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A couple of years ago, I traveled to Boulder, CO, for the wedding of the state’s governor, Jared Polis, with the clothes on my back and a small Eagle Creek waist pack. That was an overnight trip that was complicated by the fact I was wearing a suit. It turned out well, but I wish I had packed even lighter.

I am off to Las Vegas today for NAB Show 2025. This is a work trip, as I will be there to talk MixEffect and a new app I have been working on in the production AV space.

I wasn’t going to bring my laptop, but I do have to bring my iPad to conduct demos of the new app. My iPad mini (6th generation) is pretty small. So, I planned to use my TomToc sling bag to hold the iPad, my toiletries, chargers, cables, etc. After I had packed everything in, it was heavy. And I know that wearing even a sling bag, can get tiring over the course of a day.

So I started asking myself, what do I absolutely need to bring with me on this trip? Could I travel like Jack Reacher with just the clothes on my back?

Here the final list of what I have right now at San Jose Mineta International:

Clothes

• Saucony Cohesion 15 shoes. My current everyday running shoes. I am replacing them with a pair of Kinvaras so these are now my new walking shoes.
• Bluffworks pants
• Wool and Prince shirt
• Scottevest lightweight jacket
• Two pairs of Ex-Officio underwear. Wear one, wash the other so that it’s dry the next morning
• Two pairs of Bombas socks

Tech

• iPad mini (6th generation) With a Smart Cover.
• iPhone 15 Pro Max. The photo shows it in a Peak Design case, but I took it off while driving to the airport.
• AirPods Pro. Honestly could have left this behind or taken wired earbuds, but the kid didn’t want me to leave with the lone USB-B to 3.5mm adapter in the house. His AirPod batteries are severely degraded at this point, so he goes wired headphones frequently.
• Anker charger. I need this to be a two-port, but I don’t see myself needing to charge both the iPhone and iPad mini at the same time.
• Two USB-C cables. Probably should have left one.
• Regular Watch. Thought long and hard about taking the Apple Watch Ultra 1 with me. The battery doesn’t last as long as it used to and bringing it meant I would have to take either the charging cable or my 3-in-1.

Miscellaneous

• MixEffect stickers I will be handing these out during the conference
• Travel toothbrush. Like Jack Reacher, it is half-height.
• Travel toothpaste
• Three strings of dental floss
• Mask
• Two breath mints
• Bag to hold my toiletries
• Wallet. Normally I use my MagSafe wallet, but I felt like I need to bring a few more cards with me.

And that’s it! I will report back once the trip is done to share how it went. I must say that it’s liberating and a great feeling to not being even a small sling bag with me. As you can see from my notes, I think I can optimize more in the future!

Jack Reacher would be proud!

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Update April 18, 2025: I posted my trip recap here. The Jack Reacher style of traveling worked out well!