My Recommended Gear for Travelling While Working
A look inside my minimalist backpack and the gear that I travel with for months at a time while working remotely.
For the last few years I have been living out of my back pack and have more or less been homeless (by choice of course). I have learned quite a bit about what makes or breaks a successful trip in terms of gear and here are some of my key tips that I have for anyone thinking of travelling while working themselves!
These are all organic suggestions so none of these suggestions are sponsored and are truly huge assets for me in my day to day while working remotely from a range of locations.
A good backpack built for travelling/working.
I am putting this recommendation first as I believe having the right bag can allow you to cut your costs when flying a lot, keep your gear close and safe, and also will put limitations on you in a good way which will cause you to pack smart.
The most important things that I look for in my back pack is;
- padded laptop compartment
- organizers
- easy access pockets
- hip & chest straps
- easily fits within size restrictions on airplanes
Currently I have the Burton Multipath backpack which checks all of these boxes.
It packs very nicely and as long as I am going somewhere warm where I do not need to pack to many warm clothes, its big enough to support all my needs for a multi month trip.
Another backpack which I have been thinking about upgrading too at some point is the Tortuga Outbreaker. This backpack is slightly bigger than my Burton backpack and is built for digital nomads specifically and so it comes with a few more pockets for your tech. Right now I am starting to get into photography and have been finding that this can be pretty consumptive on space in your bag, so I will be looking to upgrade to this larger bag as I add more gear to my camera setup.
A wire free workspace.
One of my main rules in life is that if you can pay a little extra to get rid of a wire or cord, pay for it. I find a decluttered workspace that is lightweight and easy to setup allows me to have a much clearer mind and focus in on my work. My setup consists of Airpods (I always carry a back up pair since I am a space cadet and lose things all the time), a laptop stand, iPad + stand, a wireless keyboard, and wireless mouse. Check it out:
The laptop stand, keyboard and mouse allow me to have a better posture when working. It’s such a worthwhile investment to make as we are all spending well over 40 hours a week at our computers, so anything that helps you be a bit more comfortable is worth the spend.
The iPad + stand is a bit of a splurge but to be honest it does not feel like there is a good high res, no lag, portable monitor out on the market right now. There were a few I was looking at but they were around $400 and it still required a cord to connect to my laptop. With the iPad, not only do I get a portable monitor that is extremely high res, but it connects to my macbook via sidecar so no wires are required. On top of all this, you get a really great computer which you can use for other things outside of just a being a second monitor. I love using it for Lightroom for photo editing and Tradingview for stock analysis as a few examples.
Lastly, if you are bought into my wire-free mindset then in my mind, Apple makes the best wireless keyboard and mouses. Yes, they are pricey, but the battery literally lasts months, and it seamlessly connects to your gear and will last you a life time.
Here are the links to my setup:
A power bar with surge protection.
This is a bit of a unique one but I think is a really valuable thing to have in your bag that only costs around $10. Why? Well for one, most people these days have at least 2–3 things which you need to charge at any given time, so its nice to keep it simple and have one clean place where you can plug all your gear in. This is especially important when sharing a room or space which may have a limited number of outlets. On top of this, there can be a lot of variation between plugs from country to country, so with a power bar you only need to get one plug adapter to charge all your gear. Lastly, some tropical countries get frequent storms where local lightning strikes are common. I have actually been on a trip where on day one, our place got hit by lightning and it surged through the outlets and fried my friends laptop. This won’t happen when you use a power bar with surge protection. You get so much value from this that for only about $10 its a no brainer.
Patagonia Nano Air Jacket.
This jacket is one of my favourite items in my entire life. It is literal magic to me all the different places it works. Mountaineering deep in a Canadian winter? It works. Walking around a Northern Hemisphere city in any season other than summer, also works!
Its also a staple in my bag when I travel to Central America. A bit odd to bring it to the tropics as you spend most of the trip in your bathing suit, but I find layover cities can get cold, or even sometimes airplanes can get pretty cold in flight and its so nice to have when it does get a little colder than expected. On top of all this, it packs into its pocket and turns into a pillow. So even if your plane is not cold you now have an extra pillow to rest your head on in the lounge or on the long flights.
A high volume insulated water bottle.
Hydration is so key. I find it is so easy to forget to drink water on busy days and when I do forget I will notice my productivity dip big time. Having a big container of water at your desk just as a reminder to get your sips in helps me keep my hydration in check during the work day. Also when you are travelling its quite regular to have long spurts of time where access to water is limited when driving between places or hosts on the airplane are only giving out little cups of water. So for me, I love having a big bottle at my side at all times, and after having tried a few designs, I have personally fallen in love with the
Takeya water bottle. It has great insulation, comes in a range of sizes, is super durable and I love the little ring which it comes with that I can sling onto my backpack when my hands are full.
Check it out the Takeya Classic bottle here!
Outside of these suggestions I will leave you my last key thoughts for travelling while working.
Quality over quantity.
Figure out what your key, essential items are and get the best. Whether that be your office space setup or your clothes. Get the items which last, make your life easier and more fluid (get rid of wires at all cost).
Pack light.
It will save you money on baggage fees (especially in Europe). It allows you to move around more freely from place to place, and you don’t have to worry about an airline losing your baggage and throwing you a serious curveball. Not convinced? Next time your in a hilly European city wth cobblestone streets look for the people lugging their 70 pound suitcase up the streets profusely sweating all over themselves lol.
Thats it for me though guys, thanks for reading! Any recommended gear that you have? Leave a comment, I would love to hear it!