Heading out of town in the summer for some well-deserved rest, rejuvenation and relaxation with the family shouldn't mean you should have to leave your tech gear behind. From great cameras to portable entertainment, the right gizmos can help you make the most of your vacation. Check out some of the most essential gadgets that are most worthy of your rather limited carry-on baggage for your next trip!

Sony RX100 IV, Ri coh Theta S

If it's a versatile camera you seek for all your vacation memories, one that will not weigh your backpack down ala a digital SLR, the Sony RX100 IV is the camera to buy … not only for this vacation but to serve you for years to come. It packs in a massive 20.1-megapixel sensor that dwarfs smartphone camera sensors and appropriately enough turns out DSLR quality images in a pocketable form-factor. Sony's new camera now shoots eye-popping 4K (3,840 x 2,160) video and super slow-motion video at up to an insane 1000 frames a second! It’s pricey, but you get what you pay for—a mix of top-of-the-line specs with a slim body that can fit in even the skinniest of jeans. However, if you already have a good camera, the Ricoh Theta 360-degree camera makes for an excellent additional camera to add a completely new and exciting perspective to your travel photos. Since it captures 360-degree videos and photos, there’s certainly more of a feeling of actually “being there in the moment” with the Theta S. Believe me, once you start shooting 360-degrees, it’s hard to go back!

Bose Quiet-Comfort 20

I’m a big fan of Bose’s noise-cancelling headphones—the difference they make to watching movies and TV shows in noisy environments (including airplanes) are well worth the extra price you pay over regular run-of-the-mill headphones. The in-ear QuietComfort 20 provides better active noise cancelling than the muchbigger over-ear QuietComfort 25, plus its super light to boot and takes zero space in your carry-on luggage.

Apple iPad Pro

There are plenty of great thin-and-light laptops out there, like the Asus UX305LA, the Dell XPS 13 and the Apple MacBook range, but if your aim is light email, web browsing, some gaming and lots of movies, dump the laptop and carry on an iPad Pro instead. The highlight of Apple’s new iPads—both the 12.9-inch and the 9.7-inch variant—is that they’re somehow both large yet small at the same time. Large enough to watch movies (love that four-speaker setup!) and type on a full-sized keyboard (with the optional Smart Keyboard accessory), small and thin enough to slip into a seatback pocket or the slimmest of backpacks. And since it’s an iPad, you get the benefit of an all-day battery life, so you can use it on long flights and layovers without having to hunt for a power source.

Amazon Kindle Oasis

Vacations and Kindles have long gone together—all that downtime is great to catch up on your unread books. The all-new Kindle Oasis discards the familiar functional Kindle design in favor of a paper-thin display attached to a somewhat thicker side grip. The result is a featherlight design that’s easily used in one hand, not to mention the weight which practically disappears into your backpack. You still get the feeling of reading on paper, plus the legendary Kindle battery life…only this time around, Amazon ships a protective magneticsnap-on case that adds a claimed seven additional weeks of battery life. In the world of Kindles though, this is a no-compromise royalty edition, meant for the most well-heeled of readers, and if the sticker shock bothers you, pick up the current Kindle Paperwhite and you’ll be fine

Neuroon, Tylt Energi+, Trackdot

Whether you’re travelling and want to combat jet-lag, or just want a better night’s sleep at home, the Neuroon may just be the solution you need. It is a smart sleep mask that wirelessly connects to a mobile app on your phone to monitor your brain waves, analyse your sleep patterns, and use bright light therapy to help improve sleep quality and wake you up when you’re in your lightest sleep phase instead of your deepest. Just slip it on in the aeroplane and let the smart app do the rest! Now, apart from the Kindle, practically everything else on these pages will need to be recharged every now and then, and the Tylt Energi+ backpack is just the sort of bag you need if you’re planning on carrying a fair number of gadgets along with you on vacation. Aside from it being a comfortable and sturdy backpack, the Tylt backpack features an integrated 10,400-mAh battery which charges your devices via its three USB ports – two 1-Amp ports for phones, and a single 2.1-Amp option for tablets. And while we’re speaking of luggage, there’s practically nothing worse than arriving at your holiday destination only to find out that your bag hasn't arrived along with you on the flight. The Trackdot luggage tracking device won't ensure the bag lands up in the right city, but what it will tell you is where exactly the bag is, anywhere in the world.

Samsung Galaxy S7

Samsung raised the bar with the Galaxy S6 latest year, but they’ve hit one out of the park with the Galaxy S7 series. Whether you opt for the plain-Jane-by-comparison S7 or the sexier S7 Edge, you’re getting what is arguably the best smartphone camera around, no matter whether you’re shooting in the morning at the beach or in the evening at a dimly lit restaurant. So much so that even if you’re not taking a dedicated camera to your vacation, the S7 is competent enough to take brilliant snaps and videos and not let you down. Big improvements this year include top-spec processors, best-in-class displays, expandable storage, more capacious batteries and waterproofing, which could be crucial if you’re heading beach-wards or plan to spend the vacation lounging in a pool.

olmdesk@outlookindia.com