Valentine One Radar Detector

What’s a road trip if you can’t burn rubber and go foot-to-the-pedal fast? But to protect you from Boss Hogg’s police speed radar, you might want to invest in a Valentine One Radar Locator that, unlike most sensors, has front and rear antennae to locate every radar threat. Results are sent to an onboard computer that analyzes the precise location of the police in the area, allowing you to drive accordingly.

The 2006 DUXIANA Travel Pillow

Get comfy: Driver and passengers should invest in a 2006 Duxiana Travel Pillow from the luxury Swedish bed makers. The 16×20-inch pillow is made from the finest soft white goose down and covered in a white sateen pillow case. It comes in a waterproof carrier that can be folded to a third of its size, making it easy to transport. It offers great comfort and neck support in a car—headrests get sticky—but is even better on the bed of that roadside motel where the pillows are made of bricks.

GPS System: Garmin nüvi 350

Originally developed by the Department of Defense for use on military maneuvers, GPS is now used by millions of ordinary motorists just to help them get home at night. An essential tool on any road trip, there are dozens of systems to choose from, but the portable, pocket-sized Garmin nüvi 350 is among the best. Functional straight out of the box, it’s preloaded with street maps and a database of hotels, bars, restaurants and ATMs of foreign cities. Key in your destination and it will direct you with 2-D or 3-D maps and turn-by-turn voice direction as well as notify you about traffic jams or road construction ahead. Fun extras include an MP3 player, audio book player, JPEG picture viewer and currency converters. All-in-all the ideal personal travel assistant.

CarMD

The nifty hand-held “Car Doctor” helps avoid you from breaking down, or at least tells you what the problem is when you do. Winner of the 2007 Consumer Electronics Association “Innovation Award,” it’s a portable diagnostic tool that you plug into your car’s internal computer (it only works for vehicles made after 1996) and it tells you what certain flashing lights mean or what’s ailing your vehicle. It can give second opinions after a check-up and, after you download the results onto www.CarMD.com, suggest likely repairs and estimated costs—all for $89.99. You may never need a mechanic again.

Spy Camera Sunglasses with MP4

Ever felt shy about taking a picture of a Tuareg warrior as you motor through the Sahara, or the cute girl in the MG convertible you pass cruising through Provence? Now, like an undercover agent, you can film unnoticed with these Spy Camera Sunglasses created by Hong Kong company Deke. A hidden camera with a 92-degree field of vision is built into the bridge frame of the shades and connected by a small wire to an MP4 in your shirt or jacket pocket. It produces super-crisp digital video recordings which you can then download to your computer via a USB port. The future’s bright—and a bit Bond.

Globalstar Handheld Satellite Phone

We’re assuming you already have a cellphone, but for the parts of your trip when you’re without a signal—out of petrol in the Yukon Delta or lost in prairie Kansas, perhaps—you’d be wise to have a satellite phone with you. A Globalstar Hand Held has advantages over other sat phones in that it’s not much larger than a regular cellphone and operates on a standard U.S. dialing system. It also functions while on the move, so you can call for help while running away from a grizzly bear. It works virtually anywhere outside of cellular range and still operates when local telephone infrastructure is interrupted.

Sony’s Handycam Digital Video Camera

Even though your travel buddies are bound to have standard digital cameras with them, and you can already record film with your Spy Camera Sunglasses, there’s something unique about filming the road as you drive, and for this we recommend Sony’s DCR-DVD108 Handycam Camcorder. Equipped with Super SteadyShot Image Stabilization that controls shake and vibration, you can place the camera on your car dashboard as you drive and it will still produce smooth, clear footage. It also has a Super NightShot Infrared System that captures natural-looking video in low light up to 20 feet away. Best of all, the simple operating system records directly onto DVD, allowing you to immediately share the footage when you transfer discs to your laptop or hotel room’s DVD system.

Avalanche Picnic Cooler on Wheels

California-based company Picnic Time have been manufacturing high-quality picnic baskets since 1982, and this mobile rolling cooler with a 36-can capacity food section, waterproof lining, and thermoguard insulation to keep drinks cold is the best of the lot. It holds four eating plates, stainless-steel cutlery, cutting boards, corkscrew, cheese knife, and salt and pepper shakers. Plus, the wheels and telescopic handle make it easy to pack and carry as a suitcase. If short of space, pack this thing instead of a suitcase.

Panasonic Toughbook CF52 laptop computer

With its magnesium alloy casing, flexible internal connectors and shock-mounted hard drives and LCDs, the latest Panasonic Toughbook is so durable, you can throw it in the back of a pick-up truck and off-road over the Rockies, and it’ll still work fine. A spill-resistant keyboard also means that it’s OK when your kid accidentally drips her soda on it. The main attraction however is that it’s engineered for 3G (third-generation) wireless, so you can stay online in all the areas that the major cellphone networks cover. Opt for the improved video and Vista performance model that includes a faster CPU, 512MB dedicated VRAM, and a larger 120GB hard drive.