Tech may just be the ultimate travel companion. Here are the finest bits of kit one must not leave home without.
Doettling Guardian
Made in Maichingen, Germany, this elegant travel-safe is the very definition of an iron fist inside a velvet glove. The Guardian, with an interior completely upholstered in the finest Alcantara suede, will carry up to six watches or a jewellery roll, in stability and safety. It can be custom configured in a plethora of exquisite materials and finishes, and personalised and engraved in numerous ways. A safe door requiring a three-digit combination to open it and the combination of polycarbonate, (as used in riot shields) and a metal alloy “almost as hard as diamond” which “destroys drills and saws”, makes it all but impregnable. Furthermore, each Guardian is equipped with a GPS transmitter, allowing its precise location to be permanently tracked in the event of loss. Security never looked so good.
From €21,400
CudaJet Underwater Jetpack
The founder of CudaJet, Archie O’Brien, states that using the jetpack is an “addictive” rush, less like diving or swimming, and more akin to “fl ying underwater”. This astonishing impeller-driven aerospace-grade aluminium jetpack, with a 1 kWh lithium polymer battery, is certainly a marvel of technology. Its patented proprietary propulsion system generates 40 kg of thrust, displacing around 14 litres of water per second, which will move you through the water at about 3 m/s, and “bottom out” at 40 m. The Jetpack and hand controller weigh around 13.8 kg, and have a positive buoyancy in the water; the battery is good for about 90 minutes of “flying”.
For something so space-age, it’s apparently incredibly intuitive, requiring only about five minutes of use to become comfortable. There is also a premium Founder’s Edition, that’s signed and numbered, and comes with in-water training, a lifetime warranty and first access to future products. There’s currently a three-month lead time on all Jetpacks, so order now for summer. There’s a trial centre at Deep Dive Dubai, and delivery is available worldwide. Fly through the water with the greatest of ease.
From €24,000
Shackleton Pilot Jacket
Shackleton, named for the erstwhile Antarctic explorer, host expeditions and challenges to the remotest regions of the planet. It also designs and manufactures some of the world’s most performative and technologically advanced clothing. Graphene is the new wonder-material at the heart of most of the brand’s expedition-grade range; it consists of a single layer of graphite atoms arranged in a hexagonal lattice. “It is the lightest, strongest, most conductive material ever discovered, a million times thinner than a hair and 200 times stronger than steel, and is so light that a sheet the size of a football pitch would weigh less than a gram,” says the company, and it regulates body heat better than any other material on Earth. The Pilot Jacket [pictured], tested in Antarctica, is waterproof, windproof, breathable and insulated, with a hydrophilic membrane, welded baffle seams, full-length side-zipped vents and storm cuffs. Moreover, it’s proof that tech-forward gear can be presented stylishly—perfect for when you still need to look good, but you’re summiting something inhospitable, or it’s blustery on the tarmac.
Graphene jackets around €1,600
OPEN U.P.PER. CONCE.PT
When OPEN’s Andy Kessler and Gerard Vroomen release a new bike, the cycling world pays attention. Their bikes are implausibly comfortable and unnaturally fast, and this newest flagship offering is at the bleeding edge of what’s technologically possible. Their all-new carbon-fibre frame is produced with Carbon Team in Portugal, with highly secretive and proprietary methodologies to get the weight down to a feathery 845 g without sacrificing strength. This engineering masterpiece is at home on any road surface or gravel, and its marriage of aerodynamics at the front, and compliance towards the rear make it a joy to ride, and a race-winning proposition. Coupled with the world’s lightest fully wireless groupset, the sensational SRAM Red XPLR, a Hammerhead computer, and Zipp’s all-conquering 303 XPLR SW wheels, this is as anticipated and performative as bikes get. Available now in a limited release of no more than 250 ultra-premium bikes. People who know, ride OPENs.
Frame from €5,600, bikes from €10,000
Bang & Olufsen Beoplay H100
Bang & Olufsen’s newest and best headphones are positively decadent, and they’re an order of magnitude better than anything else. Clearly designed to last a decade plus, they’re highly modular and very serviceable, with batteries, bands and cups being easily replaced. The lambskin and leather used is of a softness that’s arresting, and then almost immediately disappears, as it should. Gosh, these are comfortable. They’re also endlessly adjustable; one can tune the precise level of noise cancellation required, making other cans seem ham-fisted. Finally, there’s the sound quality. In short, there’s nothing finer and more precise, yet rounded and so engaging in the wireless arena. The high-end titanium drivers are lighter and stiffer, and therefore easier to move and stop, gripping the music with such control—like a race car that accelerates and brakes with world-blurring ease. With hi-res codecs expected to be added in due course, their performance ceiling will only be raised further.
€1,499
Fujifi lm GFX100RF
Fujifilm has a long history of making compact medium-format cameras, going back to the 1950s—and this, its latest showstopper, recently broke cover. It’s the GFX100RF, and it must be the world’s best marriage of power, style and portability. With a fi xed 35 mm F4 lens (equivalent to roughly a 28 mm F2.8 lens on a full-frame camera), this is a paradigm shift for those who want an easy-to-use, lightweight and beautifully traditional camera that shoots at qualities usually reserved for studios aiming to fi ll billboards. The huge 100-megapixel medium-format sensor, at 43.8 mm x 32.9 mm, is 1.7 times larger than that inside full-frame cameras, and around 20 to 120 times larger than the one in your iPhone. Squeezing image quality of this magnitude into something this small is truly a Tardis-like feat of engineering. Leave your phone in your pocket—better photos make for better memories. So give them the images they deserve.
€5,500
