, sitcoms, and the weather.

Watch on YouTube

It’s all made with actual vintage analog broadcasting equipment, which is right up my alley. I’ll let you in on an odd pet peeve of mine: I hate it when films and TV just slap on a fake VHS filter or something of that sort and call it a day. You can always tell it’s filmed on a modern camera, and it bothers me to no end, so I really appreciate the effort put into Blippo+.

There’s some kind of “time-hopping” mechanic that lets you go back and forth between weeks worth of television, slowly uncovering the strange lore of this world that’s like ours, but… different. It’s been an eon (translation: actually only about 5 years or so) since I last did any channel hopping of any kind, time travel or not, so I’m quite curious to dive into this one.

It’s also being written by Claire L. Evans and directed by Jona Bechtolt, as in the duo that make-up the musical act YACHT. Not a creative team I would have expected, but Imagine Dragons are making that not Team Fortress 2 shooter Last Flag that got revealed at Geoff’s Two Hours of Video Games Show, so, anything’s possible I guess.

Blippo+ doesn’t have an exact release date just yet, but it is expected to launch sometime this coming fall/ autumn, and you can wishlist it on Steam here.

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June 11, 2025 0 comments

Product Reviews

What Ending the U.S. Ban on Supersonic Flight Means for the Future of Travel

by admin June 10, 2025

It’s been 22 years since the last flight of the Concorde, a now-retired supersonic airliner that flew at a maximum speed of 1,345 miles per hour (2,179 kilometers per hour). At those speeds, you could fly from London to New York City in around three hours. A long-held U.S. ban on supersonic flight over land limited Concorde’s routes and continues to restrict commercial aircraft from flying faster than sound over land. Today, those super speedy—and super loud—flights could be making a comeback.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday to reverse the 1973 ban on civilian supersonic flights, instructing the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to establish a standard for supersonic aircraft noise certification. The decision would make way for faster routes, if companies can figure out ways to make their aircraft quieter and more affordable.

When planes fly faster than the speed of sound, Mach 1, or about 767 miles per hour (1,234 kilometers per hour), they create a loud, explosive noise due to the shock waves created by the extreme speeds. It sounds like loud thunder and it would startle people living in cities where supersonic jets fly overhead. As a result, the FAA prohibited supersonic flights of non-military aircraft over land, enacting the measure on April 27, 1973. At the time, aerospace technology wasn’t advanced enough to resolve the noise issue; since then, however, research has shown ways to soften the sounds of supersonic flights.

Boom, a Colorado-based company, is working on a supersonic airliner, named Boom Overture. Its current prototype, XB-1, is designed to fly at Mach 1.7 while carrying 64 to 80 passengers on board. As the leading U.S. company in the market today, Boom naturally welcomed the decision. In late January, Boom Supersonic flew its experimental aircraft faster than sound for the first time. Boom has seen interest from carriers like American Airlines and United Airlines.

Before we get ahead of ourselves, the administration’s reversal of the ban came with a set of rules. Trump’s executive order directed the FAA to revoke the supersonic speed limit as long as aircraft do not produce an audible sonic boom on the ground. “The Order instructs the FAA Administrator to establish a standard for supersonic aircraft noise certification that considers community acceptability, economic reasonableness, and technological feasibility,” according to The White House. It also claims that recent developments in aerospace engineering “make supersonic flight not just possible, but safe, sustainable, and commercially viable.”

NASA is working on its own solution to soften the impact of sonic booms. Earlier this year, the agency fired up the engine of its X-59 research aircraft, which is designed to fly faster than sound but with drastically reduced noise. “People below would hear sonic ‘thumps’ rather than booms, if they hear anything at all,” NASA wrote in a statement. The plane is designed to reduce the pressure change that flows over the ground, thereby reducing the sound. The X-59’s engine is mounted on top of the aircraft, which reduces the amount of noise from the plane that reaches the ground.

Aside from the noise, commercial supersonic flight has also been criticized for its negative impact on the environment. Supersonic aircraft consume more fuel. Concorde burned through 22 tons of fuel per hour—twice as much as a Boeing 747, which can carry four times as many passengers, according to Transport & Environment.

