Dear Lifehacker,

I need to put together a tech survival kit with different cables, adapters, and tools. What should it include, and how can I organize it?


Sincerely,

Cableless

Dear Cableless,

We've actually looked at the problem of creating a tech essentials backup kit briefly, but never tackled the subject head-on. What goes into your survival kit is going to depend a lot on your needs, but we've got a few suggestions on how to figure it out and a great way to organize it.


What to Put in the Kit

Ultimately you're going to have to figure out what you need, specifically, but there are a few must-have items that belong in the kit.

The Thumb Drive


It probably takes little to convince a Lifehacker reader that they ought to keep a thumb drive with them, but even if you're not a big fan of the stick-shaped disks it's important to have one with you—plus it's tiny, so why not? While sharing files online and over the network is great and really simple, sometimes those things fail you. Having a thumb drive with you at all times means you have a way to easily copy files between machines regardless of the circumstances (unless there's no USB, in which case you're in a very rare and special situation). Just make sure your thumb drive is formatted so it can be read on Windows, OS X, and Linux so you don't have any cross-platform issues. Generally FAT32 will do the trick, so long as you don't need to move any files over 4GB.



Multiple USB Chargers


Nowadays you're likely a user of many USB devices, so you best be ready to charge them all. While one of our favorite USB chargers is the Belkin Mini Surge Protector—as it offers two USB ports and three plugs in a compact form factor—it's still a little bit bulky. Have a couple of USB-based chargers is useful and takes up far less space if you get the right ones. My personal favorite is Amazon's Kindle Charger, which also comes with a micro-USB cable. It's tiny and works with just about any USB device/cable I've tried. The same goes for Apple's USB charger—which is surprisingly cheaper (but don't come with a cable). Whichever route you take, you'll want to have a few USB cables. If you've got an iDevice, you'll want to make sure you have an iPod sync cable, but everyone should have both mini- and micro-USB cables. Short cables are particularly helpful, but if you need a longer cable you might want to try retractable cables instead.




Video Cables and Adapters


If you hook up your laptop to a monitor and need to go from, say, Mini DisplayPort to DVI, you'll probably want to carry that adapter around. Or perhaps you need a VGA to DVI adapter. Whatever the case may be, most of these are pretty small and easy to come by. Figure out what you need and include it in your kit. This can be a lifesaver when you need to suddenly hook up your laptop to a projector. This situation may not come about too often, but when it does you'll be very glad you were prepared.



Other Cables and Tools You Might Need

You'll have to figure out what cables you're definitely going to need for your particular situation, but here are some suggestions to get you started:

Actual video cables, like HDMI, composite, component, etc.

A headphone splitter, for when you want to listen to a music or movie along with someone else

A stylus for your touchscreen smartphone

A backup pair of headphones or a headset for your phone

A 1/8" stereo audio cable, for plugging your music player or phone into a set of speakers

A portable audio recorder, like the Zoom H1


How to Keep the Kit Organized and Ultra-Portable


Organization is super simple because the best tool for the job is Cocoon's GRID-IT. We took a look at these awhile back, but they're still the best option for organizing a bunch of random stuff in your bag. I use a couple of them for cables, and they're very easy to remove. You can buy them with neoprene sleeves if you need a little extra protection. You can find all shapes and sizes on Amazon, pick them up locally at The Container Store, or get them directly from Cocoon if you want to order them outside of the US (or inside, too).



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Hope this helps you get your tech survival kit together!

Love,

Lifehacker

For those of you who already have some awesome tech survival kits, let's hear about 'em in the comments. Post pictures, too!




You can contact Adam Dachis, the author of this post, at adachis@lifehacker.com. You can also follow him on Twitter and Facebook.