In 2015 So far this year , I’ve traveled more than 100,000 175,000 miles by air. I travel with a backpack and carry-on, and stay fully engaged with my career + photography, and hiking hobbies while on the move. I learned some things, added some gadgets, removed some non-essentials, and optimized my digital carry-on life in 2015. Here’s what’s in my bag starting in 2016.
Requirements for what’s in my bag
The things in my bag (and the bag itself) need to
- Be able to stand up to the physical stresses of air travel.
- Be able to stand up to occasional recreational trail hike or bike ride.
- Keep me productive in the air and on the ground.
- Give me the tools to pursue my hiking and photography hobbies.
I carry two main containers. One is my backpack, and the other is a cable and small-parts organizer. Here’s a list of items from both containers. New items are in green. Removed items are, well, removed. Will update photos at some point, too.
Inside my Kaban Transit Backpack
- Mini quad-copter
- Sharpie Industrial 3 Pack
- Nikon 35mm f/1.8G AF-S DX Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras
- Nikon D3300 24.2 MP CMOS Digital SLR with AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR II Zoom Lens (Black)
- Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G AF-S ED VR II Nikkor Telephoto Zoom Lens for Nikon DX-Format Digital SLR Cameras
- SE425 Sound Isolating™ Earphones
/w Earphone Accessory Cable (3 Button)
(backup pair of Senheisser Momentum
earbuds)
- iPad Mini – TMobile
- GoPro Hero 4
+ Accessories
- Prescription Oakley Square Wire
- Brookstone Global Adapter with Fast 2.4A Charging
- Texas Instruments TI-30X IIS 2-Line Scientific Calculator, Black with Blue Accents
- Portable phone charger: capacity 10000mAh (Out 1A, 5v in, out 2.1a)
- EZY Dose Deluxe Metal Pill Fob
- Hydro Flask Insulated Stainless Steel Water Bottle, 40oz
+ Hydroflask Straw Lid
- Digipower TC-5000U Camera Charger
- Anker 5-port USB Charger
(indispensable)
- Assorted Sea to Summit stuff bags
- Verizon MiFi 6620L Jetpack 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot (Verizon Wireless)
- Alpine Swiss Genuine Leather Thin Business Card Case Minimalist Wallet
- Apple 85W MagSafe Power Adapter (for 15- and 17-inch MacBook Pro)
- Combination Padlock
- Generic 30 Pc Allen Wrench Set- SAE/ MM
- AmazonBasics Universal Travel Case for Small Electronics and Accessories
- MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2014)
Inside my AmazonBasics Universal Travel Case
- Vaavud Wind Speed Meter with Smartphone App – New Red
- Mini DisplayPort to DVI Adapter
- Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter
- Apple USB Ethernet Adapter
- Apple Magic Mouse
- Jetpack Jackery Bar Premium iPhone Charger & External Battery 6000mAh (2x)
- Quad-copter charging cable
- i.Trek M7 Bluetooth GPS Receiver
- Insignia™ – Wireless Remote Shutter Control for Nikon
- Paperclips
- Lyca mobile SIM
- Eyefi Mobi 8GB SDHC Class 10 Wi-Fi Memory Card
- Sandisk SDSDU-016G-A11 16GB Ultra SDHC UHS-I Card 30MB/s (Class 10)
- Tri adapter charging cable
- Android charging cable
Inside my Eagle Creek Load Warrior Wheeled Duffel
By design, my clothing travel rig is simple, reusable, and easily compacted. The Eagle Creek bag is especially great because of it’s strong zippers, generous pockets, hooks, and straps. When I get on a small plane, I like to be able to squeeze this bag into those small overhead spaces, and the soft exterior makes it easy.
My running shoes and dirty clothes go in reusable Sea to Summit stuff bags, and I roll with a SwissGear Toiletries kit (but to be honest, am looking for a replacement). That’s it. Simple, reusable, easy to carry/load, and resilient to those times when I have to check the bag. By the way, there are many other brands for travel bags, but Eagle Creek has the “No Matter What” guarantee. I dig that.
