What's In My iPad-Only Tech Travel Bag
I'm taking my first flight with my iPad. Here's what I'm bringing with me.
I'm about to take my very first flight with my iPad.
Usually, I'm terrified of bringing expensive tech on a long-distance journey. After all, what happens if I lose my iPad? Or if there's turbulence and it breaks? Or if the airline itself loses it?
But because of the work I need to get done, it was necessary for me to bring my iPad on this trip.
Unlike a lot of other tech enthusiasts, I'm not including a traditional laptop in my bag. Here's what my iPad-only tech bag looks like:
Quick note: unlike most other articles, none of the Amazon links are affiliate links
The Bag
The bag itself is just the school backpack I used for the past school year: a travel backpack from Amazon.
The bag has more than enough pockets and compartments for me, and also has a USB charging port on the side (I personally don't use it though).
It's a decent quality backpack, and I haven't experienced any issues as of yet.
It's also expandable, which helped out while carrying textbooks to and from school. I'm not sure how useful this feature will be while traveling, but it's nice to have that extra storage in case I need to carry a large item.
The Power Bank
The power bank I'm using is this power bank, also from Amazon.
It's a little heavy (just over a pound or just under half a kilogram), but it does the job. It has a massive capacity at 25000 mAh, and has a pretty fast charging speed.
One of the reasons I chose this power bank is the ports available: it has two USB-C ports (1 is an input/output port while the other is just an output port) and one USB-A port.
That's the perfect configuration for me: I can charge my iPhone, iPad, and another device (like a Kindle).
The Cables and Wall Plugs
Another benefit of using the power bank from above is that it minimizes the amount of cables I need to carry.
The only cables I need to carry are:
USB-C to USB-C (to charge my iPad and the power bank)
UCB-C to Lightning (to charge my iPhone)
USB-A to Micro USB (to charge my Kindle and headphones)
The only wall plug I need to carry is the standard USB-C plug that came with my iPad Pro, since I can charge my Kindle and headphones via the power bank.
The Dongle
Like most of the other products listed, the dongle I use is another non-name brand Amazon product.
The main reason I purchased this specific dongle was because it had the ports I need:
• At least 2 USB-A ports
• At least 1 USB-C port (for charging)
• At least 1 HDMI/VGA port for my ancient monitor
This dongle just happened to be the first one I found that matched my criteria and was in my budget.
While this technically doesn't count as a dongle, I'm also bringing this dual drive. To be honest, I don't really see myself using it, but it's so small that the added weight difference isn't noticeable.
The iPad
The iPad I'm bringing is a 2020 12.9" iPad Pro (yes, I'm still upset about iPadOS 16). In addition, I'm also bringing the Magic Keyboard and Apple Pencil for the iPad.
The Headphones
The bluetooth headphones I'm bringing aren't anything special: they are the Bose SoundLink headphones that were discontinued years ago.
They still work great to this day, and these headphones are everything I need.
For a travel bag, I could see noise-cancelling functionality being important (my headphones aren't noise-cancelling), but I can live without it.
The E-Reader
Unfortunately, this year is the first year I've been assigned a summer assignment in high school.
For my AP English Literature class, I'll have to read 2 books and write a journal entry about whatever I read.
Given its length, difficulty, and use in our class, my teacher said that reading The Odyssey counts as reading 2 books. That's what I'll be reading whenever I have any free time.
I could just read the book on my iPad, but I prefer reading these types of books on my Kindle (check out this article if you're interested in knowing why).
The Kindle I'll be using is another ancient technology that has stood the test of time - the 2015 Kindle Paperwhite.
From using it, you can definitely tell it's an old device, but it does the job. I am, however, thinking about purchasing a new Kindle.
The Non-Tech Stuff
Pens
As a debater, I need to practice my pen-spinning abilities while I travel. That means I'll be bringing a couple G2 pens.
COVID Stuff
This includes masks and wipes.
Books
I'll also be bringing Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell, since I sometimes get headaches when I read off my Kindle in planes.
Conclusion
That's my travel bag. If you have any questions, let me know by commenting on this post.
If you enjoyed this article, you can refer a friend here. As a reminder, anyone who refers 3 or more people gets a shoutout of a newsletter, app, business, side project, etc.
Thanks!
Adi
PS - If you're someone who works from home, you can check out My Home Office Hacks, published by Joe D'Eramo, a copywriter-marketing and PR consultant from Plymouth, Massachusetts.
Working from home has many benefits (as I've experienced with distance learning), but sometimes you miss a couple hidden tricks. What's the best coffee? What's the latest productivity app? Where should I shop for a new (fill in the blank). Joe's newsletter can help provide the info you used to get in the lunchroom when you had a traditional J-O-B.
Thanks for the mention, Adi! Look for yours in next week's My Home Office Hacks, https://iworkfromhome.substack.com/