We’ve all done it. Turned up at the airport and realised the charger is still plugged in beside the bed and had to dish out more cash than anticipated for an airport replacement. You’ve got no other choice at that stage, so they’ll charge whatever for travel tech and you’ll hand over the dolla through gritted teeth. I’ve also had to use the flimsy, foamy and frankly rubbish airplane headsets they pass out before take off to try and listen* along to Magic Mike XXL when I’d nearly be better off trying to read their lips. We’ve all searched for a pint glass to amplify our Spotify playlists, because who has space in their case for speakers? Well not this time.
Heading on a Caribbean adventure for six weeks, it was high time I planned ahead and got all my bits in order before the trip. I hate being stung at the duty free for overpriced low quality tech or else having to dip into the holiday funds before even leaving the airport on anything decent. So, I picked up a few pieces while I was doing my pre-packing Penneys shop.
No self respecting traveller even thinks about booking a plane ticket without having a battery pack in their tech arsenal. This one came pre-charged and it’s rose gold, so yeah, no brainer.
I’m more of an over, than in-ear fan when it comes to headphones, both for comfort and noise reducing quality. We’re not talking Bose here, but I broke my Beats and reluctant to splash another two hundred on something I’ll probably end up replacing again in the very near future. For €12, I again couldn’t resist the rose gold. And matchy matchy, so win win.
So when I saw this DINKY little speaker, I threw it in my basket (don’t do a Primark shop without one tbh) faster than you can say “thanks hun, Penneys”. It completed my trio tones of blush metallic. I connected it to my phone via Bluetooth, but it comes with an auxiliary cable too, which I recommend hanging on to because they come in very handy to plug into rental car radios. Top volume was too loud while I was getting ready in my hotel room, an impressive fact for such a small piece of kit.
Lastly, after seeing a dodgy plane hack that involved a ziplock bag as a DIY fix for onboard movie viewing, I chucked this €2.50 phone holder into the mix. The little hanger fits perfectly into the tray table clip and garners less funny looks than the aforementioned sandwich holder. I found out the hard way that, in 2016, not all long haul flights have in-seat entertainment. I’m looking at you and your trans-Atlantic offering American Airlines! Excuse the fuzzy pic, this was just now on my flight to Antigua (it’s all on Snapchat nadia_dailyself, including the ridiculous private pool room I’m staying in!).
*Ok, I’ll admit, I wasn’t exactly watching Magic Mike for its intelligent dialogue, but this girl just wants to hear Ginuwine’s ‘Pony’ as loud as the next one.
I’m wearing satin pyjama top, shorts and house coat, all from Penneys.
Photos by Brid O’Donovan. Shot on location at The Gibson Hotel, Dublin.
This post was sponsored in collaboration with Penneys. All views are, as always, my own.
