Traveling Light

It is summer vacations time again and I am taking a short break from the sunbath at the pool overlooking endless orchards of lemon trees at the foot of the majestic Etna volcano. This trip to Sicily, which I enjoy a lot, has brought usual thoughts on the state of the gadgets I pack with me.

Surprisingly, my carry on rucksack has been significantly smaller and lighter this year. A clear sign things are going the right direction for gadget maniacs. I no longer have to tug a set of trolleys filled with electronics. Speaking of the rucksack, I am very pleased with the Kata 123-GO-30. Kata is a brand that does not need explanation for photographers. They have probably the best equipment to carry the DSLR stuff. The 123-GO series bags are very light. I picked the 30, as it can accommodate my Nokia 3G booklet, along with the photo stuff (FujiFilm FinePix S5 Pro, four lenses, a flashlight, and some accessories).

The significant reduction of travel weight comes from well optimized set of power supplies and chargers. For the photo camera I picked the Hahnel Ultima II, a truly integrated and multifunctional charger. It is compatible with both European (including Italian) mains standard, as well as the American. It can also work in a car, using a cigarette lighter socket. And it has a USB port, so only a small cable is needed to charge my BlackBerry. The Nokia Booklet power supply is small and light too. Unfortunately it has the thick three-prong power plug, but at least the cable itself is short. Then there is the iPad power supply. It charges the family iPad, we share to browse the Net, play games and display photos. By the way, the iPad camera connection kit has proved to be the most essential iPad accessory. The iPad charger also charges the set of iPods, used for audiobooks and evening parties.

For playing music the iHome IHM79 speakers are a great solution. Compact. Portable. USB powered. And they sound fantastic.

Then there is yet another power supply. The tiny Amazon Kindle one. It is used to constantly power the Huawei 3G/HSPA portable WiFi router. The Huawei is probably the most essential, yet almost invisible gadget, automagically spreading a WiFi cloud around places we stay at. For connectivity in Italy I bough a prepaid SIM card from TIM. At 19 Euro for 100 hours it is not as cheap as the Austrian b.Free or bob, but works very well, delivering almost symmetrical 1-2 Mbps range broadband, enough for most leisure activities, even when shared among five or six devices.

And speaking of Kindle, I decided to take it with me too. It is far from being killed by the iPad. It is very light, does not need to be charged at all, and can be perfectly used on the beach or in the pool, and the screen is still the only one that can be used in sunlight.

The entire setup, as described above, fit in the 123-GO-30, totaling less than 9 kilograms (with camera and lenses probably being close to half of that). Not bad for such a multifunctional setup.