1. Know What To Take

It’s worth taking time out to think long and hard about whether you should be taking particular gadgets to the beach. Whilst there a lot of lifestyle business books that suggest you can work from the beach, taking a $1000 laptop is probably going to be more hassle than it is worth. Get sand anywhere near the inner workings or smothered all over your screen then it (and you) will not be too happy. Smartphones and digital cameras are likely gadget for the beach candidates. This is because they enable you to capture the precious moments but also can keep you in touch with the wider world – if you want that of course. Heavy or particularly delicate devices may be not best suited to the rough and tumble of beach activities so leave these at home.

2. Pick Your Accessories

Once you’ve decided on what to take you should have a think about the accessories that might go with it. Make sure that your accessories don’t need a dedicated source of power. They should either have their own batteries, draw from a another gadget or not need juice at all. You might want to take a portable speaker to enable you and a few friends to listen to some tunes or simply headphones to listen alone. Whatever you pick make sure that it is going to stand up tp the rigours of being by the sea and enjoy.

3. Protect it Well

If you are taking something of value (such as a Smartphone) then it makes sense to take precautions. Keep your gadget in a protective (ideally splash proof) case and consider screen protectors for touch screens. At least this way if you have an incident with the sea or sand then you stand a better chance of not having a disaster. For slightly larger gadgets with a series of accessories then a dedicated carrying case is a sensible investment. The amount of accessories that you can plug into digital cameras make them perfect candidates for this type of protection.

4. Keep it Safe

As an extension of protection you should consider how you keep your gadget for the beach safe. If you are parading around using a top of the range phone and then pop it in bag whilst swimming it might attract thieves. Don’t get paranoid, instead have a plan of who is looking after what to avoid potential loses.

5. Clean It Before Hand

Before you head out make sure that your gadget is clean. This way you do not run into the temptation of trying to clean your gadget whilst idling away the hours. If you find yourself attempting to clean a gadget you may end up with issues as sand and salt are more likely to be introduced if you conduct a cleaning on the beach. By avoiding this temptation you ensure that the life expectancy of your device isn’t going to be compromised.

6. If You Have to Clean…

Keep the cleaning to a bare minimum whilst at the beach for reasons mentioned above. But if you do happen to encounter an issue it’s best off cleaning with a very small amount of water on a paper towel. Take care not to use too much water. The water should be used to help encourage the dirt away from your gadget and not leave your gadget wet. If you get you gadget very wet then switch it off immediately, wipe off any excess liquid with a paper towel and leave to dry. Do not use whilst it is drying out. Depending upon how wet your gadget gets depends upon how long to wait. If you’ve dropped a camera in the sea (and I hope you don’t) then you may need to wait for over a month before the water is gone. Even then there is no guarantee that your gadget will work but you may be pleasantly surprised. Just don’t try and run the gadget wet as it will definitely die.

Your Gadgets

Please get in touch if you have any further tips around how to prepare your gadget for the beach. I’d love to hear about what works well for you or if you’ve fallen foul of not being properly prepared. Featured photo credit: Mentone Beach / Christian Haugen via flickr.com