The Most Important Gear For Your Next Road Trip

When it comes to a weekend getaway to the coast or a quick, well-deserved vacation to your favorite big city boutique hotel, there's nothing better than a classic road trip. The key, of course, is knowing how to pack for those longer drives, because even when you travel with your favorite people, things can get a little boring after an hour of your best friend's Spotlight DJ skills or all those true crime podcasts your significant other swears you'll love.

So, what exactly should you pack for a road trip? Let's focus on the basics: comfort, entertainment, cleanliness, efficiency, and power. Check those boxes and you'll be all smiles as you watch each mile marker pass, but if you still don't know where to start, here's the gear that will give you a head start.

There was a time when family road trips meant everyone would cram into a car with the pillows from their beds, but we're very fortunate that head and neck comfort has come a long way in the last 20 years. Case in point: the Twist Memory Foam Travel Pillow, which does everything your favorite queen-sized pillow can do, but in a far more convenient size and shape.

If you need a little neck support or you simply want to smush your face against the window and sleep the whole ride, this pillow will do the trick. Best of all, you can even bring it inside and use it in the hotel bed when you're undoubtedly disappointed by the sad, flimsy excuses for pillows.

There's nothing wrong with wanting a little break from casual banter, the license plate game, and those aforementioned podcasts. You're not being rude if you'd prefer to listen to your own collection of bangers, but you should choose a set of headphones that does as great a job keeping the noise in your ears as it does keeping the rest of the noise out.

The TREBLAB Z2 Bluetooth 5.0 Noise-Cancelling Headphones excel at that, but this set also scores huge points with its powerful battery that lasts far longer than other brands. That goes a long way when you're traveling a long way, and your ride or die partners will appreciate that they can't hear you listening to the all-90s station for seven hours.

This one is really straightforward. Don't be that passenger who uses a fast food bag as the road trip's official trash can. Or, if you're a lone traveler, treat your car properly and invest in the Collapsible Car Trash Bin to keep clutter-free and keep the floor from turning into an Arby's and Wendy's wrapper wasteland. That's how we get ants, people.

Every traveler should own a piece of luggage that's good for any occasion. The kind of bag that goes from the trunk to the overhead compartment and has space for everything, keeping it all organized and in place. It doesn't matter if you're flying to Hawaii or driving to your favorite spot in Hilton Head, a high-quality bag should do it all. And it's an added bonus if it's compact enough that it doesn't take up your precious closet space.

The Genius Pack Supercharged Carry On fits that bill and then some, because with this one durability meets style, because it's built to last and it'll match just about any backpack you will bring along. What really puts it over the top, though, is the pair of external USB ports that will help keep your crucial devices charged in the car or airport gate.

Of course, if we're talking about driving, it's probably difficult to run your USB cable all the way to the trunk to keep your phone and tablet juiced while you stream every episode of Loki, so we always insist that the most important item you can ever own is a portable battery charger. After all, if your phone is dead, how are you going to post your selfies to Instagram and make everyone jealous?

The Chargeworx 20,000mAh Power Bank can breathe life back into your devices in a matter of minutes and can provide them with up to 120 hours of extra juice when you're nowhere near an outlet. And it offers two USB charging ports so you can share and be declared the MVP of the road trip.