Debate: is a $50 travel router worth it or just a waste of luggage space?

I went back and forth on this before a 2 week trip to Mexico City. Some people swear by travel routers for hotel wifi, but I spent $50 on a TP-Link one and honestly it worked great for splitting the signal. But my buddy says he just uses his phone hotspot and saved the cash for street tacos (which, fair point). The router was clutch for streaming on the hotel TV, but the hotel wifi was already fine without it. What do you all think - worth the $50 or should I just rely on my phone for everything?

3 comments

3 Comments

ramirez.sage4d ago

Honestly your buddy is right about the tacos lol but having that dedicated router made all the difference when the hotel wifi got spotty at night. I kept mine even after trips just for airbnbs with sketchy connections so it's not like it's a one time use thing.

lily3604d ago

Wait, don't you think the hotel wifi situation really depends on where you're staying though? I've had way more luck just asking the front desk for a wired connection or using my phone as a hotspot when things got bad... dedicated routers always felt like overkill to me for just a few days. Plus half the time the Airbnb already has a decent setup, so lugging around extra gear just seems like a hassle for something that only helps once in a blue moon.

palmer.zara23h ago

Funny how we all just accept bad wifi instead of fixing it.