A Digital Nomad Pack List After 5 Years on the Road
What happens to your gear when you never go home?
More specifically–after nearly 5 years on the road–what time-tested equipment am I still willing to lug around in a backpack?
In late 2013 I left the US for a second trip around the world. That trip never really ended, and my original SE Asia Pack List had to survive a number countries, seasons, and activities that I’d never anticipated.Continue reading >>
How to Wear the Same Clothes for a Year
[Photo: Most of the kit in Da Lat, Vietnam]
Since I began traveling full-time in mid-2011 I’ve had a simple goal: find the simplest, most functional, and lightest travel gear possible.
I figured after 2 years I had the technology part wired (more on that below), but my biggest question for this trip was clothing. Would it be possible, I wondered, to wear the same clothes for a year?
After more than 12 months outside the USA I have some answers: my wardrobe looks nearly identical to when I left. The surprising thing is how little I had to supplement the original travel kit I left with on September 7, 2013.
What to Pack for a trip Around the World
UPDATE: There is a newer pack list! Check out A Digital Nomad Pack List After 5 Years on the Road. It might also be interesting to compare how things have changed since 2013..
Exactly what does it take to live anywhere?
Last week I hopped on a 19-hour flight back to Indonesia with little more than a daypack, my laptop bag, and some surfing gear. It may not seem like much, but it’s everything I need to live, work, and travel for an indefinite period of time.
I already wish I’d brought less.
Continue reading >>
Essential Entry-Level Work Gear for Digital Nomads
Want to work on your laptop while traveling around the world? There are a few things you can’t live without.
[Editors Note: And… we’re back! Q1 ate my lunch, but I’m hoping to post weekly for the forseeable future.]
The equipment that allows me to work from almost anywhere was thoughtfully accumulated over the last 18 months, and it’s a balance of price, weight, and power. There’s no need to go gear-crazy if you’re just starting out (or ever). All you really need is a decent laptop, some cheap headphones, and a place to work.
There are plenty of “top # pieces of gear for digital nomads” out there, but most of them range from borderline excessive to absolutely ridiculous. I’m assuming here that a) you have a budget or you’re just starting out and b) you don’t want to carry 80lbs of extra gear with you (that can also be damaged or stolen).Continue reading >>
How to Fix your Kite – DIY Bladder, Strut, and Canopy Repair
A sad, sad, broken kite.
I was sitting around in Hawaii for a week, waiting for the weather and swell to get better, before I opted to try my hand at kite repair.
My friend convinced me to bring kitesurfing gear on my trip to the North Shore (“it’s always windy on the East side dude. That’s why they call it the windward side.) and somehow I managed to sneak it onto Hawaiian airlines without paying the mandatory $100 fun tax (more on how to do that later).Continue reading >>