6 essentials for travelling in style

Travelling usually means compromising. Limited luggage space and the need to prioritise practicality often relegates matters of style to an afterthought, if they’re thought of at all. This can result in you finally arriving at your picturesque holiday destination only to feel like the most disorganised, dishevelled person on the face of the Earth.

You aren’t the only one who’s been left haggard by travelling, and hotel staff have likely seen it all before. Even so, a few thoughtful upgrades to your travel kit can help you feel more glamorous than gremlin. Incorporating a little luxury may also help you reframe your travel identity for yourself, transforming from a harried airport sprinter to a poised and put-together globetrotter. After all, it’s hard to feel your best when you aren’t looking your best.

Here are six essentials to help you travel in style.

1. July Checked Expandable and Carry On Light Expandable luggage

An enjoyable trip starts with a reliable set of luggage. While a good suitcase must be big enough to hold your travel shopping and sturdy enough to protect your purchases, it also shouldn’t eat into your weight limit too much.

July’s Checked Expandable suitcase strikes an excellent balance between these competing concerns. Weighing 4.5 kilograms (9.9 pounds), July’s hard shell luggage can be expanded to a 90-litre capacity, which should be more than enough to satisfy many globetrotting shopaholics. The Checked Expandable has an in-built TSA combination lock, telescopic handle, aluminium-reinforced corners to help protect it from bumps, and rolls smoothly on four wheels. Its interior further indicates thoughtful design, including a side pocket which holds an extremely useful nylon laundry bag, and a strong Y-strap compression system. This includes a flat, structured pocket placed under the Y-strap to compress your clothes, helping maximise your suitcase space.

If you aren’t planning on checking a bag, July’s Carry On Light Expandable suitcase also offers a lot of space for minimal weight. Small enough to easily fit in a plane’s overhead storage compartments, this delightfully convenient suitcase weighs just 2.2 kilograms (4.9 pounds) and has a 40-litre capacity when expanded — half the size of the unexpanded Checked Expandable. While it doesn’t have a laundry bag or Y-strap compression system, its two zipped interior segments help keep the Carry On Light Expandable in order instead.

2. DJI Osmo Pocket 3

Credit: DJI

The DJI Osmo Pocket 3 is the type of gadget that might sound excessive when you first hear about it. After all, do you really need a standalone video camera if you already have a smartphone in your pocket? The answer is yes, you very much do. In fact, once you try DJI’s fantastic pocket-sized gimbal camera, there’s a good chance you’ll never want to record videos with your phone ever again. 

At just 5.5 inches long, the Osmo Pocket 3 is a great camera to slip in your bag when you’re on the go. It’s phenomenally simple to operate, turning on with a satisfying twist of its two-inch rotating display screen, while its facial tracking feature follows your subject for smooth, well-framed, professional-looking shots. Capable of filming 4K footage in landscape and 3K footage in TikTok-friendly portrait, this camera is much less unwieldy than recording on your phone, and turns out better results. In fact, the only reasons any vlogger or content creator wouldn’t covet an Osmo Pocket 3 are either because they already have one, or because they haven’t heard about it.

While you can just pick up the Osmo Pocket 3 by itself, it’s well worth upgrading to the Creator Combo pack if you can afford it. This pack adds a few accessories such as a battery handle, mini tripod stand, and most significantly a DJI Mic 2 transmitter. It’s ridiculously easy to connect the Mic 2 to your Pocket 3 — literally just turn it on — and it provides noticeably clearer audio than the Osmo Pocket 3’s on-device mic. Just remember to set a bit of cash aside for a good microSD card as well, as the Pocket 3 doesn’t have any internal storage.

You should also remember to treat your Osmo Pocket 3 with care, particularly its delicate gimbal. The camera does come with a hard carry case, but unfortunately it doesn’t fit in the Creator Combo’s soft carrying bag when in use, and the easy access design still leaves the Osmo Pocket 3 open to potential damage. Though considering the device’s compact size and how fun it is to use, this is probably one you’ll keep close by in your carry on anyway.

3. MAISON de SABRÉ Weekender bag

Credit: MAISON de SABRÉ

MAISON de SABRÉ’s Weekender Bag is the type of bag you travel with if you have your life together and don’t mind if everyone knows it. Made of gorgeously supple full-grain leather, this beautiful 23-litre luggage option is both fashionable and functional, firmly establishing you as prime airport crush material.

