The tools we carry say a lot about how we work, travel, and stay organised. Over time I’ve settled on a collection of devices and everyday items that help me stay prepared and connected whether I’m at work, on a day trip, or travelling further afield.
This page is a look at the gear I regularly carry and rely on. Some of it is essential for my day-to-day, while other items come along when I’m travelling or working away from home. None of it is particularly extravagant – just practical tools that make life easier and help me get things done wherever I happen to be.
Some of the links on this page may be referral links. This means that if you choose to sign up for a service or make a purchase using one of these links, I may receive a small reward or credit at no extra cost to you. I only include products and services that I personally use and genuinely recommend. Referral links simply help support the running of this website and the time spent maintaining it.
Daily Essentials
Laptop
MacBook Pro 14″ 2024 M4
My personal laptop is a MacBook Pro 14″ 2024 with an M4 chip inside. I configured it with 512GB of storage too. It’s a brilliant laptop, nice and light for my travels yet incredibly powerful. My favourite features are its beautiful and butter smooth screen and amazing battery life when compared to its power.
Phone
iPhone 17 Pro Max 256GB
My personal phone is an iPhone 17 Pro Max with 256GB storage in the Deep Blue configuration. The battery life is again immense and the camera is incredible considering this is just a phone. It’s perfect for capturing my travels and is my primary photography device. I highly recommend it.
Watch
Apple Watch Series 10 46mm
The watch I wear on my wrist every day is this Apple Watch Series 10 in the 46mm configuration (S-M). I particularly like its sleep tracking and scoring capabilities – although if I were to buy an Apple Watch again I would have gone for the SE2 which is cheaper and has very similar capabilities.
Earphones
AirPods Pro 3rd Generation
My earphones which I use religiously on my travels both small and large are the AirPods Pro 3rd Generation. These were a recent upgrade from the Pro 2’s and the noise cancelling is just amazing, including on planes and noisier trains. The battery life on the buds and in the case is also fab!
Notepads
Nu Notebooks Kraft Range
I use these Nu Elite notebooks as my notebooks. I buy a few per year which tends to do me fine when I rarely need to write on paper. They just do the job – they have no massive quirks but they’re clean and simple with nice paper to write on. Usually go for £4 each. Easy buy.
Pens
Sharpie S-Gel Fine Point 0.5mm
My go-to pens are these Sharpie S-Gel Fine Point pens. I’ve been carrying these for years where I can and I just find them very comfortable to hold and write with. Again, nothing too fancy, they get the job done and I haven’t looked back since I bought my first one!
Water bottle
Camelbak Thrive Chug VSS
This is a new addition to the gear – it seems every water bottle, expensive and cheap, I’ve bought before this one has leaked within weeks. This one doesn’t and let’s hope it stays that way! It’s well built and meets my large water bottle requirements for big trips.
Backpacks
Day-to-day backpack
Working, commuting and shorter trips
tomtoc Flap Laptop Backpack
This is the bag I tend to use in my day-to-day and for short domestic and international trips. I love the simple design of the bag and the easy access with the flap, side zips and top easy access zipper which can be locked with a padlock, all for a reasonable price.
Travel backpack
For longer multi-week trips
tomtoc Travel Backpack 40L
This is the bag I will use for longer trips where I don’t want to lug around a suitcase but need to bring many pairs of clothes. It will fit in the overhead on a plane and opens like a suitcase which is perfect. There are many pockets and it’s overall a great travel bag.
Power and Connectivity
Charger bag
tomtoc Electronic Organiser M
This is the small bag I always carry around with me no matter where I go – with all the same stuff in. It’s where I keep all my charging gear and other daily essentials such as a spare pen and earphones just in case. It fits snug in all my bags and was a no brainer purchase.
Travel charging dock
Anker 3-in-1 Cube
This charging cube has been perfect in hotels and when I’m away from home to charge my essential gadgets (phone, watch and AirPods) with ease, with just one cable connecting it to the wall. It also charges speedily and packs up compact into a cube shape to fit right into my charger bag.
Charging brick
Anker 140W Laptop Charger
Call it a bit over the top – but this charger since I got it has been a perfect travel companion. It boosts my MacBook, my phone and other gadgets to 100% in record time and has a digital display on the front to tell me the wattage being used by the plug at any one time. It’s a brilliant buy especially when on sale.
Power bank
Anker 100W Power Bank
Once again, perhaps a bit over the top but it works so well for me. It can charge my MacBook from 0% to 100% or my iPhone three times from 0% to 100%, and takes a matter of a couple of hours to charge on my 140W power brick. The built in cables are super convenient – I carry this around everywhere.
MagSafe power bank
Anker MagGo 621 5000mAh
This easily stuffs into my charger bag and is always charged. It can charge my phone by half and just sticks onto the back in case I really need a quick charge up and it’s not convenient to grab my big power bank from my bag – for example, when I’m walking around a city or on another kind of adventure.
Chargers (various)
Anker Charging Cables
You might be sensing a theme – Anker tech is affordable and super high-quality – I’ve never had issues with any of it and highly recommend it all. These USB-C cables are just an example of the more usual tech I purchase from them – braided and super reliable, working with their other tech just fine.
Screen cleaner
CAMKIX 2-in-1 Screen Cleaner
I keep one of these little screen cleaners in my charger bag. I don’t use it very often but it comes in handy when my MacBooks screen gets a little dirty (a very regular occurrence!) They’re super cheap and they come in pairs – I leave another one at home just in case I need it.
International Essentials
Passport holder
Satechi Passport Holder
This smart little gadget isn’t just a great passport holder which also holds a bunch of important cards (GHIC, FIP coupons etc) but also has Find My technology built in! It charges wirelessly on any wireless charging dock and allows me to track its location and ring it using any of my Apple devices.
Travel adapter
TESSAN Travel Plug Adapter
TESSAN do the best travel plugs in my experience (I have a bunch of others sat at home) – but this is my favourite. It’s super portable and fits in my charger bag perfectly, and the built in ports are also dead useful. I highly recommend this one for anybody looking for a tiny plug adapter for many different countries.
Travel padlocks
Shield Combination Padlocks
These are more of a deterrent than actually useful. When travelling through some of the most notorious cities for mugging in the world, these do give me peace of mind that expensive electronics or important documents just won’t be taken from my bag – including when my bag is behind receptions at hotels!
eSIMs
In addition to all of the travel gear, I wanted to touch on eSIMs. I pay a small additional amount to Three (my mobile provider) each month so that the usual roaming charges are waived and I can use my calls, texts and allowance abroad without having to pay the standard £2-per-day roaming unlock fee in Europe. However, Three still applies a 12 GB fair-use limit on roaming data, which I tend to reach fairly quickly when travelling
Because of that, for data I usually rely on an eSIM instead. My main provider for these is Airalo, which I’ve found to be affordable and reliable, and it means I don’t have to worry about burning through my roaming allowance while I’m away. If you’re looking to buy an eSIM from Airalo – do use my referral code – HARRY7668 – which will get you £2.50 off your first purchase!
I also use Surfshark alongside this so that I can access UK websites and content without hassle. I picked up one of their longer promotional deals which worked out at roughly £90 for three years, which has been excellent value. You can also use my referral link for Surfshark here, which will get you 3 months of Surfshark at no additional cost.
One key tip with Airalo: don’t install the eSIM until you’ve actually left the UK if you’re using a European plan. The data package begins counting as soon as the eSIM connects to a supported network, and once it starts there’s no way to reset it – so installing it too early can eat into your allowance before you’ve even left the country. I learnt that the hard way!