Comments on: The Gear I Use to Create My Perfect Portable Office

By: Corinna

Corinna

I would like to add one more item:

Get yourself a good back support pillow to sit straight. Even hotel desk chairs are far from ergonomic ~.~
I recently got a traveler edition, It’s self-inflatable and has an elastic band to secure it to any chair. (You could also use it as an airplane pillow!).

By: Travel North Peru

Travel North Peru

What an interesting article ! I am not on the road all the time, but I definitely have to improve my setup. This gives me a good idea about how it could look like. Thanks so much !

By: Chuck B

Chuck B

I like this setup, it appeals to my minimalist side since I always pack light. As a mobile office novice, this gives me some good ideas & good tips in the other comments as well.

Cheers!

By: Louise

Louise

1 for the Roost laptop stand. I LUUUUURRRVVVEEE mine! Neck pain begone!

By: Dave Dean

Dave Dean

In reply to Alex Moran.

Thanks for the detailed comment, Alex. I definitely agree with your recommendations about things like VPNs, encrypted Dropbox and USB drives. I used Speedify quite a bit back when it was still called Connectify Dispatch — for some reason I didn’t reinstall it when I got my current laptop. Must remember to do that!

It’s absolutely true, too, about making the most of places that do let you get lots of work done in a hurry, and going back to them. I’ve got favourite hotels and cafes in cities like Chiang Mai for exactly that reason, and I’ll go to them every chance I get.

Airbnb isn’t much use in South East Asia, to be honest — you’re better off using Agoda for shorter term stays, and negotiating directly with the manager for a discounted rate to stay for a few weeks or months. I’ve found it more useful in Western countries, where hotel rates are much higher and there’s little opportunity to negotiate. The day rate isn’t necessarily much cheaper than a hotel, but you’ll often get a whole apartment rather than a room. Most owners offer 30% discounts for monthly stays, which makes it much cheaper than a hotel over the longer term.

By: Dave Dean

Dave Dean

In reply to Calvin. Good spotting! It's the 303LN, albeit with some of the internals swapped out. :)

By: Calvin

Calvin

What Asus model is that? The 305 or 303, it looks like the 303 edition.

By: Alex Moran

Alex Moran

I’m on the same plan as you, always travelling and working wherever I happen to be, and I can vouch for your kit. I use the Bose noise cancelling earbuds. They are expensive, but worth every penny, as they allow you to sleep in hotel rooms with heavy construction happening next door. I don’t do the external speaker as I’m not that into music. The back lit keyboard is essential. I prefer wired over bluetooth and I use an external WiFi with big antenna, so I also need a USB 3.0 hub. I also recommend a USB 3.0 thumb drive, Dropbox account with Boxcryptor, and a good VPN and SmartDNS for NetFlix. Gmail with extra storage. Speedify is awesome for combining multiple slow hotspots into something useable. An amplified, shielded USB extension cable is great for getting the WiFi dongles out the window (and always research and pay for the best cellular/WiFi provider in the area). On my Android phone I’m running White Noise, Cam Scanner, and Expense Manager Android Apps. Anything I can do on my phone saves me from turning my computer on. Bottom line is, no matter how good the kit is, when I find a cheap hotel that has the furnishings, WiFi, and other amenities to get a lot of work done and still enjoy the area, I stay as long as possible and return often.

I’ve never tried AirBnB, I use Agoda in SEA, especially Thailand. How do the prices compare?

Thanks for a comprehensive article.

By: Dave Dean

Dave Dean

In reply to Craig.

Yeah, happily I don’t need to use my range extender all the time so can quite often just leave it my bag — but man, I’m happy to have it when I do need it! I’d definitely consider over-ear headphones in the future for the same reason as you, but I really do like the Shure’s, and they don’t usually start giving me any pain until about the time my laptop runs out of battery anyway. 😉

By: Dave Dean

Dave Dean

In reply to CelWilliams. I use a VPN, typically ProtonVPN. I reviewed it here.