While I was putting together my packing list, I realized that I didn’t have a travel adapter for Vietnam. I needed to buy to buy a good universal travel adapter anyway, so why not use my trip to Vietnam as an excuse.

During my research on Amazon and EBay I initially found two reputable travel adapters:

1. World Travel Adapter 1
   
2. SKROSS World Travel Adapter 3

World Travel Adapter 1

World Travel Adapter 1

SKROSS World Travel Adapter 3

Then I came across a “Euro Adapter” from an unknown producer on Amazon. The specs looked pretty good and were at least on par with the other two adapters. But here comes the kicker and the reasons why I then purchased this travel adapter:

It can be used in more than 180 countries, weights only 45 gramms, measures an astonishing 95 x 44 x 15 mm and is rated up to 1300 Watts, which is more than the Swiss Travel Adapters can claim for themselves. Unfortunately you can only purchase the Euro Adapter at Amazon.de

Now, don’t get me wrong here. The two Swiss Travel Adapters mentioned before are most certainly very good products and will do what they are designed to do, but when it comes down to cutting down your backpack weight, every ounce counts and I don’t like bulky accessories. But if you do decide to purchase either the World Travel Adapter 1 (Amazon.de) the SKROSS World Travel Adapter 3 (Amazon.com or Amazon.de), they can both be purchased through Amazon – I’ve linked the items for you in the brackets.

Have you had any experiences with travel adapters or have a different opinion? Let’s hear about it in the comments. And don’t forget to bookmark this article if you enjoyed the read!

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1. Preliminary Review of Earplanes
2. India vs Vietnam
3. Vietnam Trip, Day 10 | Hoi An Beach, One Grilled Tomato Coming Up

No, the title of this post does not have a spelling error . The product I’m writing about in this post is actually called “EarPlanes”. While I was ordering some other stuff for my backpacking trip to Vietnam, I saw these and found the idea very interesting and wanted to try them out, even though I don’t have problems with regulating the pressure in my ears during flights.

So what are these “EarPlanes” and how do they work?

EarPlanes

EarPlanes are basically pressure-regulating earplugs that are inserted into the ear to help reduce discomfort often associated with air travel. They were developed by Cirrus Healthcare Products LLC in conjunction with the House Ear Institute in Los Angeles, and have been tested by US Navy aviators at the Miramar Naval Air Station (remember TOP GUN? ) in San Diego.¹

In simple terms EarPlanes equalize the pressure on either side of the eardrum while flying.

There are some people that recommend keeping the EarPlanes in your ears during the entire flight. Others however, claim that you should insert them into your ear before boarding the plane, waiting half an hour until cruising altitude is reached to take them out and putting them back in half an hour before landing and not removing them until the cabin door has been opened. I will definitely try the second recommendation, as I don’t believe these plugs are very comfortable to wear on an 9.5 + 5 hour flight.

I also find the company philosophy of Cirrus Healthcare Products LLC quite appealing too:

“The mission of the company is to offer products, natural ones whenever possible [emphasis added by me], that relieve health problems in an easy to use affordable and convenient format.”

Company Mission of the Cirrus Healthcare Products LLC

Why use medication or any other hard drugs in order to cope with illments, if natural solutions work just as well or even better? This has always been common sense to me. But in the age of big pharmaceutical companies that make billions of dollars profit, there’s hardly any place for such solutions anymore.

I’ll be sure to update this post as soon as I’ve tried and reviewed them in the field . So far, EarPlanes have received very good customer reviews on Amazon. If you want to purchase them, the are available through Amazon.com here (available as a 1 or 3 pair pack) or Amazon.de here and there are also sizes for children as well. Currently Amazon.de only has a 12-pack size Amazon.com on the other hand has 1 or 3-set packs.

Have you already tried EarPlanes? If so, what are your experiences with them? Did they help? Let’s hear about it in the comments below. And don’t forget to bookmark this article if you enjoyed the read!

1. FAQ: What are EarPlanes? ((http://www.cirrushealthcare.com/faq.aspx#WhatEar

Related Posts

1. Review of World Travel Adapters
2. Vietnam Trip, Day 10 | Hoi An Beach, One Grilled Tomato Coming Up
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