Travel tips, the gear I bring, and a little controversy
Some thoughts from 30,000 feet in the air
Ninety-seven gigabytes
That’s how much music I have downloaded to my iPhone in Apple Music alone. On Spotify, I have another 40-some-odd gigabytes of music, all in lossless quality. There’s a very large mix of genres, musical stylings, and vibes rammed into each playlist, album, and artist catalog. I go stir-crazy if I don’t have the exact audible setting to immerse myself into at a moment’s notice, internet access or not. So, I make sure I have enough space on my phone to store high-fidelity downloads of it all.
I might consider this my biggest travel hack of them all. A smartphone with enough storage to store all of your favorite music - all of it. Not just the recent stuff, but the old stuff too. And some weird stuff you’ve been getting into. And some stuff that you need to relax. And some stuff that’ll help you write, study, decompress, or enjoy with an in-flight meal.
I have my own itinerary of travel activities that I keep in my head each time I hit the road on another adventure. Typically, when I travel for work, it involves a 5+ hour flight to and/or from my destination. That’s a lot of time to kill for someone who, for some God-forsaken reason, cannot sleep on a plane. Unless I plan to work the entire time (a rarity for me, given the spotty Wi-Fi on every Delta flight I’ve ever been on), I usually need to find stuff to do to pass the time and not feel bored while doing it.
So, I stuff my backpack with everything. I think of every redundancy I can and pack it in my bag. I’ll show you what I mean.
Preface: The King of Redundant Technology
Do I need my iPad? Not at all. I get way more work done on my MacBook, it’s too big to use in place of my iPhone the entire flight, and the battery life isn’t great. I won’t take notes on it, either, and I don’t play any games at an iPad-appropriate scale (unless you count Giant Sudoku).
It is here to serve a single purpose: as my TV. I download a bunch of movies and shows to it, fire up my Bluetooth headphones, and watch whatever I want on its 11-inch display. Both my MacBook and the infotainment system on the seatback in front of me can do this. Yet I do not care. I yearn for the experience of propping up my iPad with barely enough room on my tray table, streaming some HBO Max film I’ve been meaning to watch, while I eat my menza-menz chicken salad sandwich.
My MacBook Pro has a bigger screen and better battery life, which makes it a superior movie machine. But the keyboard gets in the way on the tray table, so I keep it in my backpack to do work on it later.
I also feel naked when traveling if I don’t have a ReMarkable tablet on me. The ReMarkable Paper Pro is the most redundant piece of technology I own. It’s a $629 E-Ink tablet with a keyboard and a stylus that’s designed strictly for note-taking and word processing. My iPad, MacBook, and iPhone can all do these things and even publish the words I write. But I don’t care. The experience of zoning out, blocking out distractions, and writing on my ReMarkable (like I’m doing now) is a top-tier experience I crave as a journalist whose job it is to cover the biggest distractions in modern history: smartphones.
Speaking of which, I always have two or more phones on me. For this trip, it’s my iPhone 17 Pro Max, Galaxy S26 Ultra, and Motorola Razr Ultra. Do I need the other two? Not really, but I like knowing I have access to Android phones if I need it. Everything I do is on my iPhone, but if I use either of the other phones for one or two tasks, it makes it worth bringing them.
How about my Kindle? I bought a new Paperwhite not too long ago, and I love reading on it. Will I read an entire novel during my journey? It’s not likely, but knowing I have it in my bag if I want to dive into a fictional tale about anything, I like knowing it’s there for me.
I also generally bring 2-3 pairs of headphones, a couple power banks for portable charging, my regular glasses and a pair of Ray-Ban Meta sunglasses, and my Sony ZV-E10, all stuffed into a green backpack from a luxury brand out of Brooklyn whose name escapes me.
If I were to boil down my usage, I really only need five things: my MacBook Pro, my iPhone, my camera, my AirPods Pro, and my glasses. The rest of it makes up about 10-20% of my technology usage when I’m on the road. So why lug it around?
I have no idea. It’s some sick mental issue of mine where I need to just have... everything on me. My Chloe likes to defend it, saying that it’s my job to test it all anyway so I may as well have access to it. I like this defense a lot, but I’ve also traveled to forgein countries before with a single backpack and a couple of gadgets and didn’t miss a thing.
