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While preparing for a few upcoming trips, I decided to compile a list of the critical travel essentials that make my life easier on the road. Although I may not take all of these items on short weekend getaways or work trips, I can guarantee they make it into my suitcase for every international flight.

Handheld Digital Luggage Scale

This super intuitive luggage scale makes avoiding overweight luggage fees easy. Simply turn on the scale, select desired unit of measure (lbs or kgs), clip the strap around the suitcase handle, then lift the bag off the ground. The bag’s weight will immediately display on the digital screen. The scale features a rechargeable battery and comes with a USB cord included.

TSA Lugggage Locks

These locks protect your luggage from airport employees deciding to help themselves to your personal belongings, but still allow TSA access for security checks. The allow you to create a personalized three-digit combination. However, TSA possesses a special key that can unlock it in order to complete any necessary inspections. The best part is that key cannot be removed from the lock without first re-engaging the lock. I highly recommend these locks because they’re durable and have lasted almost five years with very minimal wear and tear. Additionally, they’ve provided me with great peace of mind in the past when my luggage was lost for multiple days.

Compression Socks

Call me an old lady all you want! Compression socks are an absolute live saver on long-haul flights. I first realized I needed them after a 14-hour economy flight from Los Angeles to Auckland. Although that wasn’t my first flight to New Zealand, it was the first time I decided to drink multiple cocktails prior to boarding…and continue to drink the complimentary wine on board. Unfortunately, during the flight my feet swelled so badly that I needed to remove my shoes (something I never do on flights). Upon landing, I could not fit my feet back into them! Fortunately, I packed a pair of flip-flops in my backpack. Even those straps fit tightly over my feet. It was simply horrible and took about two solid days for the swelling to subside in my ankles and feet. Since that experience, I ALWAYS travel with compression socks and drink plenty of water—especially in long-haul economy.

Contoured Eye Mask

Eye masks and ear plugs are definitely critical travel essentials for sleeping on airplanes. You never know when someone is going to insist on using a reading light the entire flight or refuse to use the window shade. Contoured sleep masks like this one are perfect because they don’t apply pressure to your eyeballs. These are especially great for people with long eye lashes who don’t particularly enjoy having them smashed for hours on end. I also find that this type of sleep mask creates total darkness compared to traditional ones.

Bose SoundSport Wireless Headphones

These are by far my favorite Bluetooth headphones I’ve ever owned. They fit my ears perfectly, feature a LONG battery life, produce great sound quality, and don’t have complicated parts that inconveniently fall off (like the Jay Bird X2s). The Bose SoundSport wireless headphones ALWAYS work as intended and are truly perfect for traveling and exercising. They’re a permanent fixture on my packing list.

Bose QuietComfort 25 Acoustic Noise Cancelling Headphones

Yes, there are two sets of headphones on this list for a reason. As wonderful as the Bose SoundSport wireless headphones perform, they cannot connect to inflight entertainment systems. So when I travel on long-haul flights and want to watch movies on the seatback television, I use the Bose QuietComfort 25 Acoustic Noise Cancelling Headphones. They even come with a small airline adapter that allows the Bose QuietComfort headphones to plug into inflight entertainment systems with either dual or single 3.5 mm output jacks. Plus, the noise cancelling feature is great for tuning out crying children.

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