The Tech Gear And Gadgets I Travel Around The World With: April 2017

• 8 years ago

The gadgets I travel with, including the laptop I’m typing this on right now, enable me to run a business, share my travels with you, plus stay connected from all over the world. Electronics are an essential component to the lifestyle I have, though the frequency of my travels means I need to be organized, efficient, and light. Reliability is also important since replacing equipment isn’t always an easy option depending on where I am. Because of this, I tend to get a model or two behind the latest version of a phone or laptop for example. This way, any potential kinks have been exposed and the hardware is still fairly future-proof.

Although I keep an updated page of the tech I travel with, in case you haven’t seen it in a while, let me share some updates with you here.

Laptop: Macbook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2015): 2.8 GHz Intel Core i7; 16 GB 1600 MHz DDR3 memory; 500GB SSD; AMD Radeon R9 M370X

• Recommended Laptop Cover: Incase Icon Sleeve – Very recently my laptop took a scary fall from an airport X-ray machine. The Incase sleeve saved it from major damage, despite a nearly 1.2 meter (4 foot) drop on a hard surface. The fall only left a barely perceptible scratch.

Camera: Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS45 [Here’s my full review.]

• Recommended SD Card: 32GB SanDisk SDHC

Phone (Daily Driver): iPhone 6s (64 GB)/Space Grey

• Recommended Charging Case: ChargeTech ThinCharge [Full review.]

Headphones: Bose QuietComfort 20i Acoustic Noise Cancelling Headphones [My full review.]

• For sports, I use these extremely durable but inexpensive TaoTronics TT-BH06 BL Bluetooth Wireless Earphones.

Drone: DJI Mavic Pro

• Recommended accessories: Case for DJI Mavic Remote Controller (Altura Small Neoprene Pouch Bag); DJI Mavic Aircraft Sleeve For Drone; Soft Case to hold both Mavic and remote controller (SwissGear Hanging Toiletry Kit – I know it sounds odd but it fits the Mavic and remote with their cases on, plus the charging cables perfectly.) Storage: SanDisk 64 GB Micro SDXC UHS-I card with adapter.

Backpack: SwissGear 1900 Scansmart Laptop Bag

• All of the electronics in this list, including the DJI Mavic drone, fit into this one bag.

Cable Organizer: Cocoon Grid-It 10.5 x 7.5-Inch Organizer

• This is a major time-saver when going through airport security because you can pull out all of your cords and adapters at once. I’ve also noticed having cables organized like this means less time waiting for additional bags checks at security – a clump of cables often means re-scanning your backpack.

All Of The Accessories And Lesser Used Items

I carry a number of other phone models, to test new versions of my WiFox app, which is a continuously updated map of wireless passwords from airports and lounges worldwide.

When I’m not using iOS, I find myself falling back on the Google Nexus 5x for stock Android time. For reading books or when I need a larger, mobile screen in general, I use a 64 GB iPad Air 2 protected by an Apple Smart Case.

Apple iPad Air 2

Portable Batteries: PowerStick+ (2300 mAh) PowerTrip (6000 mAh). These batteries have a standby time of up to a year so you’re much less likely to be on a train and realize your batteries died on the road. Read my full review here.

Connectors And Converters

• OREI Safest World Travel Adapter – An all-in-one that covers my poor memory for most of the world’s outlets. Includes a 3 prong connection too for grounded plugs.
• World Travel Adapter Plug Set – Being less bulky these adapters work well for outlets that can’t support much weight from a heavy charger.
• iKlear Cleaning Kit – This liquid is what Apple stores around the world use to keep our eager but greasy fingers from making display models an icky version of shiny. It also comes with two microfiber cloths.
• Moleskine Classic Notebook 5 x 8.25 (Black) – An ancient but important technology for taking notes and outlining ideas.

I almost omitted my quiet, simple, and reliable Genius USB optical mouse which I picked up in Argentina in 2010. It was an impromptu purchase to replace its wireless predecessor, stolen out of my bag by an airline employee. It’s a rough world for a mouse but at least its always got a good friend around – mouse pad Albert Einstein. Finally, if you’re a blogger and interested to know what services I use to maintain this site, I have listed them here.