Ever come away from a spy film yearning for some cool espionage gadgets of your very own? Rarely do our day-to-day lives require, say, invisible cars or laser watches – but the variety of basic surveillance devices you can acquire may just surprise you. Forget ineffectual complaints about trespassing neighbors or hiring a private detective to follow your potentially adulterous spouse – if you’re in any sort of tricky situation and need to monitor things on the go, investing in some of the following gadgets may be well worth your time (and cash):

Audio Recorder Pen

A pen that’s definitely mightier than the sword – knowledge is power, after all, and this is perfect for stealthily recording knowledge in the form of audio files – whether that’s in a lecture, or a meeting, or for more private surveillance purposes. But whatever your intentions, be warned: apart from certain exceptions, secret recordings are not permissible evidence in a court of law.

That said, an innocuous item like a pen is a perfect bug – nobody’s going to call you on the bit of stationery sticking out of your shirt pocket, nor are they likely to clock the presence of a pen in any given room as unusual (unless it’s one of those rare ‘no-pens-allowed’ rooms that…totally exist). Of course, leaving one lying around is leaving yourself open to the possibility that someone might just walk off with it – in which case, good luck getting it back.

What? Are you going to put your name on a spy pen? Or are you going to be able to convince someone to give you a random pen back – if they even admit to taking it at all? Wield your might carefully, especially if you get one of the more expensive variants that records audio and video.

Bug Detector

If you’re the sort of person who feels the need to carry around surveillance equipment with you, then you may expect other people to do the same. Fortunately, you can cover your tracks by getting yourself a bug detector – the cheapest of which can detect the presence of standard wireless transmitters and video cameras in a room, while the most expensive can be relied upon to detect and even scramble more sophisticated surveillance equipment. All of them are portable – especially useful if you’re conducting a search on a room-to-room basis.

Rear View Spy Sunglasses

They look like ordinary sunglasses, but unbeknownst to that creepy person following you, they’ve actually got reflective ends that allow for covert checks behind you – without having to turn around. But don’t use them to actually protect your eyes from the sun, because they don’t do that at all. So don’t forget to pack a pair of real sunglasses alongside these babies, just in case.

Hidden Camera

This isn't just beneficial to any budding wildlife documenters out there – how many uses can you think of for a motion-sensitive infrared camera that takes photos or videos which it subsequently sends in the form of emails or MMS picture texts to your computer or phone (no flash, of course)? Especially since it doesn't need an Internet connection or a power socket to function – it has a SIM card for GSM mobile messaging and runs on batteries. Set one up outdoors if you want to capture stunning wildlife imagery – or put paid to those pesky vandals or fly-tippers in your neighborhood.

Tracker

Whether you’re looking to track a vehicle, a package, or a specific person, there’s probably a tracker out there that suits your purposes. Vehicle trackers can easily be affixed to the underside of a car, while tracking a person requires a little more ingenuity. Tracking devices don’t require anything too sophisticated – they can be fitted with SIM cards in order to send information to your mobile phone, so they’re excellent for on-the-go tracking.

A handy tip: if you’re ordering any surveillance equipment online to be delivered to your house, check to ensure that it’ll be delivered in discreet packaging and won’t show up with a suspicious reference on your bank statement.

Got your own on-the-go surveillance kit? What’s in it? Share your advice in the comments below!