Touring - What's the ultimate gadget to bring on a tour?

What single item do you always bring with you (or you would if you could) on a tour? Imagine money is no object, and you can even bring something that hasn't been invented yet. What's the one thing you'd like to always have?

My bicycle. :)


And a Digital SLR ... preferably a really small, easily portable one.

Credit card!

What single item do you always bring with you (or you would if you could) on a tour? Imagine money is no object, and you can even bring something that hasn't been invented yet. What's the one thing you'd like to always have?

Would have to be my wife :-)

Bottle opener. Solves all my problems ;)

Third eye on my helmet. Always like to see whats coming.
Liam

Credit card!

+1000

A notebook is an essential item. Two notebooks are better. One is my trip journal; the other is for everything not trip-related. I'd rather leave behind the camera than the notebooks.

Weather machine? No headwinds :D

I bring my special travel pocket Mandolin ..

Invaluable on the trip to Ireland. :beer:

To make sure I can do simple maintenance on my bike...

an Alien III multi-tool...

http://www.leisurelakesbikes.com/product/topeakalieniiitool.aspx?&id=14477

saved me so many times....

george

Magnum Research 45-70 revolver.

Magnum Research 45-70 revolver.

Not allowed if you are out of the USA. It will equal jail time in many countries, sometimes serious jail time. :notamused:

I think Peter was just revving everyone up with a bit of Canadian humour.

The item I feel will be the most valuable on my tour this summer is my bank card. I have used it to get cash from ATM machines in the US and in Rome. Works like a champ.

Since you are allowing us things that haven't been invented yet, I want a portable car disable device, kind of like what these folks have worked out ( http://www.lazytechguys.com/news/business/researchers-gain-access-to-car-remotely-by-hacking-the-internal-computer/ ), but I want it to be portable and automated. I'm not sure if I would use it pre-emptively where the road and cultural conditions warrant it or if I would confine its use to strictly punitive.

A jacuzzi that seats 8, weighs less than a pound, and can fold up to fit in my handlebar bag.

An ultralight, small-packing folding canoe.

A Costco pizza-making machine that would foldup into my panniers and recharge via sunlight or pedaling power during the day.

What single item do you always bring with you (or you would if you could) on a tour? Imagine money is no object, and you can even bring something that hasn't been invented yet. What's the one thing you'd like to always have?

I'm starting to think I've been remiss with my lack of a ferret on tour (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php/729087-Touring-with-a-ferret...-bad-idea).

1. Juliette Binoche.
2. A corkscrew so I could drink wine with said Juliette Binoche.
3. A raygun to zap anyone who disturbs Juliette Bincoche and I drinking said wine.

iPhone - camera, email, internet, phone

Tablet PC with built in solar charger and satellite internet access

Gadgets I take..

1)GPS. It's not a bike GPS, it's my car GPS.

2) Cell phone

3) Camera

I'm definitely taking my Kindle on my next tour.

Magnum Research 45-70 revolver.Knowing the recoil impulse of that cartridge, I know what you would use it for. Lift assist on long, steep, uphill grades. :innocent:

Check cashing card, cell phone, digital camera, IPOD, Portable XM radio, mini netbook, dog zapper and Halt, and batteryless (wind up radio) for local radio channels and weather stations.

A small motor that fits within my bottom bracket that enables on demand "a little push" in order to help with wind, hills, and faster riders that are a tad too proud, oh, and make it run on solar power while you're at it. Ask Cancellara where he got his :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Nd13ARuvVE

Magnum Research 45-70 revolver.

Just curious, that is a lot of Fe and Pb to carry, reason for the powder ?
Revenge on bad vehicles ?


ps- I'd like an unlimited cash card.

Hill leveling device.

A one pound tent i can sit up in. a foam pad that packs up smaller than a half liter water bottle.

I have a laptop, Ipad, 2 ipods, Big DSLR with four lensen and a video camera and couldn't/wouldn't live without them..

A clone of myself so I can tour whenever/wherever I want while that poor shlub stays at work!

My favorite gadget of which I own, at the moment, is my Kindle 3G. It has a decent browser, the ability to access weather, news, email, gtalk, maps and plenty of books, without paying a monthly fee. I've only taken it on one overnight bike-camping trip since I got it, but I can't wait to do some real touring with it. Battery life is great, too.

A gadget which I'd like... A lightweight tent which can be converted into a hammock. Not a hammock which can be laid on the ground, crawled into, and so-called a tent. I have one, I've tried it, and I will not say it's comfortable in the slightest. I want a tent with some miraculous construction which would allow it, if the situation demanded, to be strung up like a hammock, but is still first and foremost a comfortable two-person sized tent.

Crazy daydreaming... Personal force-field. Keeps out the bugs -and- the rain!

Lots of good posts on this :)

I'd settle for an air-conditioned helmet with a built-in camera, but Tansy's force field sounds even better. Some day I'd love to travel with a ferret or two, but it sounds too much like the Beast Master.

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh187/10wheels/Birth%20Place%20of%20Texas%20Ride/494e1c6af8dce284c44558554bd89edb_25.jpg

I suspect my best toy for my upcoming trip will be my Droid phone. It is a little computer that also is a phone. Check the weather, look at maps, GPS, all kinds of capabilities. The second most useful tool may be my bank card. I have gotten cash from ATMs in my home area, Rome, Sienna and Venice IT. How can you beat that?

A good novel. Preferably used. Get rid of it once you're done and pick up a new one at the next used bookstore.

I have a newly acquired Kindle 3G that I'm excited about bringing on my next bike trip. As mentioned, the free 3G access is fantastic for checking weather/maps/gmail, yet the browsing is just cumbersome enough so that I wouldn't be too tempted to waste time on the internet. The incredibly long battery life (with wireless turned off) of 1 month is extremely attractive. Oh, and I forgot, you can also use it to read books :lol:

An ultra-compact packaway canoe (as mentioned by someone else earlier) would be so awesome.

