Minimising your cables while traveling with rmb

[agmck]

Hi guys —

I can imagine that a lot of people, like me, enjoy the rmb for it's awesome portability. But I'm finding it difficult to come up with a good cable solution for compact travel with maximum compatibility.

My use case is very common. I need usb-c for the macbook, lightning for the iphone, micro-usb for my kindle and a male usb-a connector for powering the macbook via external battery, car, bus, plane, wherever. A female usb-a connection is also nice to have in the bag to stay compatible with other people's usb sticks etc.

In an ideal minimalist world I would travel with one usb-c cable and some tiny female usb-c adapters (to male usb-a, female usb-a, male micro-usb, male lightning) in order to create all possible permutations of cables I need and charge everything via the 29W macbook brick. Unfortunately this is still a pipe dream since most of the female usb-c adapters don't exists.

So my question — what cables and dongles are you aggressive travellers taking with you on the road?

 

[Gav2k]

You could plug a USB c to USB connector into the wall brick and use it direct.

 

[zhenya]

Hi guys —

I can imagine that a lot of people, like me, enjoy the rmb for it's awesome portability. But I'm finding it difficult to come up with a good cable solution for compact travel with maximum compatibility.

My use case is very common. I need usb-c for the macbook, lightning for the iphone, micro-usb for my kindle and a male usb-a connector for powering the macbook via external battery, car, bus, plane, wherever. A female usb-a connection is also nice to have in the bag to stay compatible with other people's usb sticks etc.

In an ideal minimalist world I would travel with one usb-c cable and some tiny female usb-c adapters (to male usb-a, female usb-a, male micro-usb, male lightning) in order to create all possible permutations of cables I need and charge everything via the 29W macbook brick. Unfortunately this is still a pipe dream since most of the female usb-c adapters don't exists.

So my question — what cables and dongles are you aggressive travellers taking with you on the road?

I have my
- Macbook power brick and usb-c cable
- usb-a female to usb-c adapter, which gives me compatibility with other peripherals, and allows me to charge my phone, iPad, and any other usb devices from the Macbook's power brick.
- usb-c digital av adapter - which allows me to charge the macbook while having other usb peripherals attached and charging.
- Micro-usb/mini usb cables. I rarely use these, so I have tiny ones about 3 inches long that just stay in my bag.

Sounds like you could do with adding just the usb-c to female usb-a adapter and a micro usb cable. That would allow you to connect and charge everything (although not simultaneously).

Do you really need the usb-c to male usb-a? I have those at home, but don't carry them on the road because there is rarely if ever a situation where I have access to a usb plug I'd want to charge from but no a regular outlet where I could plug in to and charge several times faster.

 

[agmck]

One option is to use a male usb-c to male usb-a cable in conjunction with a female usb-a to male usb-c dongle (see below). So then you have all legacy usb-a connectors you need, the only problem is if you use this combo to charge your macbook — you're only going to be charging using 5V @ 2A = slow. The beekeeper kickstarter project claimed to have some special electronics to mitigate this problem and charge the macbook at full speed, but this project wasn't funded and I haven't yet seen another cable / dongle combination that can do the same.

to

 

[agmck]

Sounds like you could do with adding just the usb-c to female usb-a adapter and a micro usb cable. That would allow you to connect and charge everything (although not simultaneously).

Do you really need the usb-c to male usb-a? I have those at home, but don't carry them on the road because there is rarely if ever a situation where I have access to a usb plug I'd want to charge from but no a regular outlet where I could plug in to and charge several times faster.

Probably you're right. But I thought I'd see what other people are doing. Possibly I could need a male usb-a to charge from an external battery in a pinch, but indeed it'd be rare.

 

[zhenya]

Probably you're right. But I thought I'd see what other people are doing. Possibly I could need a male usb-a to charge from an external battery in a pinch, but indeed it'd be rare.

I just have a hard time seeing when I would ever be using my Macbook for more than 8-10 hours continuously with no chance to charge it, short of backpacking somewhere, when I probably won't be bringing my Macbook! An hour at a charger with the stock plug is good for about 80% charge. Everyone's needs are certainly different however.

 

[Onofire]

I travel with this -> http://www.amazon.com/Anker-PowerPo...=1440615754&sr=8-3&keywords=usb+charger+anker

Small adapters for the iPhone and Kindle. I love these because they fit into a pencil case.

http://www.amazon.com/Belkin-6-Inch-Metallic-Lightning-iPhone/dp/B00LTXV3ZS/
http://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-Inch-Micro-USB-Cable/dp/B003YKX6WM/

My Anker charger and charging cable. I'm looking for a 6" cable for this as well.
http://www.amazon.com/NewLobo-Reversible-Hi-speed-Standard-Supported/dp/B00URK1VOW

Apple used to sell a little travel wallet with mini cables from Griffin. I don't see it on Amazon or at their site with the wallet, but the set is here: http://www.amazon.com/Griffin-Technology-GC17097-USB-Mini-Cable/dp/B003T5KXJQ

Another option is to buy the Nomad keychains for the micro USB and Lightning. I have both on my keychain and I've used them numerous times.