There's simply nothing worse than being in one of the colonies without the right sort of digital connectivity. Chances are the johnnies over there won't have heard of an RJ45, so it's always best, in our experience, to take your own brown sauce, baked beans and mini 4-port USB hub. Just in case. This suite of kit is a true marvel, designed to keep you up, running and wired-in to the rest of the world whether you're at the bottom of the Limpopo or at the top of Kilamanjaro.

Assuming you can get a decent phone line, that is. Let's start with the USB paraphernalia. There's a set of USB connectors of all shapes and sizes, a hub to enable you to connect and charge up to four gadgets simultaneously and some basic kit to help your VoIP connectivity. Then, marvel of marvels, there's a mini mouse for those tricksy applications that require a bit more dexterity when you're unexpectedly stuck in the Kalahari, or maybe just Warrington. Put them all together and what have you got? The ultimate go-anywhere collection of 6 USB gizmos, in a zip-up case no bigger than a CD wallet. Lovely.