My Mobile Work Setup

This year, I’ve spent time in over 8 countries with just one small backpack (ULA Dragonfly 30L). See my previous post about my one bag setup. Living indefinitely with a single bag isn’t easy, but one area I didn’t want to compromise on is my work setup. I can’t carry an external monitor or a full keyboard, so I’ve had to optimize for weight and ergonomics while making the right trade-offs.

The entire setup weighs 2.3 kg (5.2 lbs).

Here’s my full setup:

• MacBook Air 13" M3 (24GB, 2024): The M-chip Airs are among the best laptops ever made. Mine handles everything I need, and the battery easily lasts through a day. 24GB was the maximum memory option at the time, which has been more than enough. I rarely carry the charger with me outside the home. I still wish Apple made something as light as the discontinued 12" MacBook. My dream MacBook would be a 14" model weighing 900g (<2lbs).
• iPad Air 11" M2 (2024): I use the iPad as a second monitor with Sidecar, which works seamlessly, even wirelessly. At home, it’s my main media consumption device. I watch a lot of YouTube, and most of the podcasts I follow now upload video versions there too. I usually keep these running in the background.
• Apple Magic Keyboard (USB-C): I tried lighter Logitech keyboards but came back to the Magic Keyboard. It feels better, and the layout matches my MacBook exactly.
• Logitech Pebble Mouse 2: Lightweight, simple, and better than I expected in daily use.
• Roost V2 Laptop Stand: I’ve used this Roost stand for over 5 years. It’s ultralight yet extremely sturdy. Makes a huge difference for ergonomics — your neck will thank you.

Not pictured:

• Minix 66W GaN Charger: This 3-port charger (two USB-C, one USB-A) is the only charger I own. I gave away both the MacBook and iPad original chargers. After 3 years of daily use, one USB-C port broke, so I’m looking for a replacement or better alternative.
• AirPods Pro 2: My favorite Apple product of the last 5 years. I’ve owned every version of AirPods and use them daily. Apple just announced AirPods Pro 3 last week, and I’ll buy them on day one too.
• Flowfold Optimist Backpack: A tiny, ultralight 10L pack weighing just 275g (9.7 oz). I use it as my everyday bag. Everything pictured above fits inside, along with a small water bottle and a light hoodie. When travelling between cities, it lays flat inside my main pack and takes up no space. One of my best purchases last year.

Other notes:

• While I’ve been using Apple laptops for over 20 years, I’m open to switching to an ultralight laptop that can run Linux smoothly. I bought a ThinkPad X1 Nano and installed Fedora Linux. It weighed under 1kg (~2.2lbs). Unfortunately, after one week of daily use, I returned it. I had issues with Bluetooth connectivity and battery life wasn’t great. It was just too hard to switch from MacBook Air.
• I’ve been eying Fujitsu’s ultralight laptops for a long time. The latest one, FMV Zero, looks impressively light at 634g, but I can’t really find them outside Japan and their Linux compatibility is unknown.
• I tried making an iPad Pro my only computing device. That experiment was even a bigger failure.