Question Walking and hitchhiking with a laptop?

[00kissmarrykick00]

Hello,

For the record, I searched before I posted this and I didn't find any threads that were exactly addressing what I want to address so I'm making my own thread.

I'll be walking and hitchhiking down the west coast, and I'm wondering if it's wise to take my laptop with me. It's heavy, but it seems like it would be worth it while I'm at stops, because really nothing replaces a laptop for everything a laptop can do and how much storage it has.

I have traveled without a laptop before when I've traveled through the southeast for 3 months, and I don't even remember saving that much weight because I packed heavy for winter stuff. This time, I plan for being gone for about 8 months. Being without my laptop for almost a year is a big ask, but I'll do it if it makes life easier.

I also consider that whether in the Southeast fluctuates more whereas weather on the west coast seems to be more stable. I'm counting on it being warmer there so I don't have to take as much cold weather stuff, but I'm open to being corrected on that as well. I do remember California had a freak snowstorm a few years ago. When I was in new mexico, a few years ago, they also had a freak blizzard.

I'm open to any advice and feedback.

Tl; Dr: I'll be walking and hitchhiking down the west coast, and I'm seeking advice and feedback on if it's wise to bring my laptop with me for weight reasons.​

 

[Matt Derrick]

i just scanned your post, but the general train of thought for bringing gear is that you should not bring gear with you that you can't afford to lose. so if losing/breaking your laptop would be a severe financial burden, don't do it.

it also depends on what you need it for. if you need it for work, or maintaining a website, maybe bring one? otherwise, just use a smart phone. a phone can do 90% of what you would need to do on the internet.

 

[00kissmarrykick00]

i just scanned your post, but the general train of thought for bringing gear is that you should not bring gear with you that you can't afford to lose. so if losing/breaking your laptop would be a severe financial burden, don't do it.

it also depends on what you need it for. if you need it for work, or maintaining a website, maybe bring one? otherwise, just use a smart phone. a phone can do 90% of what you would need to do on the internet.

There's a possibility it could be used for work, or maintaining a website. I guess the answer for me is to gauge that when it gets closer to time. Thank you for your input. I'm definitely considering the advice of "don't take anything you can't afford to lose."

 

[ali]

I agree that a phone can do 90% of what a laptop can do if you just want to use it as a resource to look up stuff and keep in contact. Maps, messaging apps, social media, Wikipedia, random internet browsing - all that stuff is totally doable on a phone.

But - outside of work, where a laptop is pretty much a necessity - personally i found bringing a laptop around to be worthwhile for other interests of mine. For example watching shows. Sure you can stream on a phone, you can even torrent at a stretch, but it's so much nicer to just have a full season of something downloaded and watch it nice and big. Storing all your music on a computer so you can listen offline is easier than a phone because the disks are way bigger. Writing a long form blog or even just a big post on STP to share what you've been up to... that fucking sucks to do on a phone. Playing PC games on Steam. Running specialist software like a software-defined radio, audio production, video editing etc. There are tons of good reasons to bring a laptop with you, if you love to do things that you can only really do on a laptop. Sure, for some of them you could bring a bluetooth keyboard, or external disk, or other peripherals for your phone, but at that point you're almost carrying as much shit along you might as well have just brought the laptop in the first place.

However. It will get thrashed. It's best to bring the lightest possible computer you can bring, but of course those are also the most expensive computers. It is highly likely you will crack your screen, your keyboard could get humid/wet/moldy, power cables won't click in so nice any more, the thing is gonna get munged. You could bring a much sturdier laptop that will withstand the punishment - those are often cheaper too - but they're also way heavier and suck to lug around. So it's really a trade-off. You gotta think about how much pleasure you'll get out of it versus how much hassle it is to bring versus how sad (and broke) you'll be if/when it gets busted. Only you know the answer to those questions.

And, of course, if you don't have a home base, then you have no choice. You have to bring everything, because you won't have anywhere to store your old stuff. In that case i reckon just take it all and you'll find out pretty quickly on the road whether something you took is worth the weight or not.

 

[TheUndeadPhoenix]

Believe it or not, a lot of people hitchhike with laptops, but that's usually due to not having anywhere else to store it. More hiking backpacks have an inner pocket with an elastic band on it. I'm not sure if that's what the industry calls it but everybody I know calls it a laptop pocket. I would still advise to put some kind of cover on the laptop and not sit on your bag cuz you could damage it. I would recommend is possible to try to get a cheaper, lighter laptop if you're worried about weight and losing it to a thief/being damaged.

