5 Of The Best Gadgets To Take On An Airplane, According To Frequent Fliers

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Although travel can be a magical and life-changing experience, it can also be a stressful one. Many seasoned, old school adventurers have had to learn how to read physical maps or bring dictionaries and phrase books for translation. These days, technology has made travel more accessible and our smartphones have even replaced a ton of travel items. We even have apps that help you navigate unfamiliar languages that can make exploring a new city as seamless as finding your way around your own town. But before you get to the fun stuff, you may need to jump through the hurdles of flying on a plane.

Unfortunately, flying isn't always a pleasant experience, especially when you opt for budget airlines that offer the bare minimum experience. However, you may not be left with any other option, especially if you have a budget to keep or a destination that has no alternatives. So, if you're planning to join the ranks of frequent fliers, you may want to slowly invest in an arsenal that can help prepare you. To help you, we've listed a few gadgets that can solve a lot of flight-related problems. If you're wondering what exactly influenced our recommendations, you can skip to the end for our thought process and methodology. But if you already want to look like a pro during your next flight or thinking about what to give someone who is, here are some items that might be good to consider.

Weighing just 4.5 oz, the Avantree Relay is a pocket-friendly option for people who get the ick when thinking about using in-flight headphones. All you have to do is plug it into your in-flight entertainment system's 3.5 mm plug (single or double). With an operating range of 33 ft, you may even still be able to hear your movie when you go to the bathroom or do your mid-flight stretches. With up to 25 hours playback after just two hours to charge, it can let you pair up to two Bluetooth headphones with your in-flight console. According to Avantree, it's tested to work with earphones and headphones from several major brands like Apple, Sony, and Bose. Not to mention, apart from airplane entertainment, Avantree shares that it may be paired with MP3 players, gym machines, and occassional audio guides. But take note, even if it has the same adapter, it is not designed to work with cars or mobile phones.

Priced just under $40, the Avantree Relay is an Amazon's Choice product and holds an average rating of 4.4 stars from more than 4,800 buyers. While some people lamented radio interference and its audio delay, several people mentioned that they liked its long range and thought it is a must-have for flights with one person mentioning that it worked perfectly during their long flight to Europe. Not to mention, a reviewer confirmed that it's useful when you're out of the plane and in the gym too.

Bougie frequent flyers may have access to advanced entertainment consoles with all the latest content from premium airlines, but budget travelers know the struggle of figuring things out for themselves. While smartphones make it easier to stay entertained, only some newer airplanes have designated phone compartments behind seats, while older planes don't. Although you can make do with your hands, there is another option: the MiiKARE Phone Holder. Unlike other phone stands, MiiKARE offers multi-directional viewing angles, so you can either just make it face you or the people next to you. Designed to hold your phone in multiple ways, such as a cellphone stand, attached to the side of an open airplane seat tray, or a closed airplane seat tray, the MiiKARE phone holder is a pocket-sized solution that fits most modern smartphones.

So far, more than 9,700 Amazon customers have given the MiiKARE Phone Holder roughly 4.5 stars. Plus, it is also listed as an Amazon's Choice product, so you're likely going to get good value from it. With prices starting at $12.49, it's a small fee to pay for flight convenience. While most users bought it with an intent for in-flight entertainment, some people mentioned that it's incredibly useful outside the plane as well. Frequent travelers have praised how secure it is, easy to adjust, and its overall sturdiness.

If you've forgotten to download anything on Spotify, Netflix, or YouTube, you may be at risk of staring at the back of the seat in front of you for hours. Thankfully, for people who want to use air time away from their phone, you can try eReaders instead.

Depending on how big your preferred screen size is, there are a ton of different tablets for e-book reading that you can choose from. However, one of the most popular options is the Amazon Kindle, which comes with different variants that range from the book-like Kindle Paperwhite to the note-taking model, the Amazon Kindle Scribe. With prices that start at $159.99, the latest Kindle Paperwhite 16GB model holds an average rating of 4.6 stars from more than 13,700 Amazon customers. Available in three colors (black, green, and raspberry), you can opt to get it with or without Kindle Unlimited. Several book lovers, who gave it 5 stars, mentioned how it's so convenient for traveling, citing its lightweight design and outstanding battery life that lasts for weeks. One user, who shared that they needed to a travel a lot for due to ailing family, mentioned that it saved them from lugging around a lot of books. Alternatively, if you're looking for something made to display webtoons or comic books, there are plenty of e-readers with color displays such as the Kobo Libra Colour, Amazon Kindle Colorsoft, and Boox Go Color 7.

Travel pillows have been airplane staples for years, and they can be considered essentials for when you're stuck on budget flights with chairs that have barely any cushion or recliner range. However, the typical ones you can find in airport kiosks often have limitations, such as lack of support, being a little too bulky, or not being flexible in terms of angles. To get a better in-flight experience, you might want to consider something like the JefDiee Inflatable Travel Pillow instead, as it offers both comfort in-flight and can be easily deflated and packed into your carry-on before and after it.

Out of the box, it includes the inflatable pillow, earplugs, eye mark, and storage container. To inflate it, you can use your mouth to blow air. Made of water-resistant fabric, JefDiee claims that it is skin-friendly and easy to clean. Apart from its 45-degree angle, it has holes for improved breathing, plus arm and rib placement. Collectively, the JefDiee Inflatable Travel Pillow offers have been rated 4.1 stars by over 3,800 Amazon customers. One user mentioned that it was game-changer for long flights, while another said it was the best pillow they've tried in over 20 years of travel. Available in three colors (grey, blue, and black), it is available in two sizes: Medium and X-Large. Depending on the color, you can expect to shell out between $24.99 to $29.99 for the smaller options. On the other hand, the larger ones retail for as low as $25.99.

For frequent travellers, avoiding checking in bags can save hours of your life where you're waiting for luggage to appear on the conveyor belt. By only taking a carry-on, you don't run the risk of losing anything important if luggage ends up lost or left behind during a connecting flight. Not to mention you can save a lot of money avoiding paying checked-in luggage fees. If you're looking for a neat way to make sure that all of your clothes fit in your carry on, you can invest in something like the Vacbird Vacuum Bags and Rechargeable Pump.

While you can get vacuum bags from a lot of places, one of the advantages of the Vacbird is that it's designed to fit different types of luggage. Sold in combo packs, they come in three sizes: 24, 26, and 30 inches. With prices that range from $34.98 to $54.99, more than 1,700 people have given these packs an average rating of 4.5 stars collectively. While some are better suited for carry on bags, the rest can still be used with full-sized luggage or moving or stage needs. It also comes with a battery-powered pump, which has convenient LED light indicators and can be charged via USB-C charging ports. If you do have items that need to be checked in due to airline regulations, you can avoid a lot of pitfalls by avoiding luggage colors that tend to get lost and hiding an AirTag inside your checked luggage.

To create this list of gadgets, we thought about all the ways flying can be annoying and sought items that addressed these concerns. While it can be hard to define who a frequent flier is, we also referenced how self-professed globe trotters claimed these items made a difference in their flight routines. We also considered things like portability, such as its overall compactness and weight, which is important for people who prefer to only travel with carry-ons with limited space. Not to mention we avoided items that have a history of being affected by changing travel warnings or outright banned by airlines.

In terms of budget, we included a range of options that start at $12, so you have some flexibility. Lastly, we added items that have at least a thousand reviews with an average rating of at least 4 stars. To help manage your expectations, we also mentioned both key pros and cons that users have cited. While it didn't include their placement on this list, we also mentioned some functional advantages that people have shared that go beyond the airplane as well, such as in their home.