Minimalist Travel Tech: The Electronics I Packed for a Trip to Chicago

Introduction

After a recent trip that mixed staying with family, long drives, a train ride, public transit, and hotel nights, it became clear how little tech you actually need when each item earns its place. Everything electronics-related fit into a single small pouch, with room to spare, and a few camera items traveled separately. This list covers the gear that made the cut and why each one is worth considering if you want to shrink your travel kit.

One Small Pouch for Everything

The foundation of the kit is the Air Slim Pouch 2 in Xpack fabric. It is small, simple, durable, and well designed, with enough pockets for smaller electronics without becoming an overstuffed organizer. The entire core setup, from charger to earbuds to the tiny adapters, fits inside with a little room left on top.

This is the kind of pouch that works because it is only slightly bigger than what it needs to hold. If your goal is minimizing gear, a modest pouch like this is a good forcing function: if it does not fit, you probably do not need it.

Charging: One 100W Charger Instead of Two

Rather than carrying a laptop charger and a phone charger, the trip relied on a single 100W GaN wall charger. It is strong enough to power a laptop directly, which means the laptop’s own bulky brick can stay home. It has multiple ports, so a phone and a battery pack can charge at the same time, or the laptop can plug in and act as a hub for other devices.

The charger has a built-in US plug and includes Euro and UK adapters in the box, though those were not needed on a domestic trip. Pairing it with a single 6-foot magnetic charging cord keeps things tidy: the entire cord sticks to itself, coils up into a neat package the same diameter as the charger, and stays put inside the pouch. The trade-off is that magnetic cords cannot bend as freely as standard cables, so they hold a coil shape rather than squishing into small pockets.

Battery Backup: Anker Nano Portable

The Anker Nano Portable is a favorite for travel even though it is slightly bulkier than some ultra-slim battery packs. The standout feature is the built-in USB-C cable with multidirectional power: plug it into a device to charge that device, or plug it into a wall charger to recharge the pack itself. That built-in cable means you only need to bring one cord on the whole trip.

It also has two additional ports for charging multiple devices at once, and a display on the front shows how many devices are plugged in, the wattage going to each, plus metrics like battery health and temperature. Combined with the wall charger, these two items cover the bulk of the non-camera electronics.

In-Flight Audio: AirFly Pro

The audio system is built around two pieces. The first is the AirFly Pro, a wireless transmitter used mostly for connecting to seatback TVs on planes to watch movies with your own headphones. This model can connect to two sets of headphones at the same time, so one unit covers two people as long as they are watching the same thing.

For anyone who flies regularly, that dual-pairing capability is what makes the AirFly Pro such a space-efficient pick: one tiny device replaces two.

Earbuds: Google Pixel Pro

The second half of the sound system is a pair of Google Pixel Pro noise cancelling earbuds. They handle both the in-flight movie setup through the AirFly Pro and everyday listening around the city. Noise cancellation is the main reason they earn a permanent spot in the pouch, since they pull double duty on planes, trains, and public transit.

Three Tiny Essentials That Earn Their Space

Three extremely small devices come along on practically every trip because they take up almost no space and each solves a real problem.

First, a tiny USB-C to USB-A adapter. Every device in the kit is USB-C, so this adapter is essential anywhere that only offers USB-A. Second, an Anker SD card reader with both microSD and full-size SD support over USB-C, for transferring photos from a camera to a laptop. Third, the SanDisk Extreme Fit, a one-terabyte drive about the size of a wireless mouse connector, used as a photo backup.

Together these three weigh next to nothing and solve the most common “I wish I had brought…” moments on the road.

Lighting and Sleep: Small Clip Lights and a Sound Machine

A couple of low-key items round out the pouch. A slightly larger OITE clip light is carried in hand or clipped to a pack for walking at night. A second, smaller clip-on flashlight is also being tested: it has three modes, including a very low light setting that lasts about 24 hours, or roughly three nights. The idea is to use it as a hotel night light so you can navigate a dark room without flipping on the overhead light.

The last item is a small dedicated sound machine that sits next to the bed in hotels. It is a single-purpose device, but for light sleepers it has become a standard part of the kit.

Camera Kit: DJI Pocket 3 and a Thumb-Sized Tripod

Camera gear traveled in a separate pouch to keep the main tech pouch airy, though most of it could have been squeezed in with a bigger organizer. The centerpiece is the DJI Pocket 3, a compact all-in-one camera that keeps video quality high while taking up minimal bag space.

A Thumb-Sized Tripod for the DJI Pocket 3

The regular tripod setup for the Pocket 3 includes an extended battery grip that doubles as a selfie stick, which together makes a fairly large package. The Yulanszi mini tripod replaces nearly all of it: a tiny spring-mounted tripod with three small feet that stand on their own, then compress under the camera’s weight to form a stable base.

The initial assessment is that it works, and works well, while being extremely small. It shines indoors on flat surfaces. On uneven ground or in outdoor wind, a full-size tripod remains noticeably more stable, so this is best treated as an indoor and flat-surface companion rather than a full replacement.

For anyone who carries the Pocket 3 but rarely uses the selfie stick handle, this little tripod removes most of the bulk from the camera kit.

Buying Advice

If you want to trim your own travel electronics, the pattern here matters more than any single product. Start with one powerful charger instead of several, add a battery pack with a built-in cable so you carry fewer cords, and then add only the tiny adapters and backup drives that match your actual devices. The AirFly Pro and noise cancelling earbuds cover audio for one or two travelers, and a micro tripod keeps the camera kit lean. Everything above fits in one small pouch, which is the real test of a minimalist setup.

Conclusion

A short trip does not require a big bag of electronics. One high-wattage charger, a flexible battery pack, compact audio gear, three thumb-sized utilities, and a genuinely tiny tripod covered charging, sound, storage, and camera support across hotels, trains, and long drives. Pack each item because it earns its space, and your whole kit will fit in something the size of the Air Slim Pouch 2.