Our electronics packing list is ludicrous. Truly. It’s completely and utterly ridiculous. So much so that I’m almost embarrassed to write it all out! That being said, we’ve spent a lot of time and money procuring the perfect electronics packing list for an RTW and I think we nailed it!
To start with, I need to point out that there’s two of us to share the load. If it was just me I’m not sure I’d be able to bring all this stuff. I also don’t think I’d have time to do anything with all the captured photos and videos, so I’d need to choose one or the other.
Here’s the perfect electronics packing list for an RTW!
*This post contains some affiliate links. If you purchase through a link I get a (teenie) tiny commission. However, I own, and have paid for, everything on this list. I would never recommend a product I don’t use and love myself!
From The Skies
The DJI Mavic Pro is my husband’s pride and joy, and for good reason! It takes pretty fantastic video footage (up to 4K), is incredibly stable in flight, handles like a dream, and packs up SO small. It’s a truly amazing piece of technology. Although the drone itself packs up small, it still requires a fair amount of paraphernalia.
Read More: If you’re interested in purchasing a drone for travel but don’t know where to start, check out this post!
- DJI Mavic Pro Drone
- Drone Controller
- 2 spare batteries
- Battery Charging Station
- 6 spare propellers
- 3 lens filters
- Non-polarized sunglasses (so you can see the phone screen while flying!)
- Micro-SD Cards – 4 x 64GB & 2 x 32 GB
On the Ground
I enjoy taking photos. This is something that seems to be quite common amongst eye doctors! I think it’s the massive amount of knowledge I have about optics that makes me “nerd-out” with cameras and photography. I’ve never considered myself to be an overly creative person, but there’s enough technical knowledge required with photography that I just can’t get enough. I also love the inconsistency. It’s impossible to actually master photography, and no two photos can ever be the same because of changing light, seasons, etc. The constant quest for something better means there’s no way I’ll ever get bored.
To fuel my photography obsession I recently purchased my first full-frame camera. After “lusting” over the Sony alpha series for many (many) months, I finally broke down and purchased the Sony a7 early this year.
The camera bag
- Sony a7 body (I’ll likely upgrade in the future, but I wanted the extra $ for lenses so I went for the lowest priced full-frame body for now)
- 24-70mm, f4 E-mount lens
- 70-200mm, f4 E-mount lens
- 50mm, f 1.8 E-mount lens (I sent this home after two months. I love this lens for portraits, but with the kids I wasn’t getting a whole lot of chances to use it).
- Circular polarizing filter for 24-70mm lens
- PacSafe Camera Strap
- IR Remote
- Dual-battery charger
- 2 spare batteries
- SD Cards – 2 x 64GB & 4 x 32 GB
- Rode compact on-camera microphone
- “Dead Cat” Fake-fur wind-sheild for Rode microphone
Under The Water
We travel with a small Sony waterproof camera. It’s shock-resistant so it’s great for the girls, and waterproof enough that we can use it snorkelling and for the beach.
We also travel with a GoPro. Of course, it’s good for more than just under the water, but that’s one of our favourite uses for it. We also use it for action shots and Randy likes to wear it when we’re just wandering around
The GoPro Bag
- GoPro Hero4 Black
- Waterproof Case with 3 different back covers
- Evo wearable gimbal with selfie stick extension
- Lens protector (to use without a case when it’s on the gimbal)
- Head-strap
- Various adapters
- Red Filter (for scuba diving)
- Small magnetic gorilla pod
- Rode microphone GoPro adapter
- Micro SD Cards (see “from the skies”)
- 3 spare batteries & triple charging station
In Your Face
I contemplated bringing only one computer with us, and then decided against it! Once the girls go to bed, I’ll want to be writing or photo-editing, and Randy will want to be video-editing. We can’t do all those things on the same computer at the same time. So, we caved and bought a second one. I figure this is the key decision that will ensure our marriage survives the year!
Computer bag
- Randy’s grey MacBook
- My rose-gold MacBook
- 2 USB-C Hubs (that match our computers!)
- 2 x Seagate 4TB external hard-drives. These will be mirror-images of each other. I’ll carry one and Randy’ll carry one so we minimize the risk of losing any of our precious moments.
- Logitech bluetooth Ultrathin Computer Mouse x 2 (of course)
We discussed buying iPads for the girls, but decided that traveling with 4 iPads was actually ridiculous. Instead we bought new cases for ours, and loaded ’em up with kids games and movies. They’ll still be “our” iPads so the girl’s don’t think they have ownership over them. Hopefully this will allow us a bit more control over their usage.
- iPad mini 3
- iPad mini 4
- iPhone 5s (Randy’s)
- iPhone 6+ (Kyla’s)
- Evo iPhone selfie-stick gimbal
- Rode microphone iPhone adapter
- selfie stick (I’ll probably leave it behind somewhere, but I’m starting with it just incase)
Plug It All In
The biggest challenge with our copious amounts of electronics was trying to figure out the best way to plug it all in. Randy spent ages researching a good charging unit. I have a small Belkin charging station but to my dismay it only accepts 110V input. We have far too much equipment to trust the surge protection of something not rated for the 220V input of most of the world. Plus, it only had 2 USB ports, so it wasn’t ideal.
We finally found this handy iSelector Super Charger on Amazon. It has a surge-protector, on/off switch, will accept 100-240V input and has 2 plug-ins and 5 USB ports. The Canadian version is flat, and the US version is more square, but they both have the same specs.
Between the 5 USB ports here, plus 3 each on our USB-C hubs and 2 on the drone charger, we have a LOT of ability to charge our gear.
Cords & miscellaneous
- Thunderbolt Cables – 3 short & 1 long
- Micro-USB Cables – 2 short, plus 1 short in the drone bag & 1 long
- Mini-USB Cables – 1 short, 1 long
- 2 USB-rechargeable Black Diamond Iota Headlamps
- 10,400mAh Power bank
- 15000mAh Solar panel power bank
- SkyRoam wifi hotspot
- 2 adult earbud headphones
- 2 EtyKids noise-limiting earbud headphones
I think that’s it. The electronics packing list for our RTW!!
Yes, it’s a ridiculous amount of stuff, but each and every item has been carefully thought through and researched. I’ll be sure to update at the end of the year to let you know what we did and didn’t use. My guess is we’ll end up ditching the non-solar power bank, the normal selfie stick, and maybe the GoPro head-mount. Everything else I’m sure we’ll use on a fairly regular basis.
What do you think? Is there something we could or couldn’t live without? Let me know in the comments below!
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How did you use your cell phones? I’m especially interested in Thailand Laos Vietnam and Cambodia. This is where we plan to travel.
We typically bought a local SIM card upon arrival in each country. They’re incredibly inexpensive and easy to use. These are best if you need to make phone calls. If you just need data eSims tend to be easier. We’ve used Airalo wit a lot of success, and they have great coverage worldwide.