This was originally posted to my blog on July 14 of 2015.  I thought I’d repost and update for 2020.  At the time I was in my 5th year as a Sales Engineer.  Hard to imagine I’m now nearing the double digits for experience there.

That being said, I’d like to share my top 10 pieces of equipment for life traveling the trenches.  Right now it is a blend of a new post and an (outdated) old post.  Living document here! After all “the right tool is half the job . . . ”

1. Laptop – right now I’ve got a Dell XPS – SSD and 16GB of RAM. For my last job (nearly 5 years ago) they gave us Dells that had 8GB of RAM and a SSD drive. The equipment actually influenced my choice to take the job – it felt like they were giving us the right tools to do our jobs. Quite a testament that I used it for 4 and a half years with no problems, always had enough horsepower for my work. I’m currently running Windows 8, but will be switching to Linux when I have some down time.
2. Phone – Samsung Note 3. My first “Phablet” was the Note 2. I’ve had some quality issues with the Samsung phones, but they do seem to be getting better. The large screen does make it a nice extension of the laptop. When traveling I’m able to review complex documents, digest e-mail and news, etc.. It also serves as my GPS when I rent a car or am on foot. At some point I’ll create a post on my top 10 favorite apps.
3. Backpack – Briggs&Riley is the only way to go. I travel a lot and need an organized/rugged way to carry my gear. The first one I purchased was the Verb Luggage Boost Convertible Brief, 16″ – it had plenty of pockets and transfers from a shoulder bag to a backpack. I later purchased a larger one that allows me to pack everything I need for a 3 day trip that fits under the seat when flying. (Will add the model later.) You have to love that it comes with a lifetime warranty and has its own serial number.
4. Coat – sounds trivial, but you never know what the weather will bring or if a flight will get canceled. My daily jacket is a classic Derby in black. I can be in jeans and a company t-shirt or slacks and a dress shirt and it works. Plus having two pockets that zip is nice for when going through airport security – someplace to safely store the contents of your pockets. It is too light for winter travel, but that is pretty rare for me.
5. Spare Batteries/Charger – nothing is worse than landing after a 4 hour flight and not having the juice to power your phone for reaching out to Uber, etc.. I carry (3) Pawtec 2600mAh portable power banks. One came damaged and their support was unbelievable – including a reply to a support ticket on a Saturday and a replacement shipped out on Monday. I also carry an iGO Chage Anywhere Universal Power Extender as a nice way to charge while at the hotel. It is getting a bit tired, not sure what I’ll replace it with. Don’t forget cables! I have one short one that has less draw and keeps my phone close to the laptop, plus a much longer one that makes it easy to reach the phone on the nightstand. Get in the habit of charging them all regularly.
6. Organizers– this covers several different items. You need to be able to pack things efficiently, always be able to find what you need quickly.
   • Eagle Creek Travel Gear Medium Pack-It Sac – has three separate pockets for cables, chargers, slide clickers.
   • Case Logic 6 USB Drive Shuttle – to keep the flash drives organized. We often carry proprietary information on these, so it is very important not too lose track of them. (Plus to leverage encryption, but that’s the topic of another post.)
   • Eagle Creek Travel Gear Pack-It Medium Garment Folder – great for those overnight trips when you don’t want to check luggage. Fits into the larger of my two backpacks and keeps cloths from getting too wrinkled.
   • Vertical File Folders – this link was just as an example. The backpacks I use don’t lend themselves well to normal file folders. Be sure to reinforce the tabs with packing tape prior to use. This will extend their life. I keep three in my pack:
     • Travel – hotel reservations, conference documents, car rental details.
     • Expenses – one place for all receipts.
     • Current – relevant documents to the current trip. Either client details or items I need to study/learn.
7. Plantronics Discovery 975 Bluetooth Headset – comfortable, no background noise and a nice case that charges the headset while not in use. They claim 5 hours of talk time, but I don’t seem to get that. Perhaps it is getting old and needs a refresh. For home use I might get a BlueParrott – have heard great things about them.
8. Headphones – for taking meetings or watching videos while on the road. I’ve got both the ones that came with my phone, plus a smaller set of noise cancelling ones for flights.
9. Logitech Cordless Presenter – makes it easier to bounce back and forth on slides. Plus at times different people handle different parts of the deck. It is easier to pass the controller back and forth than say “Please advance the slide.” This model has fantastic batter life, a battery meter, laser pointer, timer and also stores the USB dongle inside the controller.
10. Metal 16GB USB “Key” – keep the important files on your key ring. This is very durable, and makes sure that 1) I always have my files, and 2) I never leave them behind. Again encryption is the topic of another post.
11. Honorable Mention – Umbrella – rarely needed, but invaluable when you do.
12. Honorable Mention – Portable RAID Drive – coming soon. Right now I carry a portable USB drive for the larger files that don’t need to be on the laptop. At some point I want to switch to one that has actual RAID. (And don’t forget the encryption!)

This rounds off my list of the ‘must haves’ when traveling in the trenches. Let me know your thoughts – did you learn about something new? Is there something I don’t list that you can’t live without as a traveling SE?