What to Pack When Traveling With Your Mac

Courtesy of my MacBook and a Lufthansa ticket, I am typing away at this blog post en route from London to Munich, cruising along at some 30,000 feet. Which is just the right environment for writing about what to bring along when traveling with your geek equipment.

The set of devices I usually bring on trips like this only encompasses my MacBook, my iPod, a portable hard drive, and a digital camera. But the list of accessories required for using them is much longer, and depending on where, how, and for what reason I'm traveling, I might not bring all of them. To help decide what you must, should, and can bring, the following list is divided into three groups: must-haves; should-haves; and nice-to-haves.

Must-haves -- Accessories that must be available wherever I go

• Chargers/power adapters For all devices, obviously.

• Power cord Basically every power adapter that has a removable power cord uses the same kind of plug at the adapter end, and that includes Apple's own power bricks. Hence, it should suffice to only bring one of these power cords, unless you see a need to charge all devices at once.

• International A/C Socket Adapter A power adapter, or cord, is useless if it won't fit in the wall socket, so an adapter is an absolute requirement.

  Generally, there are two types of socket adapters: kits with individual adapters and single-unit adapters with retracting prongs for different sockets. I prefer the latter type because they are easier to pack, and there is no risk of losing an adapter: if you pack one item, you know you're covered for all sockets.

  By the way, Apple offers their own travel kit with adapter plugs for their white power adapters. As nice as it looks, it is of limited utility, because you can use it only with Apple's power bricks. If you want to charge devices other than your Mac -- like your camera or phone --, you'll need another socket adapter anyway, so why spend money on a redundant product?

• Laptop sleeve Every laptop computer should be transported in some kind of protective sleeve, and not the kind that is made from thin fabric, either. Instead, the sleeve should have a protective inside liner to dampen the impact if your computer should ever fall down, and preferrably also some protection plate that prevents the case from being damaged by pointy things like the edge of a table.

  When buying a sleeve or slim case, do check that it has a pocket for essential cables and the A/C adapter, so you don't have to carry any additional pouches when lugging your laptop around.

• Portable hard drive You must back up your data. Always. Even on the road. And portable hard drives make this a snap.

  Current models offer capacities of up to 500GB, and most of these portable drives are bus-powered, so they get their electric power via the Firewire or USB cable that connects them to the computer -- one less power adapter to carry.

  For backing up my MacBook's 120GB hard drive, I use a 160GB portable drive, partitioned into 120GB and 40GB chunks. The bigger partition contains a clone of the internal drive, and the smaller partition is handy for Aperture Vaults, for exchanging larger files between computers, etc.

• Firewire 400 cable This is not only essential for hooking up the portable hard disk, of course, but it is also useful for connecting to another Mac computer via target-disk mode (for trouble-shooting, transferring really large files, etc.), and OS X even supports IP networking over Firewire.

• Memory Card Memory cards, especially of the SD Card variety, are such small items that I fear it is very easy to lose them. Hence, I just keep one 4GB card installed in my camera and regularly sync the photos to Aperture on the MacBook (and then make regular backups to the external HD).

• iPod earphones Don't leave home without them whenever you leave your home with your iPod.

Should-haves -- Accessories that I will bring if at all possible

• Laptop bag When traveling, I always put my MacBook into a sleeve, as listed above, but I do not always bring my full-size laptop backpack. When traveling alone, hauling along a carry-on bag and a full-size suitcase is awkward enough already, so I often leave the "big bag" at home and bring some essentials in a small pouch, which I put into my carry-on bag.

  That way, there is no extra bag to worry about, and yet I have all the required accessories close at hand, even in a plane cabin.

• Device-specific USB cables Required when heading out on a longer trip, as you will want to transfer photos from your digital camera or phone to your Mac for editing or backups, or synchronize your iPod with updated podcasts. On shorter trips of only a few days' length, I might leave these at home and just connect the devices as soon as I am back home.

• Second laptop battery Not a necessity -- as long as there's an AC outlet within easy reach...

• MagSafe Airline Adapter Most airlines offer AC outlets in their cabins, but some of these use a non-standard plug design. Apple's MagSafe Airline Adapter allows you to connect your MagSafe-equipped MacBook [Pro|Air] to such a connector. This might be an alternative to a second battery -- as long as there's an AC outlet within easy reach at your destination...

• Ethernet cable Some hotels still offer DSL Internet access via LAN ports, so this kind of cable is useful in certain situations, but it is not nearly as important as it once was, now that wireless access ports have become rather ubiquitous and -- if you spend most of your time with Mac-using people -- you can also resort to using OS X's IP-over-Firewire.

• Kensington Lock The best theft protection on the road is keeping a close eye on your computing equipment. Second best is locking them in your hotel's in-room safe or a safety deposit box. In case your laptop won't fit in a safe, a Kensington locking cable is your third-best option.

  I've heard claims that it these locks are not nearly as sturdy as they portrayed to be, but at least they serve as a viable deterrent against less-determined thieves.

Nice-to-haves -- If there's some spare room in my baggage

• Memory card reader Although they might be faster and more versatile, I have not used memory card readers all that often. My current camera of choice has a mini-USB port, so I bring a generic (and, thus, also useful with for devices) USB-to-mini-USB cable instead.

• Blank optical media Blank DVDs or CDs are great for ad-hoc backups and exchanging large chunks of data. Also, sending home a DVD with vacation photos via standard mail provides extra peace-of-mind if you want to make absolutely sure that you won't lose those pictures, e.g., by having your laptop confiscated at customs.

• Disk utility software Some of my friends swear by bringing along tools like DiskWarrior or TechTool Pro on DVD. Having the latter on my Mac's hard drive and, consequently, on the bootable clone on the portable drive, I rather pack some extra blank DVDs instead of these tool disks.

• Apple Remote An Apple Remote adds extra convenience to running presentations and to watching a DVD on your MacBook in the comfort of your hotel room, and it's small enough to fit in whatever nook is still available in your bag. Well, if your bag is so crammed that there is not even a nook left, just leave the Remote at home.

• Gorilla Pod This ingenious little device makes for a great tripod that also "grips" onto railings, poles, etc. There are even some people who have mounted a suction cup to the Gorilla Pods bolt, attached that to an iPhone or iPod Touch, and clamped it to the plane or train seat in front of them to watch movies or other videos.

So far, that was all I needed while traveling, regardless of the destination or activity at that destination. But, obviously, what specific devices and accessories you will need largely depends on your preferences and personal requirements. Case in point: Stephen Fry's preparations for a trip to Africa.

If you think there is an essential item missing on the above list, feel free to share any advice on what to bring, as well, in the comments.