8 Travel Essentials Digital Nomads Never Leave Home Without -

8 Travel Essentials Digital Nomads Never Leave Home Without - For those who’ve taken to the road, and are bringing their jobs with them, the quest for essential equipment never seems to end. Keeping the weight down to easily get through airports while having everything you need is no small feat after all. So, when you’re looking into your next travel destination it’s time to make sure that you’ve got these travel essentials so you’ll always be prepared. 1. High Capacity Backpack For many destinations, there’s simply no way to make sure a bulky luggage container with wheels is going to serve you well. Too much pedestrian traffic, unpaved roads, and all manner of obstructions may be in your path once you reach your destination. A backpack, on the other hand, is much easier to handle through any sort of crowd or terrain and they can carry a surprising amount of stuff. Your best bet is to look for a high-quality backpack with at least 30L of storage space. Subdividers are great for organization and most will need a padded compartment for their computers as well. Osprey makes some of the best on the market for this purpose although they’re relatively high priced. The important thing is capacity and the ability to organize things the way you want them organized. Another important point: if you’re wise with your bag choice and gear, you’ll also be able to avoid carry-on fees during your travels. That’s a big bonus for most of us. 2. Photography Equipment Most digital nomads will want to carry at least a camera, but many opt for more specialized equipment to document their travels. While a phone camera is great it doesn’t necessarily provide the best picture quality when it really matters. Depending on your tastes a small, collapsible tripod, a spotting scope with camera attachment, or zoom lenses are all great options to snag beautiful pictures of your surroundings. Just make sure to keep it light enough that you don’t need a carry-on bag to haul it all. 3. Dry Bag Dry bags are a great thing to have no matter where you’re traveling. Finding one which can be folded into itself is an excellent way to carry laundry or even just add an extra layer of protection for your gear. They’re generally cheap but pretty much indispensable while you’re on the road. Just make sure to test whichever variation you go with before you have to field test it to make sure it provides an adequate level of moisture protection or you may end up with a serious mess on your hands. Portable chargers are essential for any traveler, and doubly so for those who are planning on traveling in countries where the nearest outlet may be a good bit away. Even better, you can get them with impressive mAH ratings and a streamlined profile these days. They can be an absolute lifesaver no matter what, but if you’ve got a keen eye for detail it’s a good idea to make sure that they’re reinforced and also able to charge your laptop. With those two qualities in place, you’ll be good to go, no matter where you go. 5. eReader If you’re an avid reader then you may be trying to pick which books are coming along with you. It shouldn’t be any, in all honesty, books are heavy and take up a ton of space in your bag. Instead, you should acquire a good Kindle or other eReader to bring along your passion for words. They’re generally smaller than tablets and they hold a charge for a long time so you’ll be able to read all of your favorites without the bulk and weight that paper books bring with them. For some, it’s not the same, but it’s always a reasonable substitute. 6. Cable Organizer Cable organizers are a nomad’s best friend. Most of us have an array of cables for our devices, flash drives, and other small electronics that get tangled and lost in the rest of our bag. Cable organizers solve this problem by letting you get a handy place to keep all your cables together and with some of the more specialized ones you’ll be able to keep whatever you’d like in them. They tend to be cheap enough that the only real concern is finding one which suits your needs, so don’t settle on this vital travel essential. 7. UV Sterilizer One piece of gear which many nomads overlook is some form of quickly sterilizing water. While the water is generally potable in most locations the problem lies in the fact that the microbes which make it through the water treatment process generally aren’t the ones we’re used to. That can lead to a lot of GI problems while you’re out of the country. UV sterilizers can help solve this problem and most are no larger than a small flashlight, which makes them an ideal companion for those who are frequently traveling. 8. Packing Cubes Sometimes it’s the little things that count, and packing cubes can keep clothes organized and squished into a smaller space than you’d be able to achieve if you were just stuffing things in your bag. For that reason, they’re a great idea to have around and even moderate-quality sets will allow you to fit more in your bag than you would otherwise. The best will also vacuum down, preserving even more precious capacity in your backpack. Keep Your Essentials! Your travel essentials as a digital nomad are just the backbone of what you’ll have on hand. Many people find that they can purchase large parts of what they need when they arrive at their destination but you’ll still want to keep a few items handy no matter where you’re headed. Your gear can make a huge difference in quality of life upon arrival, especially if you’re regularly changing destinations. So grab them before you head out and enjoy your time working around the world.