The 2014 Digital Nomad Packing List
Ever wondered what kind of gear a traveling iOS developer might need for a six month trip? Soon you know. The inspiration for this post was Maneesh Sethi of the popular Hack The System blog that I read many times while dreaming about this trip.
Since I'm traveling around a lot in Europe where there's tons of cheap airline companies, I opted to go with hand luggage only. Of course, I then had to fit with the before mentioned airlines' ridiculous baggage allowances.
Here's a video showing all I got:
Making it all fit
Samsonite expandable laptop backpack
I've had this backpack for many years and even though I can't find it online, it has never let me down. It has two main compartments with a cushioned laptop pocket in the back and lots of mesh pockets in the main.
It seems very small when you look at it, but as you can see, you can fit a lot of stuff in it.
The main compartment can also be expanded which is awesome. Every time I board a cheap Ryanair flight, I compress the bag and put as much on me as possible. When I then land and if it's in a warm country, I can just expand the bag and put all the heavier clothes in there again.
Everest light shell jacket
This jacket got everything I need. It's light, protects against the weather and also, it can surprisingly enough fit an iPad Air in one of its pockets! I wrote about it when I first bought it and after traveling with it for a month, I can say it was a great buy.
The one really bulky object I have with me is my smart shaker. Even though it's super practical when I'm actually using it, it takes up huge amounts of space. That's why I usually attach it to my backpack instead of putting it in. Of course that's something cheap airlines aren't really fond about. With this shell jacket, I can easily fit the shaker inside one of my pockets, no worries.
Eagle Creek compression sacs
These sacs works magic on your clothes! I wouldn't be able to fit nearly enough stuff in my backpack without them, absolutely essential.
I use the medium size for my regular clothes and the small one for socks & underwear.
The complete list (no bullshit)
- Samsonite expandable laptop backpack
- Gadgets
- Macbook Pro Retina 15" (Best. Computer. Ever.)
- iPad Air
- iPhone 5
- Motorola Moto G
- External USB battery (10 000 mAh, super useful)
- Fake Gorilla-pod
- Headphones: Jays a-Jays Four
- MBP charger
- 2 USB-chargers
- 2 Lightning cables
- Micro-USB cable
- UK Power adapter
- Clothing
- Eagle Creek compression sacs (absolutely essential)
- Nike Internationalist sneakers (works in every situation)
- 5 pairs of boxers
- 6 pairs of socks
- Everest shell jacket
- H&M polyester sweatshirt
- 5 t-shirts
- 2 tank tops
- Cap
- Polyester t-shirt
- 2 shirts
- Red bowtie
- Jeans
- Beige chino-shorts
- Training
- Gym bag
- 1 kg protein sack
- 500 g creatine sack
- Multivitamins
- Training / Swimming shorts
- Smart shaker
- Travel towel
- Misc
- Padlock
- Sunglasses
- Passport
- Pencils
- Earplugs
- Business cards
- Toiletries (in case you really wanna know)
- Toothbrush
- Toothpaste
- Face moisturizer
- Body lotion
- Dental floss
- Diesel Fuel For Life perfume
- Deodorant stick
- Hair wax
- Nail clipper
