What I Use When Traveling

Here is some of the gear I take with me when traveling. Sometimes it's to the coffee shop for a day of work "off site" and sometimes it's to another state for vacation or a work trip.

Extra-Long USB Cable for Your iPhone, iPod, and iPad

I received one of these cables for my birthday this year and I now use it all the time. I never realized how handy a double-length, 30-pin cable would be until I had one in my possession. One would think that the last thing an Apple nerd needs is yet another white cable. But in this case, it's a welcome addition. Trying to charge your iPhone while in the middle seat in the classroom? No sweat. Trying to charge your iPad while reading on the couch? No problem. The opportunities for convenience fill up a list as long as this cable.

Origami Workstation for iPad and Keyboard

If you travel with your iPad often and are in want of a better way to integrate a Bluetooth keyboard, this Origami Workstation from Incase may be just the ticket for you. When not in use it acts as a cover for your bluetooth keyboard, and then it folds open and creates a "workstation" so you can affix your iPad behind the keyboard. Specially placed hooks and bars keep the keyboard and iPad in place.

Slimmy Wallet

I have owned my J. Crew Magic Wallet for so long I don't even remember what wallet I had before it.

You can tell a lot about a man by the wallet he uses, and I think most men care deeply about having just the right wallet. I know I do. And though I'm always on the lookout, it's been at least a decade since I purchased my previous wallet. During the past 10 years I have yet to find something interesting enough, unique enough, and simple enough to compel me to ditch my J. Crew Magic Wallet. Until last week when I saw the Slimmy wallet hands on.

The Slimmy is thin, simple, and unique. The outside is genuine leather and the inside is some sort of grippy microfiber type material. At most it holds 3 or 4 cards in each of the side pockets and there is room for some bills in the center pocket. If you like to cram your wallet with 17 library cards and receipts from the past 90 days then the Slimmy is not for you. If, however, you keep just a few cards, your ID, and perhaps some cash then you too may love the Slimmy.

Acme Made Skinny Sleeve for MacBook Air

I carry my 13-inch MacBook Air in an old Timbuk 2 bag. The kind of bag that came around before dedicated laptop messenger bags were popular. And so I needed a good sleeve to keep the Air protected. There are many sleeves out there, but I like this Acme Made one because it's padded and reinforced. And the top of the sleeve is open which makes it easy to slide the MacBook Air in or out. (Also available for the 11-inch MacBook Air.)

Timbuk2 Bag

Timbuk2 arguably makes the best messenger bags in the world. I have one and I love it. And what more could you ask than to have your bag built to order? You can get exactly the size you want, in exactly the fabric you want, with exactly the color combination you want. And you can rest assured that when you receive this bag of a lifetime it will also last you a lifetime.

LaCie Rikiki USB Portable Hard Drive

In this writer's opinion, LaCie makes the finest and most reliable external hard drives you can buy. I have 2 of the 1TB LaCie Hard Disks that I use for my media storage and external backup redundancy, and I have a LaCie Quadra that I use for my nightly SuperDuper clones. When on the road for extended trips I always take a portable hard drive with me so I can continue to do nightly backups, and I have additional storage in case I need it for whatever reason.

Right now my portable hard drive is a Western Digital My Passport. I was in a rush to buy it and so I drove to the nearest Best Buy and this was all they had. When the WD bites the dust, you know I'll be replacing it with a LaCie.

Belkin Mini Surge Protector and Dual USB Charger

How do you plug in a computer, a monitor, a hard drive, an iPad, and an iPhone using just one outlet? Why, with Belkin's mini surge protector and dual USB charger of course. Handy enough to use in the home or office, and portable enough to travel with.

More Items

Check out all the items on Tools & Toys related to travel.

And to see more of the items I use, click here.