2012 Macbook Air 13”
iPad Air 32GB
iPhone 5
Jabra Revo Wireless Headphones
Jabra 3.5mm cable with mic (For those moments when the batteries run out)
Anker 1200ma Battery
2 x USB to Micro USB
Apple Micro USB to Lightning Adaptor
1 x Folding USB Charger
Chromecast
Maglus Stylus
Cross Ball Point Pen
Butterfox Accessory case
EE 4G Mobile Hotspot
Slim Car to USB Adaptor
Sandisk 64GB Wireless USB Stick
Seagate Wireless 500GB Hard Drive
Contigo West Loop Autoseal Travel Mug
This is generally my day to day carry and allows me to have a full mobile office, though where possible I try and avoid carrying my Mac Book Air.
The iPad is my main out of office device, I love it, I try and do everything I can with it but sometimes it’s just quicker to work off a laptop, particularly for presentations, but the iPad is my go to for reading, gaming and note taking.
For years I just used my phone as a mobile hotspot but as my requirements grew, I needed a mobile hotspot that could be on for several hours. I decided to invest in the EE Osprey hotspot, it works a lot better with multiple devices, and when we do live social media coverage it’ll last about 8 hours before needing a charge. That said when it’s just for me the iPhone is the hotspot I’ll use 4 out of 5 times.
While travelling I’ll be listening to music and the Jabra Revo’s are Wirecutter’s best bluetooth headphones, I’m a big proponent of going/living/being wireless where possible, the sound quality is great, the isolation is good and I can answer my phone and use Siri without digging my phone out of my pocket.
I’ve kept the cables to a minimum, USB to micro USB charges the backup battery, hotspot, headphones and Chromecast and then the apple lightning adaptor allows it to charge my iPhone or iPad, I’m not sure why I carry the USB to mini USB. I’ve stopped carrying the cable for the seagate drive, it’s not the sort of thing I need to charge on the go and as you’ll read below, it’s not used all that much.
I’m hoping to ditch the Anker battery when I get an iPhone 6 or 6+ and my phone can make it more than 6 hours away from a charger (it’s my fault I’m always on it, streaming music, tweeting etc)
The Chromecast I picked up as a way for me to carry less cables, when doing presentations or training etc most venues now have HD TVs instead of projectors and as such I can just plug it in, turn on the mobile hotspot and mirror any tab in chrome from my Mac Book Air. I’m hoping in the near future that I can mirror my iPad to it, if not I could see this getting swapped out for an Apple TV.
Most of my data is stored in the cloud but when I’ve got to quickly grab things the Sandisk Wireless USB stick or Seagate Hard Drive are my go to devices. The Seagate is mostly loaded with movies for when travelling. But if I’m honest I’ve not used these all that much they are just hold overs from when carrying a USB stick was a must.
I’ve got some misc headphone adaptors, for sharing music or when on a plane, I think I just have them in the case so when going abroad I know where they are.
It’s a constant work in progress and I’m always trying to reduce what i carry but so far this allows me to work anywhere and travel relatively lightly.