Disclosure: This post contains links to items we personally use and are happy to recommend. We may receive a commission if you purchase through one of these links, at no additional cost to you. We are independently owned and the opinions expressed here are our own.
The items listed below are our travel essentials. Our clothing and accessories may vary from trip to trip, but these items come with us every time we board the plane!
Travel Gear
- Osprey Porter 46 Travel Backpack – Osprey is the gold standard for luggage in our opinion. We usually only carry-on and we enjoy the mobility a backpack-style bag affords us.
- Osprey Ultralight Stuffpack – This bag packs up so tiny you will barely have to make room in your bag! Nik usually packs it in one of his shoes, lol.
- Packing Cubes – Packing cubes are a must, especially if you are carry-on only travelers like us! Nothing is more satisfying than a well organized pack.
- Hanging Toiletry Bag – Smart and easy way to store toiletries while on the road.
- Clear Toiletry Bags – if you don’t have TSA-pre or Global entry and have to face the standard security check we recommend putting your liquids into a clear toiletry bag for quicker, easier dealings with the TSA agents.
- Reusable Silicone tubes – an environmentally-friendly and carry-on approved way to travel with your liquids.
- Travel locks – These come in especially handy while on the plane or train where you’ll be seated away from your bag, or when you need to store your bag in a locker or bag drop for the day. We are in the habit of locking our bags when we leave our room for the day. It could be overkill, but better safe than sorry.
- Sleep Mask – Mostly for overnight flights but we have had the occasional bright hotel room where one of these bad boys came in real handy.
- Portable Door Lock – for lodging situations without a great lock on the door, or just extra peace of mind.
Electronics + Photography
- iPhone 11 Pro Max – Great Camera and all around workhorse of a phone. Try to get an unlocked version if you are doing extended abroad travel.
- Macbook Pro – link to the newest model. We’re both running older models but are looking to upgrade soon.
- Travel adapter – this universal version will cover you across the board. The extra USB charging ports are a huge plus.
- Noise-cancelling Headphones –
- Anker portable power bank – a little heavy, but tons of juice!
- Sony A7iii – our main camera for video. Full Frame Powerhouse!
- Tamron 17-28mm f/2.8 Lens – go to lens
- Joby Gorillapod 5K Kit Tripod – amazing tripod for basically all applications!
- GoPro Hero 9 – We use this to capture footage where our camera might get wet or for situations like climbing, skiing, etc. The front facing screen is a game changer!