I am also still waiting for the first excellent Panniers-which-can-be-converted-into-a-Backpacking-Pack solution. I would think there might even be a way to use either side of a rear rack as a pack-frame or something (with specially-designed rear racks, of course). I enjoy throwing a little backpacking in on my bike trips, so if there was a way to lighten the system it would be really cool. Unfortunately, I think real-world implementations would probably suck at both being panniers and at being a backpack. I know there is(was?) already a reportedly-crappy bikenashbar attempt (http://www.nashbar.com/bikes/Product_10053_10052_170877_-1_202688_10000_202599) at a vaguely similar design.

A bicycle that's powered by, people flushing their toilets? The Earth's magnetic fields? Cow farts?

I'm happy the way things are now.....I know one thing for sure I don't want,no electronic babysitters.No phone,pda,laptop,gps,ect. Just give me a map,compass and some time and I'm good.

Solar powered ice-maker with mini titanium cocktail shaker.

I'm starting to think I've been remiss with my lack of a ferret on tour.

vik, that did make me laugh- Ive been following that thread, if he does take it, I hope it doesnt stray....

An ultralight, small-packing folding canoe.

That WOULD be nice.

I know one thing for sure I don't want,no electronic babysitters.No phone,pda,laptop,gps,ect. Just give me a map,compass and some time and I'm good.
I use the GPS instead of the map and compass. The GPS gives me the elevation information, which is always useful when cycling in the mountains.

Discomboobulator for those that endanger you with their stupid cages. Maybe the gadget that kills their vehicle's engine computer. Without bothering any one innocent.

The perfect wardrobe of clothes that's comfy on the bike, looks good off the bike (jerseys and padded shorts are comfy but god are they ugly), all matches, doesn't take up much space/weight, and takes a while to get smelly. I'm working on it.

A kindle. I'm not normally a fan, since I love actual books, but on the road it sure would be nice.

Those headphones that allow you to hear what's going on around you, as I don't necessarily want to inflict my musical choices on people I'm riding with.

Sunblock that is totally waterproof, doesn't make my face greasy/break out, doesn't have any smell, and doesn't feel gross. (My favorite is by All-Terrain and it has every attribute I want but it feels kinda yucky...and it seems to attract road grit like a magnet. Ew.)

Bug spray that actually works and isn't toxic or smelly. DEET works, and I use it, but it makes me feel like I'm poisonous (because I am) and I loathe the smell. Since we're dreaming here, I'd just like a force field that keeps biting/stinging insects and spiders at least five feet away at all times.

A portable bathtub with its own hot water heater.

Actually, what would be really nice? Those tents they have in Harry Potter. They fit in a tiny bag, but you pop them up and they're the size of a small house, with all the comforts implied therein. All the fun of camping with all the comforts of home.

Actually, what would be really nice? Those tents they have in Harry Potter. They fit in a tiny bag, but you pop them up and they're the size of a small house, with all the comforts implied therein. All the fun of camping with all the comforts of home.

*best one so far (even if JK Rowling stole the idea from Dr. Who)

ps, be careful with Deet, or least the the really strong deet stuff we have up here, ciz if you get it on a goretex jacket, or bike shorts or whatever synthetic, it can and will eat it away-really. I grew up doing outdoor activities all my life, I cant stand getting it on my hands so prefer to cover up legs and arms and use a headnet as it just seems so toxic.

1. A wind re-director. Turn headwinds into tail winds with the flick of a switch.

2. Batteries for my iPod and/or smartphone which weigh no more than the current ones, but last at least as long as my tour without recharging, no matter how much I use them.

3. The physical appearance of Johnny Depp.

4. The physical fitness of Lance Armstrong but with one more testicle than he has.

5. A machine that turns me, my bike and all my gear invisible so I can camp wherever is convenient to me. It should probably have some kind of matter disperser type thingy included so I don't get disturbed by people accidentally walking into my invisible tent.

6. An anti-gravity machine so I can carry as much water as I need without it weighing half a ton.

7. As others have suggested, a machine which disables the computers on cars (or more specifically, pick-up trucks) at my whim. I wouldn't want anybody to be harmed by this, but I'll confess, I'll probably be fairly immature in my use of it.

8. A machine which will temporarily shrink my bike and gear so I can carry them in my hand-luggage when flying.

9. Some way to carry all the above mentioned machines conveniently.

10. A genie, to grant me more wishes whenever I think of something that I didn't put on this list.

Fer realz, my netbook (or a tablet).

Fantasy world but not too crazy, an unlimited power source and a solar assisted bicycle that converts into a boat, and an airplane. While I'm at it, why not a submarine? Also a giant portable fist that pops out of a pannier and punches cars.


Actually, what would be really nice? Those tents they have in Harry Potter. They fit in a tiny bag, but you pop them up and they're the size of a small house, with all the comforts implied therein. All the fun of camping with all the comforts of home.

+1~!

ps, be careful with Deet, or least the the really strong deet stuff we have up here, ciz if you get it on a goretex jacket, or bike shorts or whatever synthetic, it can and will eat it away-really. I grew up doing outdoor activities all my life, I cant stand getting it on my hands so prefer to cover up legs and arms and use a headnet as it just seems so toxic.

YIKES! Good to know!

I am a big fan of a portable charger http://www.energizerpowerpacks.com/il/products/xp2000/
Besides the normal suff, cell phone, bike computer...I couldn't make it without my mp3 player and these speakers( I have an older version) http://www.ihomeaudio.com/iHM79BC/