The Weekender has six internal side pockets to help keep your belongings organised, including a padded sleeve for your laptop and a zipped option on the opposite side. It also has two external sleeve pockets, one of which can be zipped open at the bottom to turn into a luggage passthrough. Though even if you opt not to use the passthrough, The Weekender’s structured base allows it to sit neatly on top of your suitcase without you having to worry about it sliding off. The bag also features shoulder carry handles, and comes with a detachable crossbody strap for an alternate carry option.

Weighing 1.45 kilograms (3.19 pounds), the Weekender is slightly heavier than MAISON de SABRÉ’s 1.42-kilogram Duffle Bag, which also has a larger 35-litre capacity. However, this is because the Weekender is designed to be used more frequently, so has increased reinforcement. Considering how attractive this bag is, you’ll probably be searching for any excuse to use it. Though on the other hand, the Weekender is also so pretty that subjecting it to the cruel rigours of travel almost feels like sacrilege regardless of whether it can take it.

4. Sonos Ace headphones

Credit: Sonos

A good pair of headphones is imperative to a good travel experience. Unless you’re on a road trip and it’s your turn to drive, there’s a good chance you’ll spend a significant amount of time watching the scenery go by during the travel part of travelling. A decent soundtrack can make these hours feel restorative rather than mundane.

Sonos’ Ace headphones are the speaker company’s highly anticipated first foray into wearables. With decades of audio experience behind its development, the Sonos Ace offers exceptional sound quality, long battery life, notable comfort, and a well-balanced transparency mode in a sleek, minimalist design. This includes removable magnetic ear cups, so you can swap them out if they get damaged rather than ditching the whole device. The headphones come with a handy carry case as well, so you don’t have to worry about them getting tossed around in your bag. 

The Sonos Ace operates via Bluetooth, so that’s something to keep in mind if you were hoping to be able to connect via WiFi. However, if you just want to listen to your Spotify playlist on your phone, these headphones should have you covered. Like other Bluetooth headphones, the Sonos Ace can also be used to listen to your plane’s in-flight entertainment if you pair it with Twelve South’s AirFly wireless adapter. They’re a particularly good option if you already have a Sonos sound system at home as well, as you can pair it with the Ace to easily swap audio from your speakers to the headphones and vice versa.

5. Solbari ultra wide cotton linen hat UPF50+ and Traveller broad brim sun hat UPF50+

Credit: Solbari

Hats are severely underrated travel items. Many people have never had a good quality hat, getting by with miscellaneous branded caps that offer mediocre coverage at best. Considering that a bad sunburn can completely derail a trip, it’s an area that travellers would do well to consider more seriously.

Solbari is an Australian brand focused on sun protection — and if anyone knows about sun protection, it’s Australians. The country is notorious for its powerfully damaging sun which is seven to 10 percent stronger than in the U.S., resulting in sun safety being baked into its national consciousness as a constant concern for all Australians.

Solbari’s ultra wide cotton linen hat UPF50+ is a fashionable yet functional addition to your travel kit. Made of a breathable linen and cotton blend that feels luxurious to handle, this lightweight hat’s wide five-inch brim extends even further to six inches at the back, offering fantastic protection against the sun while also looking stylish. The hat even has a small slot at the back for you to pull your ponytail through, so it isn’t uncomfortably pressed against the back of your skull.

While Solbari doesn’t offer linen in its men’s styles, its popular Traveller broad brim sun hat UPF50+ includes four vents to help keep you cool. With a brim measuring three inches at the front and 3.5 at the back, the hat is made of thin, lightweight nylon that’s both water- and stain-resistant, features which are always beneficial in travelling gear.

Both of these Solbari hats are UPF50+ rated, and have adjustable chin straps and drawstrings at the back to keep them safely on your head (though the former is removable if that’s the look you prefer). The cotton linen hat does fold up more easily than the Traveller which has a stiffer rim, but the latter still packs flat for easy transport. You can always simply loop the chin strap around your luggage handle as well.

6. Insta360 Flow Pro

Credit: Insta360

While DJI’s Osmo Pocket 3 is a great camera, it definitely isn’t in everyone’s budget. As the famous saying goes, the best camera is the one that’s with you — and more often than not, that’s the one on your phone. This doesn’t mean you couldn’t use an extra gadget to upgrade your photography, though.