To help address the negative environmental impact, Boom says its planes will operate on sustainable alternative fuels. That may not fully resolve the issue, as faster planes need to fly at higher altitudes, where the air is thinner and there’s less drag and heat generation. At those higher altitudes in Earth’s stratosphere, the emissions from the plane would linger up to 20 times longer, according to Aerospace America. NASA says it’s working to find solutions for those challenges as well.

Supersonic flights are also expensive, with pricey operation costs and premium services at extremely high fares. Concorde, for example, was not considered profitable as the cost of fuel far exceeded the profit made per flight. Airlines hoping to get in on the supersonic action need to figure out a sustainable model to offer customers for a quicker flight.

Lifting the ban may have been the first step, but there’s still a long way to go before faster routes take off in the skies.

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June 10, 2025 0 comments

Dune: Awakening fast travel - A close-up of a character dressed in Fremen attire, looking upwards slightly.

Gaming Gear

How to fast travel in Dune: Awakening

by admin June 6, 2025

It shouldn’t be all that surprising, but the dunes of Arrakis are massive, sandworm-infested, and can become a bit of a slog when you’re trekking from one side to the other for quests and resources. But you don’t have to walk it out. Dune: Awakening actually has fast travel, it’s just hidden behind an NPC that you’ll meet during a side quest.

Even though you’ll unlock other modes of transport later on, including land and air vehicles, fast travel is still a necessity if you need to go from one side of the map to another in an instant. So here’s what you need to do.

How to unlock and use fast travel in Dune: Awakening

Image 1 of 2

(Image credit: Funcom)(Image credit: Funcom)

You’ll unlock fast travel when you first visit Griffin’s Reach Tradepost in the A Touch of Civilisation quest in the hopes of regrouping with Zantara early on. When you arrive, you’ll automatically get the A Wider World side quest to speak to the ornithopter pilot, who’s hiding in the corner of the main building opposite the contract board near the merchant. This pilot acts like a taxi, providing fast travel between cities and tradeposts that you’ve already visited.

Speaking to the ornithopter pilot, you can ask them to fly you to three locations: Hagga Basin, Arrakeen, and Harko Village. While Arakeen is an Atreides stronghold and Harko Village is its Harkonnen counterpart, primarily used for faction and Landsraad activities, selecting Hagga Basin lists various key locations you’ve been to that you can quickly fly to. Yes, this does mean that you have to head to an ornithopter pilot at a tradepost (like Griffin’s Reach) each time you want to fast travel, as you can’t conveniently do it from the map screen.

Outside of fast travelling, you can also get a sandbike, a jeep, and even an ornithopter of your own. You’ll need these to travel between areas that can’t be accessed by fast travelling–everything outside of settlements, basically.

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June 6, 2025 0 comments

Product Reviews

CDPR says the Kingdom Come style of systems-heavy RPG is ‘super great’ and, when it comes to The Witcher 4’s direction of travel, ‘these are our next steps for sure’

by admin June 4, 2025

Yesterday brought our first proper look at The Witcher 4, thanks to a highly impressive tech demo, and the Ciri-led sequel is now CDPR’s next big thing. PCG’s Josh Wolens recently sat down with several of the studio’s core figures to discuss the series’ past and future and, with this happening around The Witcher 3’s tenth anniversary, one prominent topic was how the gaming landscape has changed over that time.

The Witcher 4 will release in a very different world from The Witcher 3, and there are several high-profile examples of studios that don’t seem to have kept pace with the times. Bioware’s Dragon Age: Veilguard, for example, was a perfectly decent RPG, but the visuals aside it was almost like a game you could’ve been playing in 2015. But then there are those games that do feel like they’re pushing the RPG forward, like Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 and perhaps most prominently Baldur’s Gate 3. So where is CDPR and The Witcher 4 going to find itself?

“Bioware has changed for sure, but the industry has changed too,” says CDPR co-CEO Adam Badowski. “We have a different strategy for our company. We definitely would like to continue keeping and truly understanding our core rules, how we develop our games, and of course, on top of that, we need to find new things, especially in gameplay, because there’s not such a great progress when it comes to good stories.

