Aaron McHugh
  • Start Here
  • Book
  • Podcast
    • All Episodes
  • Field Reports
  • Speaking
  • Workshop
    • Explorers Wanted
  • Free Guides
    • Learning to Pace Yourself: How to Keep Going
    • Road Trip Guide to California’s HWY 1
    • Free 7 day Course to Restoring Balance
    • 99 Ways to Navigate Your Best Life

Gear Every Road Warrior Must Carry

Thule Crossover backpack swallows it all

Gear Every Road Warrior Must Carry

I travel a lot. So much so that I try to not think too much about it and count how many days I spend away from home.  I’m going to download this list of what I consider to be key “must have’s” on any travel.  Whenever you travel away from home for business or pleasure, I guarantee these (or something like them) will make your bag lighter, more efficient and diverse.  This is Gear Every Road Warrior Must Carry. The result is your bag will weigh a lot less and you will be a lot more comfortable.

Thule Crossover backpack 25L

I’ve owned this pack for two years now and won’t ever go back to a traditional laptop bag.  This pack is very functional, easy to stuff full or cinch down when carrying small loads. Personally I like the work, life, play feel of this bag.  It is professional enough for business, but playful enough for personal travel. I also purchased the Macbook Pro sleeve that inserts into the built-in pack pocket.

Thule Gauntlet Macbook Pro Sleeve

Backpack Cost $100

Macbook Pro sleeve Cost $50

iPad with Logitech Bluetooth keyboard

I try to take only my iPad and keyboard for personal trips and business trips that last less than three to four days.  The weight saving is significant compared to dragging a laptop along.  I use Evernote, Dropbox, Skype and Lastpass to help cure the normal challenges you might experience from not having your full computer.  With the Bluetooth keyboard your iPad turns into an email machine during the day and Netflix viewing stand at night.

Price around $80.00

Logitech iPad keyboard

Mophie PowerStation Duo

How many times has your cell phone died and you can’t pull up your travel itinerary, digital boarding pass or use the GPS on the train or subway?  It has happened to me a lot. The Mophie duo gives my iPhone or iPad between two to four charges when starting with a full charge.  I’ve used this magic power pack all across the world.  My son even took it to Disneyland last week so he could stay in contact with us throughout the evening after his phone battery drained.

Price $130.00

Mophie Juicepack for charging your devices

Starbucks Via Italian Roast instant coffee packets

I admit I am a coffee snob. Most hotel coffee tastes like dirty water to me. Starbucks Via packets give me the delight of being at home.  I use them for everything from backpacking to business travel.  More uses for Via packets read this.

Price $10 for a pack of twelve. 

Portable caffeine buzz

Garmin Vivofit

You’ve heard my commercial on this device before, but I find especially for business travel that it’s important to me to track my movement.  A sedentary life leads to a slow death or maybe better said a life I don’t want to live. The Vivofit helps me make sure I am moving enough including walking in airports or during conference calls.

Costs $130.00

Vivofit tracking your daily movement

Advil

I probably don’t need to give you many examples as to how you might use this wonder drug.  I use them for everything from backaches from sitting on the airplane to not being able to sleep.

The cure for any ailment

Express Rocco Slim Fit jeans

My more rugged buddies will make fun of me for adding these to the list. However my wife brought this home for me to try and they have turned out to be perfect.  They are a great combination of casual and dressy.  The important point here is to find a versatile pair of jeans that fit multiple environments.

Price around $80.00

Casual but nice enough for the office

Bluff Works pants

I love these pants.  My friend Stefan Loble started this company from a Kickstarter campaign and now almost two years later, they are killing it. Hear his story on my podcast interview just as he was launching the company. The best part about these pants for me is that the inside pockets are lined with two words: Work & Play.  Although I am wearing them at work with clients I am always aware that both of these realities are available.  I guess it serves as another way I feel I can Stick It to The Man.

Price $93.00

I can easily wear with no iron and throw on a sport coat if needed

GoLite Black Button up

Black is versatile for both nice and chill. You can dress it up or down. This universal GoLite shirt, like Bluffworks, provides the perfect combination of no iron required and I can go out to a business dinner or throw it on with a pair of shorts and flip-flops.

From GoLite’s website, So versatile you won’t know whether you should wear it while doing yard work, or hiking through the rainforests of Costa Rica. 

Price $50.00

Who doesn’t love a man in black?

The North Face Thermoball Remix Vest

A quick zip up vest can cut the wind, shed a few raindrops, used as a pillow or a back support.  I love the versatility of always having this in my backpack. It’s easy to throw on and stuffs down to the size of your fist.  It weighs nothing and eliminates needing to bring a full-sleeved jacket or coat. I still bring it along in the winter as it provides a quick added insulation layer if my outerwear isn’t cutting it alone.

