Best Minimalist Travel Gear of 2025

I'd like to try and do something different than a lot of other travel gear reviews I see out there, a lot of which try to show you a ton of new travel gear, much of which isn't even that good. I travel a lot, I test a lot of gear, and while I do find new products that I think are worthwhile, I still find myself coming back to a lot of the same gear year after year. So in this video, instead of barraging you with a giant pile of new travel gear, I'd like to highlight some of the gear that I keep on coming back to, some new items that I've really been liking, as well as some up-and-coming gear that's showing promise to be added to my travel lineup. However, I still have a lot of stuff to show you, so I'm going to break this up into some categories, including electronics, toiletries, I have some packing cubes and pouches, clothes, and then some miscellaneous items. I'll start out with electronics because this is where I've seen the largest changes in my travel lineup. Most notably with my camera gear, I've been testing a lot of DJI products, and I think they're all really great. I've almost exclusively switched to using their gear, cameras, and microphones when I'm filming out in the field. I've been very happy with the DJI Pocket 3. This thing is tiny, takes great videos, really easy to use. I love the gimbal feature. I've exclusively been using this for my other channel, One Bag Walking. I got it with the Creator Kit, which I think is worthwhile. It comes with a little mini tripod and the extra battery extension pack. The Action 2 is also really useful. This thing is a tiny magnetic strap. You can wear this around your neck. Easy video. It's also waterproof. I just used this in Hawaii to get some great video of some snorkeling, manta rays, and sea turtles. I still haven't found any chargers that work better than these. The Minix is a high-powered 3-port 65-watt travel adapter, powerful enough to charge multiple devices and a laptop. The Power Bagel here has all the universal adapters plugged in here. It has, I don't know, something like six ports, as well as an extension cord. Charged cables. I've been using Anker for years. These work great. The braided cable's a little heavier, but I really like the durability. This is a new cable I was skeptical about, but I've been surprised by how easy and useful it is. It's just a C2C cable, but the entire cord is magnetic, so it just makes it really simple to coil this thing up. You don't need any straps or anything, and it just sticks to itself, stays coiled. Really nice, easy to use. I don't always take flashlights, but sometimes they come in handy. Ronvon makes some really great minimalist ones. They work well, have a lot of power, a lot of charge. This one's kind of fun. It has a magnet and a UV light on there if you dare to turn it on in your hotel. If you're familiar with Nitecore, they're very popular in the ultralight travel world. I've been using the NU24 years. A few years ago, they upgraded it to a newer model. It just wasn't the same, though. However, recently they came back with a classic edition that's basically the same as the old one, but now has some upgraded features, as well as USB-C charging. Also, Nitecore, this is one of my favorite battery packs, the NU10000. They updated it. This is the Gen 3, two USB-C ports. This thing is just really small, durable, high-powered, and takes up very little space. A few classic items I've shown you before. AirFly Pro. I just used this on my last trip to Hawaii last week. Still works great. Still love it, and I use that to pair with the AirBuds Pro. Always canceling earbuds. A new item I've been testing. This is going to be controversial because it's not the most necessary item. However, I really like blocking out some of the noises, so I've been testing out some dedicated noise machines. These are two of the smallest that I found. They work really good. They hold a multi-night charge. USB-C on both of these. They have a lot of sounds. Ocean waves. Just regular white, brown, and pink noise. Also, packed down really tiny. They're loud. I really like them for helping out to block out the extra noise. Next, travel toiletries. There's a lot of gear here that I just really like. Keep on coming back to year after year. I don't see any reason to upgrade. I haven't seen anything better come out in this gear. There's a few items in here that I've been testing out and trying that I really like. Especially some electronics. These are still my favorite pouches. The Eagle Creek Mini Quick Trip and the Sea to Summit. It's a little bit larger. This thing hangs. Keep a little bit of it organized if you need some more space. Matador, I think, still makes some of the greatest travel gear, especially a lot of their little pouches. Toothpaste tube. Refillable. This thing has been working great. Flat pack soap case. Still love it. I've been using this for years. Used to just be black, but I've been trying out. Came out some new colors just for fun. And then their little flat pack bottle holder here. Just been testing this recently and so far I like it. Seems to be working quite well. I have three levels of pill containers that I carry. This is the old, but this is for like everyday carry. If you want to just carry a few things around in your backpack. I stick a little cotton swab in there so it doesn't shake too much. Matador