Tip #1: Just bring it
If you have room in your backpack or carry-on, just bring the thing you want to bring. This trip, I felt like packing half of my life, and I’m more than happy to lug it all around with me. As long as I know I have access to all the stuff I want, I’m content.
That’s my other big travel trip: bring the shit you want to bring. Think you might want to read a book on your Kindle? Pack it up. Need somewhere quiet to write or work on an important project? Bring your incredibly redundant E-Ink tablet. Will you only use your iPad to stream the latest episode of The Boys? Slip it in your laptop sleeve next to your MacBook.
Tip #2: Only charge important things
I used to think I needed a full battery in all of the stuff I packed in my backpack before boarding a flight. This, my friend, is completely unnecessary. I only ever make sure my phone, headphones, and iPad are fully charged. That’s it. Everything else can be dead for all I care. There are charging ports at your destination - charge the rest of it there (unless you’re flying directly into the middle of the Amazon jungle).
Tip #3: Download your content in the highest quality possible
Okay, this is me being snotty like I can tell the difference from a regular MP3 and a 32-bit hi-fi audio file, but if you have access to the highest-quality media available, download it to your device(s) before hopping on a flight and losing access to the internet.
Like I said, I have upwards of 130GB of music on my phone, just in case a certain mood strikes. Maybe you’ll get a sudden hankering to watch Titanic. How about randomly wanting to read To Kill A Mockingbird? Think you might want to dive back into classic Eminem before you land? Download it!
Tip #4: Stop flying out so damn early, you bastard
This one’s for me: I’m so glad I rescheduled my 7 a.m. flight out of JFK for one at 3:10 p.m. It gave me a chance to actually sleep at night. I feel fantastic. This is just a note to myself, you can skip this one.
Tip #5: Drinks? Hmm, maybe
It all depends on the price. If you can get a good beer for under $10 on your flight, I say go for it, so long as it’s 5 o’clock somewhere. If it’s any more than that, I’ll generally stick to seltzer water. It feels like I’m having a drink, and I know I’m not, but at least it’s more interesting than friggin’ tap water.
Tip #6: Proteinmaxxing is highly encouraged
I’m always up in the air for a long time, so I generally don’t like to eat a bunch of empty carbs at the airport or while on board to fill me up. Instead, I try to eat as much protein-packed food and snacks I can so that I don’t feel like I’m starving. As a result, I reach for an extra pack of Biscoff cookies less often.
Tip #7: Find a quiet, long game to play
There’s nothing like passing the time by playing Sudoku, I swear. I play it on the subway all of the time when I go between my apartment and my office in New York, even for just a few minutes. Sometimes I get sudden bursts of knocking out puzzles in less than 7 minutes, other times it takes me nearly an hour to crack one.
Find your Sudoku before flying. I don’t care what it is, if it keeps your brain active and can kill time while not feeling boring, download it to your phone and fire it up when you need to zone out for the next couple of hours.
Tip #8: Dress up (this is the controversy I was talking about)
Look, I am by no means saying wear a suit and tie on your next commercial flight, but boy oh boy do I feel better when I look half-decent before boarding a plane. I like a blend of comfort and style, something like a Rhoback collard polo with a pair of jeans and a nice Apple Watch band. If I do that, I feel like a million bucks.
Can I explain why? Not really, but there’s something so depressing about the thought of wearing sweatpants and a hoodie on a plane and pretending I’m going to bed or lounging around my house. I’m out in public - I have no interest in wearing pajamas in front of strangers, and I’d like to feel good about the clothes I’m in while I sit through many agonizing hours up in the air.
I’m sure many of you prefer to “be comfy!” when flying, and that’s great. I didn’t say don’t be comfy. What I am saying is wear something you’d be proud to be wearing around others. Even if you just swap the sweatpants for khakis, joggers, or jeans, a little effort can go a long way in feeling good every time you travel.
Epilogue
Are these tips actually helpful? I doubt it, but it was fun to write about nonetheless. If any tips stood out to you, or if you have some to add to my next random round-up of travel tips/hacks, drop them in the comments or email me directly. I’d love to hear from you.