It’s not unusual to want to take all our home comforts when we go away, whether that’s a holiday abroad, a festival or a business trip. And it’s pretty normal to find that a lot of these things end up being impractical to take or inconvenient to carry around. Luckily, in the travel world, necessity really does breed invention and there are some truly brilliant innovations out there. We’ve found some of the best space-saving travel gadgets – many of which hail from the UK – so you can take those unnecessary yet somehow indispensable items with you without pause for concern.

Bodum Travel Press

There’s no need to compromise on great coffee with this travel press set from Bodum. Combining a compact coffee maker with an insulated mug, you can enjoy freshly brewed coffee or tea on the go all day long.

Collapsible water bottles

Unless you’ve been living under a dry rock you know staying hydrated is important for our bodies. Say goodbye to carrying around bulky empty water bottles with these innovative space-saving water bottles, which can collapse or roll up when empty and are much better for the environment as well.

Portable chargers

If smartphones have been one of the best inventions since sliced bread, then these portable chargers come a close second. If you don’t already have one, you’ll thank us for pointing them out: if you’ve got one on your person there’s no need to carry around a charger (and hunt for an elusive socket), or wait in the nearest Starbucks whilst your phone charges. If you’re off to a festival, having one of these will help you avoid going back and forth to those extortionate charging bays as well. Some have the ability to charge an iPhone up to 10 times and they are generally as slim as your phone itself.

Portable speakers

These speakers are small, measuring roughly 7cm x 8cm x 4cm, and they weigh just 0.16 kilograms, which means you’ll have no trouble throwing it into a bag for when you’re travelling. The speakers can last up to 6 hours of playback time and it also comes with a suction cup, a bike mount, a USB cable and an audio cable, so you can listen to your own music wherever in the world you might be!

eReaders

All hail the king of space-saving gadgets: the Amazon Kindle. It holds thousands of books while being lighter and slimmer than your average paperback. With the Paperwhite boasting anti-glare even in direct sunlight, and with an impressive 6 weeks battery life, why would you want – or need – to pack another book again?

Expandable wipes

Pits & Bits present to us a shower away from a shower. Just add water and/or soap and watch these little creations expand! Not only are they compact, which is great for saving space and storing just about anywhere, but they are also versatile and can be used for washing your body, washing up around the campsite or cleaning dirt off your bike.

Scrubba wash bag

Meet the world’s smallest washing machine. This super light and pocket-sized device from Scrubba can wash your clothes anytime, anywhere. It claims to be just as good as your washing machine and twice as effective as hand washing, and it certainly sounds much more appealing than washing your undies in the sink. This is the perfect companion for travellers, campers, trekkers and holidaymakers.

Travel resistance bands

These exercise bands, from Thera-band, are lightweight and take up little to no room in your bag, so if you want/ need/ intend* to do a spot of training while you’re on your holidays, this is the ultimate in portable workout equipment.

*delete as applicable

Mini foam roller

With this mini grid roller there’s no excuse to neglect your exercise regime – or that post-workout massage – while you’re away from your usual routine. And, if you want to skip the exercise bit altogether and go straight to the deep tissue massage, we’re not judging. Promise.

Pocket blanket

This pocket blanket is tough, durable and lightweight and takes up about as much room as a pocket tissue. Perfect for the beach or a picnic!

Microfibre towels

Mircrofibre towels are lightweight, compact and can dry up to six times faster than normal towels. You can easily place one in your bag, whether you’re going camping or to the gym on your lunch break. A few years ago these towels were pretty functional looking, but now companies like Dock & Bay have taken the idea, run with it, and made them downright stylish as well.

Vacuum Bags

An ingenious (and inexpensive) method to pack more clothes into your suitcase. Vacuum bags can compress down to more than half their size and can give you four times more space! Hooray!

Rolo Bag

We’re complete suckers for any innovative storage here at Boxman, and the Rolo Bag is the ultimate space-saving innovation. The simple idea is that you pack your things into compartments, roll it up and when you get to your destination, just unroll it and hang it up with its integrated hanger. Impressive, huh?

If all these space-saving ideas have inspired you to do a spot sorting out, Boxman can help. As London’s self-storage company with a difference, we’ll deliver empty boxes to your home, leave you to pack them up and record what’s in them (there’s a handy tool online) and then pick them up when you’re done. As much as we think heading off to our secure warehouse is an adventure, we understand you might prefer to spend your time planning a more conventionally appealing one…