“So here we feel very strongly at the same time, so many great things happened in gameplay [since The Witcher 3]. What are players’ expectations here? And there are great games, great mechanics and plus UI [improvements]. So this is the idea for our development, and we are focusing on that, but at the same time we strongly believe in the core of what we are doing here.”

Badowski goes on to say that he thinks one of CDPR’s strengths is that, while The Witcher and Cyberpunk are very different worlds, at their heart are some pretty similar goals.

“So even if we have multiple games, it doesn’t mean that we are focusing on one big thing, because our games are similar when it comes to the core aspects,” says Badowski. “Of course, Cyberpunk is different from the Witcher, but different enough to feel that it’s something maybe more for me, less for you. But I think the core, the pillars, how we make games stay the same and we continue. Maybe that’s the difference, the difference between our strategy and Bioware’s strategy these days.”

(Image credit: CD Projekt Red)

To get down to brass tacks, then, what does CDPR see when it’s looking at the likes of KCD2 and BG3?

“I love Kingdom Come because of the realism and the feeling, the sense of humor,” says Badowski. Would he even say it’s a little Witcher-y?

“Thank you,” laughs Badowski, before going on to explain how some of the more simulation-y and systems-heavy aspects of KCD2 are the things CDPR watches with interest, because this is partly The Witcher 4’s direction of travel.

“The Kingdom Come kind of simulation, it’s great,” says Badowski. “There’s so many options, you can change the world, it’s super great. And we would like to keep that, we’d like to follow this trend as well. So these are our next steps for sure, and it’s kind of a similar challenge to what we have in The Witcher 3 because of the open world and storytelling here, freedom of choices. But at the same time, we would like to build very fleshy, very well-motivated characters. So it’s kind of in contradiction from time-to-time. That’s a great design challenge.”

With Larian the influence is less direct. “In Larian’s case it’s turn-based so it’s a different kind of game, and the way you interact with characters is totally different,” says Bakowski. “We like to fully build the characters, understand the past and the future of the character motivation. That’s why it takes so much time. [In BG3] there are great characters as well but sometimes your choices, because there’s freedom of choices in Larian’s work, it pushes you to use different tricks than ours. But I think we observe each other, and there are not that many games like that, so that’s natural, yeah, and we see how players react, how fans react to those tactics.”

The Witcher 4 – Official Cinematic Trailer | State Of Unreal 2025 – YouTube

Watch On

It’s a theme that joint CEO Michał Nowakowski echoes: Baldur’s Gate 3 has clearly impressed an awful lot of people at CDPR, even if they’re conscious that The Witcher is always going to be a different type of RPG.

“I think we’re still more in the, you know, we’re a big open world,” says Nowakowski. “But a lot of what Baldur’s Gate 3 showed was an inspiration, and to be honest there’s no shame in that. I think everybody who launches games nowadays is looking back on what was done before, and is looking at what worked and what was great and how and if they can fit it into whatever they are doing.

“So for sure there was a lot of inspiration and what BG3 did, but I think we’re still more sticking to what was The Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk, even if we don’t want to just make another game like that, just with better graphics. We do want to innovate in terms of what’s available in terms of gameplay and so on. I hope when the time comes, that’s going to become clear for the fans as well.”

If that’s all sounding a little fuzzy, Nowakowski circles back to make it clear what CDPR is not doing:

“It’s a bit of an unclear answer, but to make it more clear, we definitely are not going to make a game like Larian did,” says Nowakowski. “That’s the kind of game they can make. But a lot of stuff with how the characters can interact with the world and what it does was for sure some inspiration to us.”

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June 4, 2025 0 comments

Gaming Gear

The Best Travel Tech for Families (2025)

by admin May 23, 2025

Ah, the joys of a vacation. A little time to unwind and put your feet up. Or if you have kids, a chance to get moaned at in a new time zone. The nagging kicked off before my family left the airport on our last holiday and didn’t let up.