Price $135.00

Easy to stuff and always useful

Bose Noise Canceling headset

I resisted buying these for about ten years.  My wife pushed me over the edge and I wish I had listened to her sooner. Here is what I notice with these.  Yes, they are a bit heavy and even expensive. The benefit is the time spent on an airplane drains your body and mind.  Air travel is noisy.  The frequency and volume of announcements combined with the constant drone of jet engines.  These noise-canceling headphones don’t eliminate the noise all together, but the noise is reduced by upwards of 70%.  Over the course of a full day of air travel, I find that my general mood is significantly improved.  Most importantly that travel fatigue that I thought was just part of the deal is also reduced by 70%.  Feel better, sleep better and be ready to go to work or play once you arrive on the ground.

Price $300.00

Although a bit bulky you’ll sleep like a baby

Other staples in my bag:

  • Running shoes and shorts
  • Garmin 910 GPS watch
  • Spare collar stays
  • Earplugs

I hope you find this list of road warrior gear helpful. I’m sure you have a few in your bag that we need to know about.

Hook us up!  Tell us what we need to add to our list.

Why you should stop remembering passwords?

 

How many passwords do try to remember each day?

How many ways have you tried to manage them?

The madness can be managed better through software than by using your memory, sticky notes, or excel files.

LastPass is my preferred freemium software solution.

Allow me to give you a tour of this better option.

Stop the Madness with LastPass

For a long time I used an excel spreadsheet to manage my passwords.  Then I moved to a free download application that ran on my machine where I could hand key in each password.

It still required me to have it open while I would simultaneously hand key in the password into a browser.  Example your credit card login.

Look up password, type in password, when required, change password, type in new password change in software for storage.  

Why LastPass?

LastPass is a Cloud based web browser application.  What does that mean?  No software actually runs on your machine.

Why is that important?  No passwords are actually ever stored on your machine.

Why does that matter?  

Your passwords cannot be stolen by someone logging into your machine, virus, etc.

All passwords are stored with LastPass in the Cloud instead of on your local PC.

LastPass plugin running in browser

How does LastPass works

You want to pay your bills and you log into your bank.

  • LastPass recognizes that you are at WellsFargo.com.
  • LastPass auto-populates your username and password.
  • In a similar manner when your browser asks you Do you want me to remember this site?  

The difference is that when you clean your machine of all of the cookies the Remember part of your browser gets a lobotomy.

With LastPass there is no memory lapse each time you clean up.

Auto populates username and password

When a password or user name change is required

LastPass recognizes there is a change and asks update now?

You can then choose to allow LP to update the information automatically or you can login directly to Lastpass.com and manage your accounts there.

I have found LP to be highly accurate and reliable with detecting when a username or password change is occurring.

As a result I am no longer messing around trying to remember what I changed and when.

AutoLogin

Complexity of Password Requirements

I continue to find that different institutions are each requiring a different password security structure.  For example:

  • My bank-Username/Password minimum of 8 characters but requires Alpha and Numeric combination.
  • 401K-Username/Password/Unique PIN
  • WordPress-Username/Password very forgiving and does not require password resets
  • Company Credit Card-MASSIVE PAIN. Username/Password/Keyword that is scrambled and requires forced change every 90 days
  • SalesForce.com -Username/Password with automatic resets required every 90/120 days and you are unable to use the previous two passwords
Master Console Password Management

Use Modern Technology Instead

You too have a similar story of Madness.

It is time to use modern technology to manage a problem that will only continue to get worse.

The more your life is digitized the more complex this hassle will become.

Make the leap and download a solution that can fix it today.

Setup is a breeze

Once you download the browser plugin, LP will go through your machine and say Hey I found these passwords for these websites, do you want me to remember these?  

And would you like me to erase these off your machine so hackers can’t get to them?   

I was shocked at how much was on my local PC.  It was a bit scary actually.

Once installed the plugin simply runs in your browser and engages you when login to a new site.

LastPass can give you a better sales pitch than I but let me give you a quick overview of why you should stop trying to remember any passwords.

Safari Browser Plugin

View LastPass Screencast of how it works and why.

Good luck and feel free to post your favorite password manager in the comments section.

Alternative to LastPass-1Password

I learned of another option 1Password.  Their claim to fame is only needing to remember one password for all of your websites.

Check them out as well and decide which you prefer.

*I am not an affiliate or receive any reward or compensation for this pitch.

Navigate a life worth living

Sign up to receive regular emails about living a fulfilling and meaningful life

Sign Up

Copyright © 2025 Aaron McHugh

About

  • About Aaron
  • Book
  • Joy Bus
  • Contact

Learn

  • Podcast
  • Field Reports

Events

  • Speaking
  • Workshop
  • Coaching

Free Guides

  • HWY 1
  • How to Keep Going
  • Restoring Balance
  • 99 Ways

Follow Aaron