has a really nice one. This thing is a lightweight, waterproof, a little larger if you have some more pills to carry. And if you want even more organization, this little thing is really nice. I've been taking this on every single trip. A lot of little individualized compartments. Hold a lot of pills. This thing is also really tiny, compact, and lightweight. Some razors I've been testing out. I've actually used this wall trimmer for a number of years. It's a little bit underpowered and small. It's actually advertised for pet grooming, but you can use it for personal grooming as well. I think these are the go-to, at least for men's facial grooming. The Philips Norelco OneBlade. This thing is powerful. It works really well. Has this little grooming attachment for different levels of facial hair. I think this one works better if you're going to keep a little bit of stubble. It also does give you a pretty close shave, but not as close as a razor. If you want something that's a little bit closer. If you just primarily shave and don't like to keep stubble. I think this little Panasonic shaver works really good. Really close shave and it also collects all the hair in this little top container. So you don't make a mess in your sink. The Panasonic makes it a little bit easier to charge. Just AA batteries. Really easy to get. This thing you have to use a separate charger. And interestingly, this is the Intimate shaver. It's considerably smaller. However, the battery doesn't last very long and the shaving head isn't as close as this one. However, you can pop this head out. Switch it out with the OneBlade. And you basically have the same very close trim in a really small package. These things are a little expensive though. So I wouldn't go out and buy both of them. This thing works perfectly fine. And the downside of this one is the battery doesn't last quite as long. A few miscellaneous toiletry items. Little two ounce Nalgene bottle. This thing is virtually indestructible and leak proof. Gillette mini Venus razor. Works really well. Human gear go tub. Gum travel toothbrush. And then a little Etique soap case that I can also double as a washcloth. Next category, packing cubes, pouches, and organizers. My two standby packing cubes for a number of years have been Peak Design and Eagle Creek. This is a little bit heavier. More durable. This is lighter weight. Ripstop nylon. Both compression cubes. But I use them when I have bags of different sizes. This one's a little bit thinner. A little bit wider for those larger like 35 liter bags. And this one is a little bit skinnier. It's only about 12 inches wide. So this works great for smaller personal item bags. I just picked up some Matador packing cubes. Their regular cubes seem to be very durable. Nothing special but high quality. I'm really excited about these. I haven't had a lot of time to test them. But I like the design. Basically it's kind of just a funny shape little cube packing cube. But the idea, stuff it full of clothes and then squish down the sides to help give you some compression. Also seems to be fairly easy to use. So standby for more updates on this one. A few pouches and organizers I really like. Evergood's Cap One. Kind of a classic really thin one liter pouch. I've also been really liking the Piner Carry. This is just really good durable material. Lots of organization. Can hold a ton of stuff. A new piece of gear I've added to my travel lineup. This is the Tombin Travel Tray. This thing is really nice. It's intended to be kind of a little tray. You put your keys and wallet in and you fold this top part down. Basically just you know set it on your dresser or in front of the door. And when you're ready to go you flip this over cinch it down. It kind of just turns into a little mini packing cube keeping all your gear in the same place. Minimalist Wallets. Eagle Creek Hidden Wallet. I use this for my passport and receipts, extra credit card and cash. I've had this thing for years. You can see it's starting to show some wear. Still use it. Still love it. Works great. Same thing with the Chums Surf Short Wallet. This is a good security cord. Multiple pockets here. Great for travel. Don't need to worry about being pickpocketed. New item I've been testing. Really like it just because it's so thin and durable. I've been using this for probably three or four months and it still looks brand new. This is the Pioneer Carry Wallet. Next category some travel clothes. There's a lot of products out there and it can get kind of overwhelming. I've tested a lot of gear and I've kind of been focusing on just a few brands that make gear that I really like. For bottoms, I've pretty much exclusively only been using two brands for the past several years because I just really like them. Western Rise makes great pants. I just recently picked up a pair of shorts. These are great because they double as swim trunks. You only need to carry one pair. Also really small. Pants, same thing. Really durable. I think they look great. Packed down tiny. My alternate between those and cool pants. I just really like some of their designs. They just fit me really well. Same thing. Really durable. Lightweight. Packed down really small and I think they look good. I've almost switched completely to the Patagonia Cool Lightweight T-shirt. It's a little bit pricey but it's incredibly light and thin. You can almost see right through