“Dad, my internet isn’t working.” “Dad, where can I charge this?” “Dad, what’s the Wi-Fi password?” “Dad, are we there yet?”

Luckily, this year I planned ahead, and you can too with our best travel tech guide to a harmonious family vacation. Disclaimer: I’ll show you how to keep everyone online and fully charged, but I can’t accept responsibility for non-tech-related family arguments.

The Internet

In theory, it would be great to leave your phones and tablets behind and immerse yourself in the vacation experience to “live, laugh, love” your way around the world. In reality, travel has dull moments and downtime, and teenagers cannot be separated from the internet for long. You can save yourself a lot of trouble by ensuring that everyone can get online.

A Travel Router

My top tip is to set up a travel router before you go. Plug it into your existing router and then connect all the devices you are taking on vacation, but most importantly, you, your partner, and your kids’ phones. Now, when you arrive at your apartment or hotel, you can plug in, connect the travel router to public Wi-Fi, or even connect your phone to the router and use it as a hot spot, so everyone is securely connected without needing any login details. Here’s the one I recommend in our Best Wi-Fi Routers guide.

Connecting Smartphones

You should check your roaming options based on where you are going, but it’s a safe bet that roaming charges will be a hefty unwelcome extra expense when you get home, especially if you allow your kids to connect to foreign networks. You have a few options to avoid this issue.

Use your phone as a hot spot: I have certain roaming travel allowances on my phone contract that my wife and kids don’t have, so it made sense to use my phone as a hot spot for them to connect to when we were out and about. Check your contract before you do this, but even if you don’t have specific benefits, you’ll find it cheaper to get data for one device than more. Here’s how to use your phone as a hot spot. It will drain your battery faster, but I have a tip for that below in the charging section. Remember to turn off cell service or mobile data on the rest of your family’s phones.
Buy a Travel SIM or eSIM: You can snag international SIM cards to switch into your phone when you land abroad. This can be a cost-effective way to make sure you have plenty of data and can connect to foreign networks, although it does mean using a different number for the duration of your stay. We have a guide on how to use an eSIM for international travel.
Buy a hot spot: Instead of using your phone as a hot spot, you could always snag a purpose-built one for everyone to connect to. These portable devices need a SIM or eSIM and enable you to connect multiple gadgets via Wi-Fi. Some portable hot spots even come with service included. I recently tested the excellent but pricey Netgear Nighthawk M6 Pro ($800) and the cheaper but inferior Acer Connect Enduro M3 5G ($356).

Download Ahead of Time

To prepare for the journey, you should download maps in advance and plot your routes. If you use Google Maps, you can tap your profile icon at the top right (bottom right if you use Apple Maps) and choose Offline maps to get started. Downloading a map of the area you are visiting is a good way to save data and serves as a backup in case there are connection issues when you arrive.

Courtesy of Simon Hill

If you’re looking for directions in Google Maps, say for public transport from the airport to the hotel, remember you can tap the Leave drop-down box (Now in Apple Maps) and select a day and time to get the correct directions for your arrival.

It’s also a great idea to ensure you and your kids have some entertainment on your phones before you go. Pick a few movies or episodes of a favorite show and download them the night before. Here’s how to download videos to watch offline. Some of the best mobile games can also be played offline (I recommend Mini Metro).

Entertainment

Speaking of entertainment, you should take some with you. At the end of a busy day sightseeing or roller coaster riding, you might want to unwind with an hour of TV, and the novelty of Spanish soap operas or French debate shows will wear off quickly if you don’t speak the language. I always pack our Chromecast, but any of the picks in our Best Streaming Devices guide will do. This Roku stick is our favorite and plugs easily into any available HDMI port.

Just make sure that you are logged into all your streaming services and that you connect them to your travel router before you go. That way, you have all your favorite shows and the correct next episode lined up. If you get blocked by those annoying login screens for hotel Wi-Fi, you can always connect to Wi-Fi on your phone and log in, then use it as a hot spot for your streaming stick to connect to.

