The digital nomad lifestyle of working while traveling the world has exploded in popularity over the past decade. But being a nomad doesn’t mean roughing it – with the right tech gear, you can bring your office, entertainment center, and home comforts on the road with you wherever you roam. Kirill Yurovskiy has gathered 10 of the most essential gadgets that will make your nomadic travels easier and more enjoyable.
1. Laptop
Naturally the most important tool for the tech-powered nomad is a laptop. Go for an ultraportable model – think under 3 pounds with a 13 or 14-inch screen. The Dell XPS 13 and Lenovo Yoga models consistently rate as top picks in this category, offering the perfect balance of light weight, processing power, and long battery life. Make sure to max out the RAM while sticking to solid state drives for storage, as mechanical hard drives don’t react well to life on the move.
2. Tablet
Sometimes you need capabilities beyond what even the best laptop can provide. A tablet like the iPad Pro 12.9 packed with robust creative apps is ideal for graphic design, illustration, editing photos and drawing during your travels. The large, vivid Retina display makes creative work a pleasure. It can also double as an ebook reader, video player, and general entertainment device in down times.
3. Ultraportable Printer
Printers might seem outdated, but some situations still call for good old fashioned paper printouts. The compact Canon IVY mini photo printer hooks up wirelessly to your phone to produce 2×3 inch snapshots wherever required, from hotel room to café table. It’s fun for printing photos to stick in a travel journal as memorable keepsakes too.
4. eReader
An e-reader eliminates the need to carry weighty books, providing easy access to your library without taking up pack space. The Kindle Paperwhite signature edition packs in huge storage, delivers the experience of paper with its glare free screen, and the waterproofing means you can read poolside without worries. It also doubles as an audiobook player if you need a break for your eyes.
5. Wireless Headphones
You’ll want to block out airplane noise, get lost in music that sets the vibe for your current locale, or simply not disturb others working nearby in a co-working space or café. For all these needs, Apple AirPods Max offer amazing sound quality and noise cancelling with sleek over-ear style. The carrying case handily provides juice ups whenever needed.
6. Backup Charging Bank
Nothing throws a wrench in nomadic plans faster than a dead device battery with no charging options in site. Avoid this fate with the Anker PowerCore Slim 10000, an ultra compact 10000 mAh battery bank that can fully charge your phone 3-4 times or give your tablet a full charge. Slip it in your bag or even pocket without adding noticeable heft.
7. Security Key
Public Wi-Fi networks present security risks that sophisticated hacking software can exploit. Offering an extra layer of account protection, Yubico’s YubiKey 5 NFC security key enables strong two-factor authentication login for accounts and online services through your devices. The NFC functionality means you can login simply with a tap.
8. Tracker
Losing devices can completely upend your travels, especially if that device contains valuable personal data or work files! The Tile Pro series takes the stress out of misplacing essential items like laptops, tablets, headphones, remote controls and more. Simply tap the app to make the tracker ring when it’s hiding nearby or view its last detected location on a map.
9. Backup Drive
Cloud backups provide one way to protect precious data, but hardware failure can take out local files before they’re sync’d online. Offering resilience through redundancy, the durable LaCie Rugged Mini external drive easily fits in a coat pocket and secures irreplaceable data against device failures and crashes through portable physical backups. With fast transfer speeds, this USB-C HDD makes file duplication a breeze.
10. Universal Adapter
With power grids differing across continents, you’ll inevitably find outlets that don’t match U.S. plug shapes. Hunting for the correct adapter adds unnecessary hassle. Pac2Go’s universal adapter handles every type of outlet in the world, converting shapes and voltages with its integrated voltage transformer while delivering sufficient wattage for any device. Keep it in your carry on or backpack and remove a common stressor faced in foreign destinations.
Living the location independent lifestyle poses unique device and connectivity needs. But the range of ultra-portable, travel optimized gear available today means you can work, create, and communicate from anywhere while enjoying necessary home comforts on the road. Simply pack these essential tech sidekicks and focus on the adventure ahead, not the hardware behind!