A Man’s Guide to Road Trip Essentials

Everyone needs to escape the claws of the urban jungle once in a while. So when an opportunity arrives—a holiday break, a special occasion, or a long drive over the weekend—call up your friends and seize it.

But road trips require considerable preparation. It means checking your car, plotting your routes, and making arrangements for accommodations, if any. And like any form of travel, it also means packing the right things. Here are a couple of recommendations for your next trip:

A spacious cooler

It goes without saying that you should never run out of food and drinks when you're on a road trip. You won’t regret investing in a nice, big cooler where you can stash your rations, especially if you intend to drive out during summer. Heading to the beach? Consider this an absolute essential.

A thoroughly considered emergency kit

If you find yourself traveling regularly, prepare an emergency kit that you can stock with important medicines and sundries. Pack everything you need: first aid essentials, a flashlight, a whistle, basic tools, and anything else that may help you adapt to different circumstances.

While you’re at it, check if your car has the proper loadout, too: jumper cables, a tire jack, a spare tire. It's always better to be safe than sorry.

A real, physical, printed map

You obviously have your phone and navigation apps that can guide you to your destination in a breeze. But you can never be sure that your phone won’t conk out. It helps to keep a map—a real, physical, printed map—in the car so you have something to refer to.

Good portable speakers

A road trip is not a proper road trip without good music—to, from, and at your destination. On top of your car’s sound system, invest in quality portable speakers that you can take everywhere you go. Whether you’re headed to the beach or a rest house, good music is always an excellent companion.

A kick-ass playlist

Good speakers have no use if you don't have great music to play. Sure, it's easy to just pick from the stock playlists on your favorite streaming platform, but it pays to customize. Fill your playlist with classics and personal favorites that your companions can relate to.

A camera that isn’t also a phone

Smartphone cameras today can do just about everything and serve almost any purpose. Providing the old-school flair and authenticity of vintage cameras, however, aren't among these. With a truly good camera from decades past, you can take travel photos with real character—not the run-of-the-mill sort that you find on social media.

A pair of durable sunglasses

Sunglasses do more than just help make you look cool—they help you see more clearly on a sunny day. Choose a sturdy pair that is designed to withstand extreme weather conditions and block ultraviolet rays which can damage your eyes.

A reliable fragrance

Obviously, adventure doesn’t always have to smell good—adventure should smell like reality, like nature, like the unfamiliar. But that doesn’t mean you can’t put on something more pleasant when you’re there. You’ need a fragrance that’s appropriate for adventure: rich and refined, yet still rugged and well-suited to the outdoors. Consider Montblanc Explorer, an unconventional woody aromatic leather scent with a mix of fresh green Italian bergamot, vetiver from Haiti, and patchouli from Sulawesi. It’s a fragrance for the outdoorsman—fresh, natural, boundless. It comes in an exquisitely designed bottle that pays tribute to European craftsmanship and the pioneering spirit of exploration, making it a stylish travel essential, as well.

Purchase the Montblanc Explorer online exclusively from Zalora.