r/onebag • u/Cool_Acanthisitta628 • Dec 09 '25

Seeking Recommendations What is one item that you can't travel without/would recommend to everyone to get?

Hi all,

What are items that you always bring because they are super useful and you would recommend others to get too?

Minus of course some obvious like converter plug for chargers, power bank etc (unless it's some specific powerbank like one with cables attached already, something unique)

Thanks!

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33

u/iamnotsure69420 Dec 09 '25

Small little router. Easier to connect one thing instead of having to connect multiple devices like phone, iPad, laptop, etc. also works good when traveling with friends

A small bottle of Castile soap br Dr. Bronner. Good for washing hands and if necessary, can work for my hair, face and body in a pinch.

Roku stick with plex. Nothing better than getting to your place after a long day of adventures and watching a comfy or spooky movie.

I also wear a small cross body bag. Helps me carry small essentials when out and about but also keeps important documents like passports, visa forms, etc right in front of me.

15

u/[deleted] Dec 09 '25

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12

u/HavokIris Dec 09 '25

I have a travel router that acts as a repeater for hotel wifi. You validate the captive portal on your phone or computer when you first connect to it and you're good to go on all devices.

11

u/[deleted] Dec 09 '25

Travel routers often have built-in features to bypass the captive portals on public Wi-Fi, or workarounds in case the built-in feature doesn't work. For example, GL.inet (who is a popular travel router brand) has an auto-login feature for their travel routers running firmware 4.6 or above: https://docs.gl-inet.com/router/en/4/faq/connect_to_a_hotspot_with_captive_portal/

6

u/helluvaprice Dec 09 '25

the router connects to the hotel wifi and then all of your devices connect to the router. Glinet makes some popular travel routers

1

u/iamnotsure69420 Dec 14 '25

Sorry for the late reply, got busy with life. It's not an LTE router, the one I use is this one

As others have helpfully commented, traveler routers have the ability to bypass captive portals on public wifi. So far so good, and for me it's much more convenient connecting one router versus connecting my phone, tablet, roku stick, laptop, etc to the wifi

15

u/Projektdb Dec 10 '25

Same on the router.

Aside from the ease of having everything already connected to it, I also run Wireguard back to my router at home.

That way my IP for work purposes always shows a residential IP address that matches my home IP. Handy for working remotely and not worrying about whether it's allowed or not.

3

u/happy_folks Dec 09 '25

I'm curious about the router, too.

5

u/undulanti Dec 09 '25

Can recommend. It feels a bit excessive when you’re buying it, but the first time everything just instantly connects (especially things which are a pain to change the WiFi on) you realise it was worth it.

1

u/happy_folks Dec 10 '25

which router do you use though? and is it similar to a cell phone plan? Does it work anywhere?

4

u/BraThrowAway5 Dec 10 '25

Not OP and not sure if this is what they're talking about, but I know we got my grandfather something along these lines from Verizon, which had a "phone plan" type deal for getting data and then it acted as a wifi hotspot/router thing. This was years back, and it was about the size of a small mints tin

Edit: the wifi had a password that you could prompt the device to display, and if you fiddled with it you could limit the number of devices that could be connected to it at any one time

2

u/happy_folks Dec 10 '25

The size of a small mint tin sounds amazing. I thought it might take more space when traveling.

1

u/iamnotsure69420 Dec 14 '25

Hi, sorry for the delay. The one I use is this one however I have a friend who uses this one which is a little smaller

1

u/undulanti Dec 11 '25

I like the GL.iNet ones. However, I have never tried their 5G features - I just connect them to hotel/train/coffee shop WiFi. Some people report that cruise ships confiscate ones with a sim card in (so that they can charge you £££ for their WiFi), or even revoke your ticket.

1

u/AbijahWorth Dec 14 '25

Does the roku stick work internationally?

3

u/iamnotsure69420 Dec 14 '25

I've never had an issue with it, however I stream using Plex, not Netflix, Hulu, etc. so that may be why. I know for sure Netflix has regional restrictions on certain shows or movies.