it. Packs down really tiny. Easy to wash. Very quick to dry and it's comfortable. Y'all Raven Hat. This thing has a foamy brim so you can fold it up, squish it, pack it in your bag. This thing takes up almost no space, doesn't hold the form and it's just incredibly lightweight and small. Matador Travel Towel I think goes without saying. I don't take the case with me. I think it's unnecessary but these things are tiny and work great. Sea to Summit Silnylon Poncho. This thing is incredibly small and lightweight. I like ponchos when you're somewhere where it's a little bit warmer but it's rainy. I bought this for Costa Rica. Also used it in Hawaii. Xero Sandals. I still like these. Packed down very small. Still take these on almost every trip. Just two more categories to show you. I have some miscellaneous items here and I'll show you some of my favorite packable backpacks and slings. This is the Human Gear Go Pouch. Obviously heavier than a Ziploc but this has almost turned into a must-carry item for me because it's so useful. Very secure top. This thing pops open, stays open, lays flat. Just really easy to use and get to and because this liner runs all the way up to the edge it's just also incredibly easy to clean. Same two coffee makers. I haven't found anything better. If you like to have drip coffee on the road this is the Primula Brew Buddy. Very small, lightweight. Also this is the GSI lightweight coffee dripper. I almost forget to take this thing with me sometimes but when I do it is incredibly useful. It's tiny. Sea to Summit clothesline. This thing works great. Clips around each end and the thing I really like about it is the string is doubled up here and it has these little beads so when you stretch it taut you can almost work like a clothesline. You can squish your clothes in here so they don't blow around and blow off your balcony if it's outside and windy. Must-carry for me. Nano bags. These things are so tiny and lightweight. Work as a grocery bag or pretty much any kind of extra bag accessory. Basically a must-have for me. Nite Ize micro locks. Another must-carry. A little lock clip here. These things are going to work for a little bit of extra travel security on your travel backpack. Aeroclip small. Again something that I don't find myself using on every trip but I often take it in the trips when I do need it and I do have it. Comes in very handy especially for hanging up your bag in bathrooms that don't have a hook. Cabo travel pillow case. I've done a separate review on this if you want to see more. This is basically the case. It goes over this travel pillow. Again not something I take on every trip but for long hauls you can open this thing up, fill it with your clothes, kind of use it as an impromptu packing cube. That's going to double as a neck pillow. This is something I haven't shown you before. I've actually had for about three years. I bought it for Galapagos. Just recently used it for snorkeling in Hawaii and I just like it so much I thought I'd share this with you. This is a Cressi snorkel mask. It looks pretty standard but it has a glass frame and this thing is designed to just pack down really tiny. It almost lays flat so this thing works really great for travel. I don't think there's anything particularly special about the tube. It matches this thing. It's also lightweight and bendy. Kind of fits in really easily around the edges of your travel backpack. Now the last category to show you some packable day packs. A few bags with a little bit more structure and a couple of slings. These are three of my favorite packable travel backpacks. Two by Matador, one by Tortuga. This is a Matador Refraction and Matador Freefly. Very simple, lightweight, frameless packs. This one looks a little bit more stylish and the Freefly is a little bit more waterproof but looks a little bit more technical. Tortuga packable backpack. Very similar. It's a little bit larger. I have a Ripstop nylon instead and this one has a little bit more better back padding and shoulder straps. And if you want to step up from a packable frameless day pack, I would go with either the Air GoPack 2 or the Tortuga Daypack Pro. These are still frameless but they have a lot more padding. A lot more structure to them. They have thicker backpack straps. They also have a little bit better organization as well as laptop sleeves. But these things are also packable. Small enough to sit flat in the bottom of your travel backpack. Two slings I've really been liking lately. They're both really small but Tomtoc Aviator. This thing worked great for my camera travel gear. Pretty minimalist but lightweight and functional. I just used this on my recent trip. It's the Alpaca Flight Sling. This thing is a little bit bigger. Has a little bit more organization in there. Front pocket. But this thing works great especially for flights because it can convert from a pouch. Put the strap on here and it carries around as a sling. So that was just a really quick overview on some of my favorite travel gear. A lot of this I showed you before. There's some more individualized, more detailed reviews. But if there's anything I showed you that you want to see more detail about, please let me know in the comments below. I hope you enjoyed this gear roundup of my favorite gear for 2024 coming into 2025. Let me know again in the comments if you have any questions and thanks for watching.