I’ve been living out of a suitcase for 5 months now, having to adapt to different climates and various accommodations. I’ve found it surprising how little “stuff” you actually need to be happy. I wanted to take a moment to share my packing list and philosophy. I’m also working a full-time job and prioritizing my health with daily workouts and cooking most meals “at home”. For nomading to be sustainable, I think investing the extra time into work and health each day is well worth it.

What follows is a list of my possessions. Space and mass are both a luxury, and each item must fight to continue the journey with me. Feel free to jump around to whatever section is most interesting to you. There are no affiliate links; I just share the products because I like them.

Coffee

My coffee kit is a bit excessive but I love that no matter where I go, I can always count on a good cup of coffee in the morning. I put together a pour-over travel kit, complete with a hand grinder, travel kettle for heating, gooseneck kettle for pouring, scale and timer, and two types of pour-over devices. The kettle exploded on me, so I wouldn’t recommend it; most places that I’ve stayed have had a kettle anyways.

Video Games

My gaming setup is pretty sweet. I have a Nintendo Switch with a mini docking station to connect it to a TV and a video capture card which lets me stream it to my Macbook. I also brought an Xbox controller, which I can pair with my Switch using this device to not get carpal tunnel from their child-sized controllers. I also recently signed up for Xbox Cloud, which lets me stream Xbox games to my MacBook for $16/month! I just pair my Xbox controller, and I’m back to playing Halo with the boys.

Workouts and Supplements

I really don’t want travel to be an excuse to sacrifice my health so a huge portion of my bag space is dedicated to powders and supplements. I carry a water-bottle-sized blender* for my protein shakes in the morning along with protein powder, creatine, collagen, and a greens powder. I get stopped by airport security each time but they always let it through in the end. In one airport, my protein powder tested positive for explosives. They brought an explosive expert to verify that it was, in fact, just for my mad gains.

*fun fact, you can’t take it on the plane

I also carry a daily multivitamin, fish oil, ashwagandha, probiotics (after having to take some antibiotics in Japan), and calcium/magnesium. For all my workouts, I have two variants: one that uses weights for the gym and one that’s purely calisthenics that I can do in a hotel room. I give myself no excuses to not get a good workout in every day.

Baggage

I travel with 40L backpack, a large, shelled suitcase, and a soft, lightweight duffle bag that can be used as a laundry or gym bag. Thanks to the large suitcase space is usually not an issue, but the 50 lb weight restriction for airlines becomes the bottleneck. The duffle bag is perfect to throw my most dense (small but heavy) items. I also carry a small sling bag, which acts as a waste-belt for the backpack and works well for a day exploring the city. I can throw a portable charger in it and have my phone topped off while on the go. I use travel cubes to organize my clothes, which makes unpacking and finding things really easy.

Work station

Before nomading, my office setup was pretty sweet. On my standing, treadmill desk I had a giant curved monitor with a split ortholinear keyboard. Obviously this is an area I’ve had to make some sacrifices. I now carry a thin Magic Keyboard and ergo mouse. To reduce neck strain, I prop my laptop up on a collapsible laptop stand.

Cables

One of the things I’m most proud of is my cable game. I want to be extremely efficient with cables while also not getting stuck when two devices need the same cable at the same time. I have one usb-c to usb-c cable that has built in adapters to support usb-a and lightning. I also found this really unique cable in Japan that goes from usb-a to a hybrid of both micro-usb and lightning, depending on which side is up. I didn’t know that was possible! I carry two multi-country adapters and one 220->110 converter. The MacBook power adapter can easily be swapped for a country-specific one just by replacing the small outlet on the corner. I also carry a small usb-c hub that connects to my MacBook that can be used to power other devices or connect to a portable monitor.

Clothes

I wear a lot of black. Black is great because it matches with everything and it doesn’t stain easily. I sacrifice a bit of fashion with a reduced wardrobe but I don’t mind too much. Half of my wardrobe is workout clothes and I’ve found ones that look fine for a work video call (no tank tops). For cold weather, I have a couple jackets that I can wear in layers that have been sufficient, even in freezing temperatures. For maximum efficiency and to prevent wrinkles, I Marie Kondo my clothes. Looking at your packed clothes should spark joy.

I have one regular pair of On shoes and one pair of sandals. The black shoes are versatile enough to go hiking or to a nice dinner without standing out too much. If I have to go to a wedding, I’ll have to get creative.

Skincare

I probably use more skincare products than the average dude but it doesn’t take up too much space. In the morning, I alternate between a copper peptide and a vitamin c serum and top it off with Cerave AM which has some SPF. Whenever I go to the States I stock up on Trader Joe’s face sunscreen - it’s 40 SPF and goes on like butter. For my hair, I use a derma roller, minoxidil spray, and caffeine serum. Gotta keep the little guys happy. I found this small grooming trimmer that charges with USB C.

Misc

AirPods and Bose headphones - sometimes I use both on a flight to cancel out all the crying babies. I use this carrying case and stash in this mic for gaming or work calls.

Backpacking first aid kit - I’ve gotten pretty banged up over the past 5 months and put this to good use.

Pillow - I had one bad night of sleep on a rock disguised as a pillow and decided I needed to use my precious luggage space to now carry around a pillow.

Sun lamp - Invaluable for locking in your circadian rhythm, especially when moving across timezones.

1 L HydraPak - I’ll typically buy large jugs of water and keep my water bottle topped off for the day.

Coco Floss - it’s really hard to find good floss in other countries. I restock on Coco Floss whenever I’m within Amazon shipping range.

Kindle - Books of course, but I also use PushToKindle to send any long articles or papers from my phone for some more focused reading.

Oct 24 Update

• Changed backpacks and got rid of old sling bag.

• Removed red-light helmet.

• Swapped On-shoes and sandals for approach shoes.

• Removed secondary monitor.

• Swapped hydro Flask water bottle for 1 L HydraPak.