
I wasn’t worried, just more embarrassed as I passed through security in New York. My bag, which I’d packed with electronics from digital cameras to hard drives to sound recording equipment, was the lair of the spaghetti monster. Open it up and it looked like a robot had vomited up its circuit board.
We spent some minutes untangling everything so that the various bits of equipment could be run through the line again in a way so that the x-ray machine operator could tell them apart.
Everyone travels with electronics and we do like to keep them with us, jamming them into our take on luggage. But how to store them in a dignified manner?
I’ve seen various hacks for the wires and leads that come as the obvious by-product of our gadget love. I’ve even used some – to whit, hair curlers to sort my USB leads, which I felt all great and recycle-y about but they’re not the most stylish and I’d probably still wince if John Q Security wanted a closer look.
That’s why this little nugget of simplicity could be just the ticket. Just slightly larger than a credit card, the Global Plug & Wire Tidy (from wrapwire.co.uk) is a tough slice of plastic, moulded and carved to accommodate just about any lead or charger from just about any country.
There are slots for all the main plug variations, and the wires just twist around the body, keeping things in order in your hand luggage. There’s a label so you can identify your camera USB in a hurry and without unravelling everything. And…er, that’s it.
It’s the kind of thing you’re kicking yourself for not inventing. I imagine it’s what it was like when wheels on a suitcase came along and people must just have thought…how come we didn’t think of this sooner?