On episode 323 of our Frequent Miler on the Air podcast, Nick and I described all of our favorite travel gear. If you’re interested in purchasing any of this gear for yourself, we’ve linked to each item below for easy shopping.
Disclosure: By clicking on the following product links, Frequent Miler will earn a commission on qualifying purchases.
Luggage, backpacks, and organizers
- Greg’s Tumi backpack
- Greg’s Briggs & Riley carry-on suitcase
- Packing cubes with compression zipper similar to cubes Greg uses ️
- Nick’s Tumi Alpha Brief Pack
- Nick’s Muji Carry-On (not available at Amazon)
- Nick’s large carabiner clip used to attach water bottles to his backpack
Inside our go-everywhere backpacks
- Greg & Nick’s tiny backpack inside the backpack
- Greg’s passport wallet
- Greg’s travel raincoat
- Greg’s microfiber towel
Clothes & shoes
- Zip-off pants similar to Nick’s
- Greg’s quick-dry boxer shorts
- Greg’s quick dry t-shirts
- Greg’s slip-in Sketchers shoes
- Nick’s merino wool clothing has been Wool & Prince. Note that wool is quick-dry, but not moisture-wicking. What he likes is that it picks up no odor, so if you can’t wash it right away, it won’t make everything in your bag stink, and it dries quickly (so easy to clean, hang, and dry by morning). He’s tried a few brands but likes Wool & Prince the most so far:
Toiletry items
- Greg’s toiletry bag
- Nick Stick (for shaving cuts)
- Greg’s travel-size antiperspirant roll-on
- Nick’s prescription medicine tracker/reminder
- Cadence Capsules for toiletries
Electronics
- Greg’s 47W tiny USB-C charging brick
- Here are a couple of more powerful, yet still small options:
- 100W charging brick (option 1)
- 100W charging brick (option 2)
- 160W charging brick
- Here are a couple of more powerful, yet still small options:
- Greg’s MagSafe wireless charging battery (doubles as phone stand)
- Nick’s Anker MagSafe charger
- International power adapter that won’t fall out of the wall socket (this is not one we have, but it looks useful!)
- UK adapter: stays put in airplane power sockets (Greg uses a similar item)
- Nick’s 200W 4-port wall charger with detachable cord
- Greg’s portable laptop stand
- Nick’s laptop stand
- Greg’s MagSafe phone holder for selfie photos and videos
- Nick’s right-angle USB-C adapters
- Nick’s USB-C extension cable
- Kindle Paperwhite (Greg has an older model)
- Nick’s Pixel Buds Pro
Note: Nick has the Pixel Buds Pro, but Pixel Buds Pro 2 ️are also available - Nick’s Bose over-ear headphones
- Greg’s Apple AirPods Pro 2 Wireless Earbuds
- Nick’s Logitech MX Vertical Mouse
- Nick’s laptop
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A cross body bag has been a life-saver for me. It’s the perfect in-between of a backpack and cargo pants. Cross body bag holds passport, wallet, keys, wallet, change, AirPods, chargers, candy. I think its a must.
You need some women on your team.
Yes we do
Too bad I don’t enjoy writing
This is perfect for my Nick Halloween costume. Where does Nick get his fedoras, though?
I have the little Anker 47W charger and love it. They also have a 100W Anker charger on sale today that is a little bigger but still very small. I’m going to try carrying the 100W instead of my larger Satechi charger and see if I can get by with those two chargers and some Anker nano adapters for overseas trips.
Good tip! I added links to 100W and 160W ones
I just realized the 100W charger I just got is smaller than the one you linked to. I think it is pretty new and it is super small. It is called, “Anker Prime Charger, 100W 3-Port GaN USB C Charger Block, Foldable and Compact for MacBook, iPad, iPhone 17 Series, Galaxy S24/S23, and More”
Thanks. I added that as another option!
I’m curious about the “compression” packing cubes?Aren’t they pretty much just like regular packing cubes other than they have an additional zipper to enable to to squash your clothes down? I can do that with a single zipper cube. You aren’t sucking any air out.
Yes that’s true. It just makes it a little easier to get a lot of fluffy things into the cube before zipping it up
I believe there are also packing cubes that come with a vacuum that sucks the air out (or you can use ziploc bags, and squeeze the air out.
It’s always amusing to see people thinking they’ll get more stuff into their bags by adding additional items. Your suitcase is already a compression device, adding bags might help with organization, but it won’t help get more stuff in.
I have couple of compression cubes but don’t really use the compression part. After I roll my clothes in tight bundles and tie up with a rubber band there isn’t much more compression to be had anyway. And the only bulky things I travel with are things like my winter coats which compress into a pocket.
I concur!
I use compression bags – similar to the vacuum bags but they roll so you don’t need a vacuum. I roll my clothes so they’re already pretty tight. But the bags squeeze out any air not only within the article of clothing but between them as well and all my tightly compressed clothes don’t pop out of the suitcase when I open it. I travel with 2 kids and myself, usually all 3 of us in a single carry-on.