The following is the gear I travel with – current as of May 2023
All of my gear fits inside my Aer Travel Pack 3, which I bring as a carry-on, with an extra change of clothes in the Osprey Ultralight which I use as my personal item. I sometimes also use a sling in which I like to carry a battery pack and my passport.
For past gear I’ve travelled with, check my Past Gear article, or my Gear Reviews!
Bags & Packs
Aer Travel Pack 3
My main bag, the Aer travel pack 3 is a 35L workhorse of great quality. Albeit a bit on the pricier end, I think after a few years of travel it’s safe to spend a bit more on your bag. This bag uses a clamshell design which allows for flexible packing and usage of all types of packing cubes. It features large shoulder straps which make it comfortable to transport. It also fits pretty easily into most if not all carry-on storages (including smaller planes like the Dash 8).
Silfrae Waterproof Backpack Cover
A pretty basic backpack rain cover which does the trick, is cheap and folds pretty easily into one of the many pockets of my Aer bag.
Osprey Ultralight Day Pack
A small, soft day pack which folds down into a tiny pouch no more than 3″x3″ in size. It fits about 17L, so isn’t huge by any stretch, but it’ll fit some clothes and toiletries for a day trip. I also use it as my personal item on flights. I would recommend getting a larger day pack if you’re looking to carry your laptop to work in cafes. as most laptops wont fit this – and being a stuff bag, it has no frame.
Shacke Pak Packing Cube Set
Nothing special to these packing cubes, but out of the three brands I tried, they performed best. They are also quite affordable compared to some name brand options!
Fosmon Hanging Toiletries Organizer
Like with the packing cubes above, there isn’t anything very special about this one, but it does have plenty of space and opens up into three flaps. It also includes the much needed hook so you can hang this within a bathroom easily! The materials are of high quality and it looks great, has plenty of space and packs well.
Inateck Electronics Organizer
I’ve tested many organizers over the years, and this one is the best compromise. Big enough to carry my mouse, portable mic, cables, USB hub and sticks, while still being small enough to fit pretty well in my backpack.
Electronics
Aorus 15G (2022)
The cornerstone of a nomad, your laptop is quite an important piece of kit. I’ve gone quite the powerhouse, since I still like to play games on the go. This one packs an i7-10875H, 32GB of RAM, a 1TB M2 SSD and a RTX 3080. Most of you won’t need something this powerful (and you can see other suggestions in my Gear Reviews), but if interested, you can find this one on Newegg.
SlimQ 240W Laptop Charger
This is a bit of a luxury item I grabbed recently – since I travel with a gaming laptop, it means traveling with a heavy, high wattage charger. The SlimQ 240W charger is smaller and lighter, which helps reduce the total weight of my pack.
Nexstand Laptop Stand
A sturdy little stand that folds neatly and performs as well as as the crowd-favorite Roost, but for a fraction of the price. I’ve been using this one for 2 years and it still looks new. Keep in mind I use a 15″, so I have not tested this stand with 17″ laptops.
Microsoft Designer Compact Keyboard
I spent many years carrying a gaming grade 65% mechanical keyboard (and the required transport case), but in the interest of consistently optimizing my pack, I recently went with an ultra light keyboard. In this case, I chose Microsoft’s and I’m quite happy with it for my uses.
Razer DeathAdder V3 Wireless Mouse
The last remnant of my gaming days as a nomad, this mouse is quite comfortable, and great for any of you who enjoy the occasional shooter game! It’s fairly light, and fits just fine in my Inatek organizer mentioned above.
Linsoul KZ ZS10 Pro
Some of you might know I’m a DJ, so perhaps audio matters to me more than the average person, but I think it’s worth going for quality headphones when spending lots of time in front of a computer. These are in-ear monitors, which product great sound for music, and somewhat decent positional audio for the gaming sessions. They’re comfortable to wear for long periods or time and won’t mess your hair or make you sweat in hot climates like on-ear cups would.
Unidapt 61W Universal Travel Adapter
An absolute necessity as a nomad, this travel adapter adjusts to just about every type of outlet on the planet and is one of the most compact ones I’ve seen. It features USB2 and 3 outlets, as well as a single classic power plug that also fits any model. It is fairly lightweight for what it is as well, so it packs neatly with the rest of your tech.
Upwade Portable Power Bar
I typically pair this with the travel adapter above to give me additional outlets to use. The cable is 5ft long which also comes in handy when the nearest plug is far from the workspace, and it also wraps neatly around the bar itself, making it quite easy to transport. To top it all off, it’s super light and is surge protected!
TOPK USB-C Hub
I’ve used larger, powered hubs before which provide better power output (of course), but this small hub is much easier to transport, and offers an HDMI port, 3 USB ports, a USB-C port and both SD and micro-SD card slots. It fits easily inside my tech pouch and doesn’t require any power brick.