 

[00kissmarrykick00]

I agree that a phone can do 90% of what a laptop can do if you just want to use it as a resource to look up stuff and keep in contact. Maps, messaging apps, social media, Wikipedia, random internet browsing - all that stuff is totally doable on a phone.

But - outside of work, where a laptop is pretty much a necessity - personally i found bringing a laptop around to be worthwhile for other interests of mine. For example watching shows. Sure you can stream on a phone, you can even torrent at a stretch, but it's so much nicer to just have a full season of something downloaded and watch it nice and big. Storing all your music on a computer so you can listen offline is easier than a phone because the disks are way bigger. Writing a long form blog or even just a big post on STP to share what you've been up to... that fucking sucks to do on a phone. Playing PC games on Steam. Running specialist software like a software-defined radio, audio production, video editing etc. There are tons of good reasons to bring a laptop with you, if you love to do things that you can only really do on a laptop. Sure, for some of them you could bring a bluetooth keyboard, or external disk, or other peripherals for your phone, but at that point you're almost carrying as much shit along you might as well have just brought the laptop in the first place.

However. It will get thrashed. It's best to bring the lightest possible computer you can bring, but of course those are also the most expensive computers. It is highly likely you will crack your screen, your keyboard could get humid/wet/moldy, power cables won't click in so nice any more, the thing is gonna get munged. You could bring a much sturdier laptop that will withstand the punishment - those are often cheaper too - but they're also way heavier and suck to lug around. So it's really a trade-off. You gotta think about how much pleasure you'll get out of it versus how much hassle it is to bring versus how sad (and broke) you'll be if/when it gets busted. Only you know the answer to those questions.

And, of course, if you don't have a home base, then you have no choice. You have to bring everything, because you won't have anywhere to store your old stuff. In that case i reckon just take it all and you'll find out pretty quickly on the road whether something you took is worth the weight or not.

In my case, I do have a home base, so I do have a choice. That's why I'm asking. Thank you for all of your Insight!

As of right now, I'm leaning more towards leaving my laptop in storage.

 

[00kissmarrykick00]

Believe it or not, a lot of people hitchhike with laptops, but that's usually due to not having anywhere else to store it. More hiking backpacks have an inner pocket with an elastic band on it. I'm not sure if that's what the industry calls it but everybody I know calls it a laptop pocket. I would still advise to put some kind of cover on the laptop and not sit on your bag cuz you could damage it. I would recommend is possible to try to get a cheaper, lighter laptop if you're worried about weight and losing it to a thief/being damaged.

To be clear, I'm not a greenhorn.

For more transparency to my question, I have a homebase. I do have the option to put my laptop(s) in storage.

I have traveled with laptops in the past, and the issue with both of those laptops was that they were both old and heavy! It was so bad, that I eventually gave those laptops away. I was also in a pretty bad bag situation, because I hadn't planned on being in that position and I never asked for a suitable camping pack to carry everything on my back, and then I did get a pack and it was too big which was its own set of problems.

Since both my current laptops are new and lighter, but I don't have a specific laptop pocket in my packs. I'm not too concerned about the laptop I bring with me getting damaged or stolen. I do the bad thing and sling on my pack with one arm a lot, and that shit adds up. That's why weight is such a huge concern. Now, I know what you're thinking; "just stop doing the bad thing." Bad/old habits die hard.

I'm also considering the weight of just the laptop and contrast to my other gear. Since I'll be walking and hitchhiking, I really have to be careful about what I put on the back. To my credit, I do have a walking stick now.

 

[Gin]

To be clear, I'm not a greenhorn.

For more transparency to my question, I have a homebase. I do have the option to put my laptop(s) in storage.

I have traveled with laptops in the past, and the issue with both of those laptops was that they were both old and heavy! It was so bad, that I eventually gave those laptops away. I was also in a pretty bad bag situation, because I hadn't planned on being in that position and I never asked for a suitable camping pack to carry everything on my back, and then I did get a pack and it was too big which was its own set of problems.

