How To: The Jet-Set MacGyver Kit

In an ideal world, travel would always be as simple as a day on the beach. In the real world, things don’t always go as planned: Luggage gets lost, zippers break, clothes tear, and gadgets get stolen. It’s impossible to eliminate these hassles entirely, but it’s quite possible to manage them—if you have the right equipment close at hand. After years of trial and error, I’ve developed a compact tool kit that I keep in my luggage at all times. It contains a few simple household items that can be used individually or in combination to remedy many common inconveniences—as well as the occasional travel catastrophe. The whole thing fits in a small plastic bag, and it weighs just seven ounces, but when things go wrong, it’s easily worth its weight in gold.

Extra Luggage Tag
USEFUL FOR Replacing lost luggage tags, identifying new luggage or duffel bags acquired en route, carrying extra business cards.

Small Carabiner
USEFUL FOR Organizing keys, carrying water bottles, securing camera wrist straps or USB fobs, temporarily connecting anything to anything.

Sharpie Pen
USEFUL FOR Leaving notes that get noticed, marking CDs or other plastics, writing on surgical tape, identifying clothes prior to laundering, addressing packages home, waterproof messaging.

Safety Pins
USEFUL FOR Temporarily repairing torn clothing, sealing broken zippers, hemming pants, removing splinters, draining blisters.

Roll of Surgical Tape
USEFUL FOR Leaving can’t-miss messages on doors or car windows (write right on it); almost anything you’d do with duct tape, but surgical tape doesn’t leave as much of a sticky mess behind.

1 GB USB Flash Memory Fob
USEFUL FOR Backing up digital photos or data, exchanging files between computers.

SD Card Reader
USEFUL FOR Data backups on your computer or anyone else’s.

Mini-Maglite Flashlight:
USEFUL FOR Reading discreetly at night, navigating in darkness or during power outages, hunting for lost items under the bed, behind furniture, or in hidden recesses of a suitcase.

Copy of My Passport
USEFUL FOR Establishing your identity if your real passport is lost or stolen.

Blank Recordable CDs:
USEFUL FOR Data or photo backups that you can mail home to yourself; creating music CDs for road trips in rental cars.

Pocket First-Aid Kit
USEFUL FOR Staying healthy. This kit includes: bandages in several sizes, for protecting cuts, scrapes, and blisters; Moleskin pad for blister relief; antibiotic ointment, for cleaning scrapes and wounds; alcohol rubbing pads for cleaning skin or sterilizing knives and safety pins; aspirin and ibuprofen for pain and fever relief; cold and sinus pills for temporary cold relief.

Extra Ziplock Bags
USEFUL FOR Watertight and airtight storage. Small bags are handy for organizing small items or messy snacks. Large bags are great for waterproofing gadgets or electronics, putting toiletries through airport security, or isolating wet or smelly items.

Small Zip Ties
USEFUL FOR Creating keychains, replacing zipper pulls, attaching luggage tags, creating attachment loops for hooks and carabiners.

Large Zip Ties
USEFUL FOR Creating grab handles, temporarily “locking” stored luggage, adding color-coded identifiers to black suitcases, securely binding anything to anything else.