Today’s travel gear review comes from Matador community member, Matt Kepnes, also known as Nomadic Matt.

Twelve hours on an overnight bus with people talking in front of you makes an iPod every bit the best investment a traveler can make.

Turn it on, tune in, and drown out voices as you drift off to sleep.

But my iPod serves another function- it helps me remember.

Music is a part of the human condition. Besides helping me pass time, it helps me remember moments on the road, moments in life, why I traveled, places, and people.

When I need some encouragement, I have a song.

When I’m forlorn, music helps me through it.

Music not only defines emotions but people and places.

Whenever I hear that Swedish song, I think of my time with a great group of Swedes and that night we played card games on Ko Phi Phi.

Whenever I hear Augustana, I remember home.

Love Generation brings back my first full moon party where I met people whose wedding I ended up attending the following year.

So turning on my iPod isn’t just about listening to my favorite bands, its about taking me back to place I haven’t been to in a long time - Nomadic Matt

Price: $241.10 | BUY