Travel Charging

It’s crucial to pack charging gear when you travel. You’ll want travel adapters, charging cables, and power banks. Make sure you have the right adapters for the country you are visiting, make sure you have a charging cable for every device you are taking, and test them all out before you leave home. Don’t forget about your smartwatch, fitness tracker, or smart ring. I also recommend taking at least one spare travel charger just in case. I run through various options in my Best Travel Adapters guide, but the top pick is ideal for family trips.

Ceptics

GaN 70W Universal Travel Adapter

The top pick in our Best USB-C Cables guide will charge any device with a USB-C port, but this Nomad cable is a handy option for folks with an Apple Watch.

Nomad Universal Cable for Apple Watch

You can also find several options for different devices in our Best Portable Chargers guide, but this is the one I recommend for travel.

Security

One of our favorite password managers, 1Password, features Travel Mode, enabling you to delete any sensitive data from devices before you travel and restore it with a click after you’ve crossed a border. This prevents anyone, including law enforcement at international borders, from accessing your complete password vault. You may also be interested in how to protect yourself from phone searches at the US border.

If you are staying at campsites or rented accommodations and have concerns about anyone rummaging through your stuff, or you feel there’s a risk of theft, it might be worth packing a portable security camera. For Airbnbs and places with Wi-Fi, try a camera from our Best Indoor Security Cameras guide. Our top pick is compact and affordable.

If you need something that can go outdoors or connect to a mobile network because there’s no Wi-Fi, I recommend this Arlo camera in my Best Outdoor Security Cameras guide. But it is expensive and requires a cell service plan when Wi-Fi isn’t available.

Bonus Travel Tips

Here are a few bonus tips that might help your family trip go a little more smoothly. Bon voyage!

While it’s always a good idea to carry a little cash just in case you run into a store or service that doesn’t accept cards, you can also get plastic that’s widely accepted and enables you to change money with a couple of taps. I love the Wise card and use it on all my trips because it offers instant electronic currency exchange in the app with decent rates for many major currencies. You also get a contactless Visa debit card you can use on your travels. Remember, it’s usually best (cheaper) to pay in the local currency whenever you get a choice.

Photos and videos can help you preserve the highlights of your vacation to bore your extended family and friends with, but they’re also nice to have and look back on in future years. The best camera is the one you have with you, so probably your phone, but if you want to up your game, consider our Best Compact Cameras, Best 360 Cameras, and Best Action Cameras guides.

We always travel light because it means no waiting for bags at the airport and makes it much easier to hop on and off buses and trains. Check out our Best Carry-On Luggage guide for recommendations, but always check the airline’s rules for bag size before you go. On our last trip, I used the Ekster TravelPack Vacuum Kit ($129) to compress my clothes and squeeze more in. If you’re staying at an Airbnb or rented apartment, you can always wash clothes, so you don’t need to pack as much.

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May 23, 2025 0 comments

Product Reviews

This new arcade controller from 8BitDo could be your next tournament travel buddy

by admin May 20, 2025

Arcade gaming has created some of the most immediately recognisable and iconic hardware in the videogame scene. Nothing quite spells old school charm quite like an arcade machine complete with a full complement of tactile buttons and switches. With arcade style fighting games still being huge in the tournament scene, these have continued to evolve into better, more portable and customisable hardware purpose built for the needs of the modern gamer. 8BitDo’s latest Arcade Controller range is looking to take that legacy to the next level.

These new pads are touted as being one of the most advanced of its kind, and despite the marketing jargon they actually look very good. Coming in two varieties, one specifically for Xbox and Windows PC, and another designed for Switch and Windows PC play, the new arcade controller sports a hot-swappable PCB with 16 Kailh Wizard low-profile mechanical switches. Pros and hobbyists alike can use this to customise the board to better suit their play styles and preferences.

They also support remapping, and the Xbox one has customizable RGB lighting. This is all done by the control panel at the top left, which can also configure modes like SOCD (Simultaneous Opposing Cardinal Directions) and tournament configs. You can also adjust these via included software, but it’s really cool to see full control on the device. The presser says it’s all easy and intuitive to configure, and having played with other controllers that claim the same, I’m sceptical, but hopeful.