Touring, complete: what gear survived four months of hard-wearing book-tour?

The Motorola Z Force Droid seems like it keeps getting another named added to it when you talk about it, but it’s worked well for me for over a year with some traveling and has an extended battery back module that also works well. Also Verizon now has an unlimited data plan with hotspot. That’s already covered if someone is using Calyx of course but for those who don’t, it’s worth considering.

Are there any specific apps or services you relied on during your tour? For example, my wife and kids are traveling right now and I look forward to a long video call (facetime) with them at the end of the day.

I travel quite a bit for work and pleasure.

My Tumi stuff has never let me down. My biggest-allowable carry-on wheelie is now 13 years old and still going strong. I usually carry it on, but also check it fairly regularly when bringing back wine as a gift. Backpack is bulletproof. Small duffle for overnight when I don’t need the wheelie.

The wheelie is not a spinner. The wheels on spinners seem vulnerable to me, whereas the 2 wheels on mine are pretty much completely shrouded and protected.

Usually POTS calls or Hangouts (my daughter has a mobile device but no SIM). I use Lifesum (but no cloud features) to track calories and exercise, and I have a PA who emails me once a day with my schedule, which I forward to my otherwise unused Gmail account so it’s the only message in that inbox, and I can refer to it all day.

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Thanks for answering. Lifesum looks very interesting.

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I read the title as Turing complete and got confused after that.

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This I might need. Anyone else have experience with the service? I have a mobile hotspot from another provider and the datacaps kick in at really inconvenient times.

I really like that collapsible kettle but Amazon shows it as unavailable. What was the price on it? Hotel rooms often don’t have tea even when they have those crappy little coffeemakers; I’d love an itty-bitty kettle.

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I have spent years on the road as a journalist all across Africa and the US. My old pelicase has never let me down and it has taken a hell of a lot of abuse over the years.

As far as chronic pain goes, I used to need to visit my amazing Japanese masseuse Yasuko in London every month to deal with my own chronic back pain, but ever since I started doing the exercises in the amazing back book Foundation by Eric Goodman I haven’t been back to Yasuko and my back is suddenly strong and healthy again…

Touring, complete

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I’m also totally in love with kimera nootropic coffee. Anyone else a fan?

Tai Chi may be worth looking at for some people.

Had a somewhat similar experience. After I got a car and stopped walking tons using public transport I suddenly started getting back pain, if not super serious back pain. Once I started doing some back & other exercises for 5 minutes every morning, the pain just disappeared. I also found myself heading up stairs at speed instead of wheezing up them.

My habit of morning exercises & long walks do make me feel kinda like an old person, though…

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Surprised no one else has mentioned the goruck tactical backpacks, a favorite of the prepper/daily carry crowd. I don’t own one but have played with a friend’s for a good while. They are quite plain don’t look overly booyah military, or flashy sporty. ncredibly well thought out and built, but easily customizable thanks to milsPec MOLLE webbing.

They don’t look like there is enough tech in them to be comfortable, but my 50+ year old buddy hauled 30 lbs comfortably in his thru a goruck challenge (the iron man of dirty fitness events) and continues to run with weights with it regularly If I ever need to replace my current passable grey oigo bag, I’ll spend the money for One of their smaller packs. https://www.goruck.com/

Wait, Yasuko Akiyama? She’s wonderful! My daughter is her daughter’s “god-sister.”

“My complaint: these were not colorfast at all: they were basically gray by the time I got home, even though I only ever hand-washed them in hotel sinks with generic woolite.”

I haven’t found anything by Beta to be colorfast. I honestly feel like buying two of everything I buy from them, having one that I wear regularly, and another that I wear when I want to look good. That said, if you get something in a solid color, you can always re-dip them yourself and get it back to the shade you want.

As for someone with chronic pain, I feel the pain (err…literally). I quit the road life because of it…sometimes even a couple months of pain isn’t worth it. Meditation helps…finding doctors willing to shoot individual joints up along the way with cortisone is better.

you can always re-dip them yourself and get it back to the shade you want.

But not if you want to preserve the contrast stitching!

finding doctors willing to shoot individual joints up along the way with cortisone is better.

Alas, that hasn’t worked for me – I’ve had more needles in my spine than I can count…

This may be true…though I’ve had several that the stitching has come out unphased. Not sure if different material (synthetic vs natural) but a lot of times it doesn’t take much to boost the colors. I just wish I could do this with my Haeckeloha button up.

Ouch. I will say this, when I was performing, shooting my wrists up got me through about 3 or 4 hours. Tiring having to do this a few times a week. Haven’t done this since I quit nor do I ever plan to do it again. None of this stuff works long term and the body quickly adapts because pain is a signal…disrupt the signal the body will double back to find other ways to remind you. Meditation and yoga SOMETIMES works…other times it’s just suffering through it. Most of the time.

You should get a Halliburton suitcase just for fun.

for sure do a review if you can. I have some minor but chronic back pain but i’m more interested in this for my mother. She suffers from bad hip and leg pain, i don’t know if this Quell device would be good for her but on the off chance it might offer some relief i will keep an eye out for a review from you.