Since both my current laptops are new and lighter, but I don't have a specific laptop pocket in my packs. I'm not too concerned about the laptop I bring with me getting damaged or stolen. I do the bad thing and sling on my pack with one arm a lot, and that shit adds up. That's why weight is such a huge concern. Now, I know what you're thinking; "just stop doing the bad thing." Bad/old habits die hard.

I'm also considering the weight of just the laptop and contrast to my other gear. Since I'll be walking and hitchhiking, I really have to be careful about what I put on the back. To my credit, I do have a walking stick now.

If you stick to the Coast it will be warmer in degrees, but it will be damp to wet to soggy drenched which is cold. Pack accordingly

 

[Matt Derrick]

I've been making plans for a trip to europe next spring (a 6 to 9 month trip), and i gave it some hard thought about what i wanted to bring with me and why; I thought I'd share them here since it seemed relevant.

I have one high-end laptop, one mid-range laptop/hybrid (surface pro 6), a pixel 3 xl, and a steam deck. So I have no shortage of options. But after giving it some thought, I decided on two options (why two, i will explain in a moment).

ideally, traveling with only a pixel 3 xl (my phone) and a bluetooth keyboard and travel mouse. this is the lightest setup possible that can still do the most amount of work. i can edit footage from my action camera and video i take with the phone (i prefer a cracked version of kinemaster for video editing) and still maintain a video blog. Some extra might include a small external ssd and a card reader for getting footage onto the phone.

second setup would be the surface pro 6, only because i have a remote working job that might be difficult to do on a cell phone in certain situations. if i still have this remote job in the spring when i leave, this will be what I go with, otherwise I'd like to go ultra-light with the smart phone setup.

So, for the OP and anyone reading this, it again comes down to what your use case is. As @ali mentioned, you'd be surprised what you can do on a cheap/used smartphone and a keyboard. even video editing is realistically possible nowadays (if you don't put your expectations too high). That should be fine for 90% of travelers. But, if you have an specific use case (i.e. certain aspects of a job) then you'll have to decide that for yourself if traveling with a laptop is worth the risk (i.e. breaking or possibly losing it somewhere on the road).

I'll end this with some advice for folks that might be struggling to afford even a smartphone. Swappa.com is probably the best place online to get a used smartphone (not sponsored). just look for a flagship model that cost $1000 dollars 3-4 years ago and you'll likely find it for around 150-250. you can even find cheaper options for as little as $50, so there's really no reason not to get one (unless you don't want one at all, which i also totally get).

 

[laughingman]

Hello Op. I can't say a lot about if you need or don't need a computer when you travel. I almost always huck a laptop around with me these days and I have had luck keeping them working for a while. I find laptop mailing sleeves like those made by "Air Packpro" work very well to cushion your computer inside your bag. You can often times grab them for free from local computer shops or repair places and in my experience they work a lot beater then the ones you buy. They are also a lot more bulky, and can be used as a pillow, so a trade off. If your worried about keeping your home rig in good working order, I might suggest going to a computer recycling place or transfer station and grabbing an old used laptop out of the bin. You will be SHOCKED at what people toss out. Take it home, wipe it off, reinstall, and you have a free laptop. This is not strictly aloud but if you want a disposable laptop and are willing to put in a little work you can get one for free... or the price of a knockoff replacement charging cord online. I get all my computers this way and have for years so I can at least tell you it works. If your rummaging around though bins of old laptops check the screen and the keyboard. Normally if both are intact the computer will run and boot just fine. If not just toss it back and grab another. Or grab 4 or 5 while your there and try them until you get one that works. My personal favorite for carrying around on a bike or on foot is a macbook air. I would never pay for one because they are quite overpriced. but for free there small and have solid state memory. This supposedly means that when it shakes up and down while walking or running your disk will not become corrupted over time. But hey that's just one dumpster divers opinion for you.

 

[superphoenix]

I’ve brought a small, cheaper laptop with me while traveling and lost two in Central Valley due to bad circumstances, but it was nothing I couldn’t replace. Stick to a cheap iPad (you can get em used for almost nothing) or phone. If your work is advanced enough that it requires a laptop, you can probably afford to take time off or else probably would travel by different means.

 

[00kissmarrykick00]

I have decided to take my laptop with me, since I'll be gone for a few months. I'm not traveling straight through places, I'll be sitting for a little while. Since I know that I'll be sitting, it'll be better to have my laptop with me for the sake of convenience.