10 Useful Items to Take on a Long Flight to Another Country

Traveling can be quite the laborious and draining activity. The whole rigamarole of preparation and planning itself can take its toll on your sanity. Whether you're traveling alone or in a group, business or pleasure, there are essential items that you just refuse to travel without, or items that you foresee will make the long haul flight a little less stressful.

During this technologically advanced digital age, there are more people traveling in more diverse ways than ever in human history. Recently, I partook in a trip with my college roommates to Canada, and found myself ill prepared, in terms of new, useful traveling gadgets.

My college housing mates were engineers and always had the latest in cool little gadgets. After the trip, I caught up on all the neat gizmos that are changing the way we do things, such as traveling on long flights. I was utterly amazed at the technological leaps we were making, here are 10 of the most useful items to take on a long flight.

In this modern age, identity theft has, unfortunately, become commonplace. Obviously, any security measure we can take is essential for preserving our personal information. The Travelon holder is an item that is a must-buy for someone at risk of losing sensitive information. The pouch is lined with a RFID-blocking material, coined as RFID Armor to prevent digital scans of passports, IDs, credit cards, and other security cards.

An identity thief utilizing skimming devices can steal your digital data literally out of thin air. It's like having a bunker for your personal items when you're out and about. I find that the Travelon holder is more than sufficient for any privacy weary traveler looking for more comprehensive defense. A must-have gadget for traveler security.

If your destination's water supply is justifiably questionable, or you're just particular about the quality of the water you drink, SteriPen has the answer for you. The germicidal UV light creates safe drinking water within seconds of use. This ingenious device uses a pair of AA batteries that power it's UV lamp and provides up to 3,000 water sterilization treatments.

The Steripen is ideal for anyone that needs a little extra reassurance to not ingest any unwanted microorganisms. There are a wide variety of pathogens and parasites that can turn a leisurely getaway into a nightmarish ordeal. Anyone who's experienced any bouts of food poisoning would adamantly agree. It is perfect for anyone traveling to a foreign country. A great travel item to have with you after a long flight.

If you're planning a trip revolving around memorable physical activities, then the hands-free GoPro black edition is what you need. Its powerful camera capturing the world's most amazing wide angle perspective. Essentially this camera is mounted stationary and will capture what you see, and record every second from a first person view.

The HERO3 is a phenomenal edition to the GoPro line POV video recording. Enhanced image sharpness, a faster connecting Wi-Fi, 1/3 more battery life, all in a light, waterproof casing. If you're a traveler or vacationer that lives to capture the moment. Nothing does this better than a GoPro, This device lets you be free to narrate your own life as it happens, with the utmost clarity.

This is the ultimate easy to carry external battery source that can fit comfortably in your hand. The E4 utilized PowerIQ technology, that is tuned to sync with any device being charged. Minimizing any lag time charging the crucial devices you hold traveling in your possession.

Massive energy capacity, allowing you to fully charge an iPhone 5 nearly six times. Fully compatible with iPad Air, Galaxy S5 and Android and other electronics with micro USB. It's light, sleekly designed and is very unassuming.

In terms of compact energy, the E4 is a testament to how far we've come in power condensing innovation. If holding such a rich power source in the palm of your hands wasn't enough, it also comes with a built-in LED flashlight. A tech-savvy, useful item for any traveler. Its importance in maintaining power can't be overstated.

This Powerbag backpack by Hometics comes with an integrated PowerVine with removable battery provides a 3,000mah charge when you need it. It comes with dedicated Apple and M2 connections with USB, capable of charging iPhones, iPads, iPods, and Androids and Blackberry. Includes an AC adapter as well, and full-size USB port can charge nearly anything.

Definitely recommended for the more adventurous traveler. This is the day hike where the ability and convenience of charging your traveling appliances will not be readily accessible. The nylon backpack itself offers much protection for carrying sensitive digital accessories, being nicely padded for traveling on foot. An ideal addition to any backpackers arsenal of useful gadgets.

Here's another great addition to powering up your devices when electrical sockets will be well out of reach. This nifty little camp stove burns small pieces of wood to generate power for anything that is compatible for USB charging. With only 20 minutes of charging from a full burn, it can generate roughly an hour of battery life for an iPhone.

The unit weighs just two pounds and brings water to a boil in just under five minutes. Needless to say, this device is most useful and practical to someone camping and traveling out doors. Personally, my first thought when discovering this amazing, mufti-purpose contraption was if the world ever ended and the power grid went down, I could always get a charge to play video games and watch movies.

Wherever your traveling destinations, odds are you're going to want to look your sharpest, and wrinkled clothes cry lack of effort in the personal presentation of oneself. The Beautyko Mini Travel Iron dimensions are nicely compact at 2.5 x 2.4 x 4 inches.

When operated, this little trooper can be ready in seconds, hot enough to remove wrinkles and unwanted creases. It is charged with a detachable USB. A nifty little gadget for someone who wants their garments fresh looking every time. Please use caution, one would be wise to keep it in a secure place, it does look like a toy to curious children.

Ideal for the traveler yet to have a waterproof smart phone. This case is a one size fits all, universal protective water-proof carrying case, comes with clear windows allowing for unobstructed pictures and videos.

While your smartphone or tablet is in the case, it retains all touch screen work-ability. Obviously, this accessory is best for traveling to areas that will involves bodies of water and interact with water, or anywhere with rainy and wet conditions.

Great protection for your devices from humidity, as well. Additionally, there are many creative uses of this item, such as operating it submersed in water, i.e. snorkeling or scuba diving, or perhaps operating in a tropical environment.

This is the perfect item to maximize the storage space in your luggage. If you're traveling for an extended amount of time, would you really want to add more bags to lug around with you the entire trip? Placing your vacation clothes in strong durable space bags will free up your pack, and create room for other traveling essentials.

All you need is a standard vacuum cleaner hose to suck out all excess air from the bags, and you'll easily have 2-3 times more packing space within a suitcase. Not technically a gadget, but I had to put this on the list. Because it's just so much simpler to vacuum your clothes and save money and the added headache of multiple suitcases. Package your clothes this way once and you'll never go back.

I had to include this long flight traveling essential. There are times when you're just stuck somewhere indefinitely, such as on a long road trip with friends who refuse to stop, citing too much loss of time. The Travel John Disposable Urinal is great when you're stuck in a car or not near any facilities to accommodate you.

A great emergency item for travelers with kids in potty training, various outdoor activities, and emergencies that call for a pouch made from a unique polymer that absorbs waste and renders it odorless. Comes with integrated spill guard for unisex use. Better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it.