This Travel Gadget Can Save Your Life, According To Consumer Reports

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A vacation is meant to be a time to have fun and relax, so we rarely consider that there could be lethal danger in the very place we're staying to escape the daily grind. According to Consumer Reports, however, rental rooms like the ones found in hotels and motels can be sources of deadly carbon monoxide poisoning. Odorless and colorless, carbon monoxide (CO) can be next to impossible to detect without help. That is why Consumer Reports recommends bringing a portable CO detector with you while you travel.

In the same way you'd carefully evaluate the best and worst smoke alarms for smart homes, it's important to have quality CO detectors everywhere you live and sleep. Symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning can be misleading. You may have a headache, feel sick to your stomach, or feel very tired. These can easily be mistaken for other illnesses and lead you to stay in the area where the CO is accumulating and keep breathing it in.

Portable CO detectors will alert you if there are dangerous levels of CO wherever you are staying. These are typically small and lightweight, and they're powered by batteries or a wall outlet. Carrying one with you while you travel could end up saving your life.

In 2025, three young American women were staying at the Royal Kahal Beach Resort in Belize for a birthday party — a location that is regarded as a luxury beachfront destination. All of them died in their resort room from carbon monoxide poisoning. Authorities have since suggested that the CO was being leaked from a faulty water heater the women were unaware of. The families of these women have filed a wrongful death lawsuit.

In 2023, an American couple was staying at the Rancho Pescadero luxury resort in Mexico. They, too, died in their room from CO poisoning. This led one of their families to establish a nonprofit dedicated to ensuring safety against CO while traveling. They called it the John Wesley Heathco Legacy Foundation in honor of their son.

Hazardous CO levels can come from a variety of sources within hotels: malfunctioning heaters and furnaces, heaters for pools and spas, backup and portable generators, and more. It typically stems from a malfunctioning gas-powered appliance — like the recalled DeWalt space heater — but improper hotel ventilation can also cause issues. As of this writing, there is no overarching federal law mandating CO detectors in every hotel and motel room.

It's a good idea to have a portable carbon monoxide detector on hand for your next vacation. Like other useful travel gadgets that fit in your carry-on, you can simply keep one in your luggage to have it ready for your next trip. It's worth doing some research to see which one works best for your travel needs, but the two products we'll highlight here were Consumer Reports' top picks.

Lunarlipes offers a portable carbon monoxide detector on Amazon for $40 at the time of this writing. It measures just a few inches across, making it easy to put in your pocket. It is battery-operated and has an attached lanyard so you can hook it to your bag or keychain if you want. It uses three color codes to indicate the levels of CO. Green means levels are safe, yellow means there are elevated levels (and it will sound an alarm), and red means levels are very dangerous (and the device will sound a more aggressive alarm).

Forensic Detectors has a travel CO detector on Amazon for $95 as of this writing. It is also powered by batteries and is very small and light. It will sound an alarm if high CO levels are detected, and it will both sound an alarm and flash red lights if the CO is extremely high. By finding a portable CO detector that works well with your travel style, you can enjoy your vacation and have peace of mind that you will be alerted to any dangerous CO levels.