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I have been super busy the past several months between writing and releasing Action Phrase, helping with family, and getting ready for three trips in April. I leave in less than a week for the Deep Dish Swift 2026 conference in Chicago, IL. My talk “Playing the Long Game as an Indie Developer” will cover my nearly five decade experience with Apple computers and my thirty plus years as a developer.

Following Deep Dish, I’ll be heading over to Arizona, where my family and I will be making a short trip to view the Grand Canyon and Antelope Canyon. I’ve long wanted to check these two places off my bucket list, and now is the time! Unfortunately, we won’t be able to stay too long in Arizona, because I have to jet off to Las Vegas for the NAB Show 2026. It will be good to see friends and colleagues and see what’s new in the AV broadcasting industry. Last year, I was demoing RouteEffect, and this year, I have Look Straight and Action Phrase to show off.

Once again, I am stripping down my travel gear to the bare essentials and traveling like Jack Reacher for these two weeks. That means no luggage whatsoever.

I have made a few changes to my packing list from my previous zero baggage trips. Details matter to me and to Reacher, so let’s dig in!

Here’s the current list of stuff that I’m planning on bringing:

Tech

Item	Weight	New
iPhone 15 Pro Max	7.8 oz	No
iPad mini 7	10.2 oz	Yes
EarPods with 3.5mm to USB-C adapter	0.6 oz	Yes
Anker Nano MagSafe Power Bank	4.2 oz	Yes
Nomad Slim 65W dual USB-C charger	2.6 oz	Yes
Apple Pencil	0.6 oz	No
Thunderbolt 3 cable	1.1 oz	Yes
USB-C cable	0.4 oz	No
USB-C cable with USB-A adapter	0.6 oz	Yes
Apple USB-C Digital AV Adapter	1.2 oz	Yes
Seeed Studio XIAO ESP32-S3	0.2 oz	Yes
Subtotal	29.5 oz or 1.84 pounds

Clothing

Item	Weight	New
Buff Merino Wool Neck Gaiter	2.5 oz	Yes
Bluffworks Ascender Chinos	12.6	No
Merino wool turtleneck	8.6 oz	Yes
Wool & Prince merino wool t-shirt	5.6 oz	Yes
Ex-officio underwear	2.1 oz	No
Lululemon running shorts	5.6 oz	Yes
Running socks	1.2 oz
Long socks	1.8 oz	No
Uniqlo Blouson utility jacket	23 oz	No
Belt	5.4 oz	No
Saucony Kinvara 15 running shoes	15 oz	Yes
Subtotal	83.4 oz or 5.21 pounds

Toiletries

Item	Weight	New
Half-height toothbrush	0.7 oz	No
Disposable Razor	0.3 oz	No
Slide out hair brush	1.0 oz	No
Dental floss	0.3 oz	No
Extra hair band	0.2 oz	No
Travel toothpaste	1.0 oz	No
Cathay Pacific zippered bag	0.2 oz	No
Subtotal	3.5 oz

Miscellaneous

Item	Weight	New
FEGVE Titanium key belt clip	0.5 oz	Yes
3D printed belt clip	0.3 oz	Yes
Miltado ML05 watch	2.1 oz	See Notes
Ziplock bags		No
Vapur collapsible water bottle	1.5 oz	No
ESR MagSafe wallet with stand	2.8 oz	No
Pocket Wallet	0.5 oz	No
Subtotal	7.2 oz

Let’s now talk about why I’m bringing certain things and not others. To quote Reacher:

“Slippery slope. I carry a spare shirt, pretty soon I’m carrying spare pants. Then I’d need a suitcase. Next thing I know, I’ve got a house and a car and a savings plan and I’m filling out all kinds of forms.” 

― Bad Luck and Trouble

Watch

I’ve been wearing an Apple Watch since they were originally released back in 2015. I had the original Apple Watch, followed by a Series 4, and am currently using a first-generation Ultra. The battery life on the Ultra has degraded since I got it in September 2022, but it still lasts over a day provided I’m not using it for a long running workout. Bringing it on this trip would mean taking a charging cable or the Anker MagGo UFO 3-in-1. The MagGo is great when I don’t worry about weight, but the shape is a bit chunky.

So, analog watch it is for me on this trip. The Miltado ML05 is an affordable quartz field watch that has the look of a classic field watch. While I would prefer a mechanical, automatic, or even solar field watch, I am in no rush. I will miss some of the utility of my Apple Watch, but I think I’ll manage just fine without it for two weeks.

Toiletries and Clothing

Bringing such minimal clothes means I will have to wash things every day and hope they get dry by the morning. Fortunately the clothing that I am bringing is quick to dry and naturally odor-resistant. 

The turtleneck and buff should come in handy in Chicago, but they will be too hot for Arizona and Las Vegas. I will leave those for Rae to bring back home following our Grand Canyon trip. 

To Sling or not to Sling

When I was considering bringing more gear, like the Apple Watch, AirPods, USB-C hub, etc., I was thinking of putting everything into a sling bag. I know that goes against Reacher’s preference to carry everything in his pockets, but I was struggling to see how I would fit everything without looking out of place. When I packed everything in, the sling had become a mini-brick. With everything in the pockets of my pants and jacket, things were more distributed around my body.

Now, I’m not totally opposed to using a sling bag for part of the trip. In fact, because I will be transitioning from windy, cold, and rainy Chicago to the heat of the Arizona and Nevada desert, I may have Rae be my resupply depot when we meet up in Arizona. I can see myself changing my load out for the second half of the trip. For instance, I might trade off the Uniqlo Blouson Utility Jacket for a Rework Toshi 2.5L V2 sling bag and a pack windbreaker from Scottevest. In the books, it’s not as if Reacher never used a bag; he just prefers to travel without one whenever possible.

“To fill a small bag means selecting and choosing, and evaluating. There’s no logical end to that process. Pretty soon I would have a big bag, and then two or three. A month later I’d be like the rest of you.”

—61 Hours

As you can see, I could bring more, but it soon becomes a slippery slope like Reacher says. I bring the Apple Watch and soon I will need different cables or a charging station. I take my laptop, and I am no longer able to sling bag it but need to bring a backpack. More clothes and I will have a carry-on. Nah, I will just go as minimal as possible and take things as they come. 

I’ll post a recap of my trip in a few weeks with what worked and what didn’t.

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