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I’m traveling quite a bit in April and May this year. Earlier this month, I went to NAB Show 2025 in Las Vegas and tested out traveling Jack Reacher style. For those unfamiliar with the titular lead of Lee Child’s crime thriller novels, Jack Reacher is an ex-major in the U.S. Army’s military police. He travels the country with just the clothes on his back, a toothbrush, expired passport, and an ATM card. Finding himself frequently in dangerous situations, he resolves them the only way he knows how to, with decisive action, unwavering confidence, and a strong right hook.

Traveling — but not living — like Reacher

Reacher was portrayed in two films by Tom Cruise, while the Reacher in the Amazon Prime Video series features Alan Ritchson in the role. I am way closer to height and size to Cruise (5’7″) than Ritchson (6’3″), have never served in the military, and generally steer clear of physical confrontations. While I don’t aspire to live the Reacher lifestyle full-time, I relish the opportunity to travel light and minimize what I bring when I’m on the road solo.

As I wrote in an earlier post, Traveling with (mostly) the clothes on your back, I didn’t use to travel so lightly. Those experiences growing up gave me an appreciation for taking only what’s necessary, and I’ve honed this ability over the years. On most trips, I take only carry-on luggage. NAB Show 2025 was the first where I didn’t bring a sling, waist bag, or backpack. It was truly a clothes-on-your-back kind of trip, and it was quite successful.

Deep Dish round two

On Saturday, I’m off to the Deep Dish Swift conference in Chicago, Illinois. As a full-time indie developer, I find it invaluable to meet with like-minded indie developers. The conference had great talks and even better networking. Last year, I executed my carry-on only packing strategy with a Patagonia Black Hole 45L duffel bag. It held all of my clothes, toiletries, and electronics for the five day trip. During the conference, I carried an iPad mini (and sometimes my 14″ MacBook Pro) in a Rickshaw Bagworks Small Zero Messenger bag.

I found that I was networking so much that I didn’t need to bring my laptop. The conference gave me a free t-shirt to wear, and the weather (one tornado warning aside) wasn’t a factor since we were indoors most of the time. The forecast is looking like it will be pleasant next week (maybe one day of rain), so I’m going to go Reacher-style for Deep Dish 2025.

Packing List

The packing list will be a slight modification on the NAB Show 2025. Items marked in bold are different from my last trip.

Clothes

• Uniqlo Utility Short Blouson Jacket: I was going to wear my Scottevest hoodie in place of the Pack Windbreaker, but I ended up going to the Uniqlo store at the mall and picked up this jacket in olive. It’s way more stylish than the hoodie yet holds the same amount of gear, thanks to its extra large front pockets. There’s a total of six pockets, five on the outside and one on the inside.
• Wool and Prince crew neck tee
  • Extra T-Shirt: I’ll likely be getting a new t-shirt from the conference. The only reason why I’m thinking of bringing an extra t-shirt is on my day off arrival, where I’ll be going to a Cubs game at Wrigley Field. It might be cold and windy in the bleachers, and I don’t know if the Uniqlo jacket and W&P shirt will be enough.
• 1 pair of underwear: Will bring the Ex-Officio again. I’m only bringing one because…
• Running shorts: Some attendees are organizing morning runs in Chicago. I’ll wear these when I’m exercising and/or waiting for my underwear to dry.
• 2 pairs of socks: Wear one and wash the other each day.
• Bluffworks Ascender Chinos: These are my current go-to travel pants. I’ll bring the khaki colored ones this time instead of black.
• Belt
• Saucony Cohesion 15 shoes

Toiletries

• Half-height toothbrush
• Travel toothpaste
• Five strings of floss
• Hair brush
• Disposable razor
• Small nylon bag to hold toiletries

Tech

• iPhone 15 Pro Max: No case
• iPad mini (6th generation): No Smart Folio case.
• Apple Pencil (2nd Generation): Will use it to take notes during the conference sessions.
• Anker charging brick
• USB-C cable: Will bring a shorter one this time.
• On the fence: Some items that I’m not sure I’ll bring or not
• Apple Watch Ultra: I’ll bring this since it’s a developer focused conference, and I’ll be checking notifications throughout. If I don’t bring this, I’ll bring the same analog watch as I did to Vegas.
• Anker MagGo UFO 3-in-1 charger: This will charge the iPhone, Apple Watch Ultra, and AirPods.
• AirPods Pro: Likely only to be used on travel days. There are several podcasts I need to catch up on.

Miscellaneous

• ESR for MagSafe Wallet: This is lower-profile than my regular wallet, and it attaches via MagSafe to my phone.
• Vapor collapsible water bottle
• App stickers: Stickers for my apps MixEffect, MsgFiler, and Wipe My Screen.

Cutting to the Bone?

Seeing everything all laid out on the bed, I’m like, “Whoa, that’s still a lot of stuff!” Honestly, if I really wanted to cut this list to the bone, I could do without the:

• iPad mini
• Apple Pencil
• Apple Watch Ultra
• Anker MagGo Charger
• AirPods Pro
• Vapor water bottle
• Belt
• Running shorts

I still have a few days before the trip to decide what I’ll ultimately bring on the trip.

After Deep Dish

There’s one more trip after Chicago where I will be able to test my Reacher-style packing. This one will be a little different in that I’ll be attending a college graduation. I’m already thinking about what I will and won’t need to bring on this trip. iPad mini and Apple Pencil, skip. Apple Watch Ultra. Possible skip. Scottevest jacket and t-shirts. Skip in favor of the Wool and Prince dress shirt the Uniqlo.

Product Links

• Uniqlo Utility Short Blouson Jacket
• Bluffworks Ascender Chinos
• ESR for MagSafe Wallet, Strong Magnetic Wallet for iPhone, Phone Wallet with Adjustable Stand
• Apple Pencil (2nd generation)
• AirPods Pro (2nd generation)
• Anker MagSafe MagGo UFO 3-in-1 charger

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